Their Stories
Translated by Jenny Chang,
Chi Law, northern California
The Buddhist concept of "conditioned
causation" is really intriguing. Facing this disaster
of the century, Tzu Chi volunteers advanced to the front lines
and had opportunities to reach out to victims' families and
the fortunate survivors of the September 11 disaster. When
listening to their stories, Tzu Chi volunteers were heartbroken,
as if they personally experienced the disaster.
Having directed aid distribution at the
scene for several days, Sister Lu-jung, head of the New Jersey
chapter, described a case she had handled the day before.
An American lady came to the aid counter with a child in tow.
After talking to her, Tzu Chi volunteers learned that the
child's mother was one of the persons reported missing, while
his father had been a passenger on one of the hijacked planes.
Everyone was too sad to utter a word after hearing such a
depressing story. In addition to receiving $1000 of emergency
aid, the surviving relatives were added to Tzu Chi's long-term
care list.
Sister Yang Su-su of the New Jersey Chapter
said that an American who worked at the Window of the World
on the 107th floor escaped the disaster because he was late
for work that morning. Led to our counter by the Salvation
Army to apply for emergency unemployment assistance, he suddenly
burst into tears when Tzu Chi volunteers told him that Doris
Eng was among those missing. He explained that Doris was his
manager, who had treated him very well. She had changed from
the night shift to the morning shift to supervise remodeling
work, and thus was involved in the disaster. After hearing
the unfortunate story about Doris, Tzu Chi volunteers all
felt sorry for this young, beautiful woman. Last week, Tzu
Chi volunteers from New York went to Doris's home to visit
her mother. They gave her monetary aid and will visit her
often to care for her.
Mr. Lee, a Chinese coworker of Brother
Li Yang-te at Window of the World, also came to our counter.
Absent-minded and red-eyed, Mr. Lee told Tzu Chi volunteers
his story with a trembling voice. He was supposed to come
to work at 6:30 a.m. on September 11. The night before, however,
his manager told him that he should come in at noon instead.
Mr. Lee argued with the manager about this schedule change,
but who could have known that he would thus escape death!
Mr. Lee added, however, that whenever he closed his eyes,
many of his missing colleagues would reappear in front of
him, which really frightened him. He said he had not slept
in a week and was about to collapse. After hearing of his
condition, many Tzu Chi volunteers came to comfort him and
told him to recite "Nambha Kuan Yin Bodhisattva"
when he felt afraid. They also took down his phone number
and filed his case for future follow-up.
The Salvation Army brought to our aid distribution
counter a young woman, five or six months pregnant. Her husband
was a firefighter who died while on duty at the September
11 disaster. Tzu Chi volunteers rushed to hug her when they
heard about her misfortune, and they all started to cry when
they saw her red, tearful eyes.
A young blond lady who said she was Russian
also visited our counter. She had been married for less than
a year. Her husband had worked at the World Trade Center and
had already been missing for a few days. She began to sob
hopelessly while telling her story. Tzu Chi volunteers comforted
her and gave her $1000.
Sister Chang Chen-fen, who had been helping
with aid distribution for three consecutive days, said that
a couple of days ago a lady whose firefighter husband was
missing came to our aid counter. When asked what Tzu Chi could
help her with, she gratefully replied, "I'm OK."
She then told Tzu Chi volunteers that her husband escaped
death while fighting a fire in 1986. From then on, she felt
that every day she lived was a gift from God. Now though her
husband was really gone, she felt contented. She said she
did not need any aid because her children were all grown up
and had their own families. She hoped that we'd help other
more needy people.
Sister Chen-fen added that the saddest
story she heard was about a Spanish man who escaped the disaster
because he worked the night shift at the Window of the World.
When he came to us for unemployment aid, he said that 84 of
the 500 employees of his company were missing. He learned
from a colleague that shortly after 9:00 a.m. on September
11, many employees were working on the 106th and 107th floors.
When they learned that a plane had crashed into the floors
below them and that death was inevitable, they hugged each
other and waited to die. Some of them phoned their families
or other colleagues to say goodbye.
Hearing all these heartbreaking stories,
Tzu Chi volunteers not only comforted victims and their relatives,
they also learned an important lesson from this frightening
disaster: faced with this human catastrophe, we must dissolve
hatred and heal broken hearts with love. Let our hearts find
gratitude in our meditation. Through our reflections on the
disaster of September 11, let us advance on the Path of the
Bodhisattvas. Let us pray for blessings on all suffering souls,
for purification of the mind, for peace in our society, and
for a world free of all disasters.
