New York: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has recalled his personal experience of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks as New York commemorates the 25th anniversary of 9/11.
Tharoor, who is currently in New York, said it was a coincidence that he found himself in the city on the anniversary. He noted that a large-scale commemoration event has caused major traffic disruptions in Southern Manhattan and complicated his departure from the city.
Recalling the events of 2001, Tharoor said he vividly remembered the atmosphere of fear and uncertainty that followed the attacks. At the time, his sons watched the Twin Towers collapse from the terrace of their school, while he was among a small group of senior officials involved in coordinating and supervising the evacuation of the United Nations (UN) building and responding to public enquiries.
Tharoor also recalled that at midnight on September 11, 2001, he gave an interview to CNN from the rooftop of the Empire State Building, representing the UN. During the interview, he famously declared, “We are all New Yorkers now.”
Twenty-five years after the attacks, Tharoor said he has revisited the events of that fateful day in his latest column for NDTV, examining the far-reaching consequences of 9/11 and its lasting impact on the world.
He reflected on how the attacks transformed international security, geopolitics and global affairs, shaping many of the realities that continue to define the world today.