The Good Samaritan – Canada’s Role in 9/11

Today marks the anniversary of 9/11, the horrendous attack on American soil that brought down the World Trade Center, killed thousands, changed millions, and altered our world view.

I was talking on Twitter with a buddy who was commenting that Bing.com in the states were showing something 9/11 related. In Canada, Bing.com has some remote lake in New Zealand and I wondered why they didn’t choose to focus on a key event of that day which occurred in Canada.

*Image from a collection of images found here.

Gander, Newfoundland, is a community of just under 10,000 people. On 9/11, as the sky was cleared of all air travel, 38 planes carrying 6,500 people were diverted to Gander. Within a few short hours, the population of the town almost doubled.

Once word broke of the arrivals, the people of this small town sprung into action. Teri A. McIntyre, in a review of The Day The World Came to Town, wrote:

But when Gander became the recipient of unexpected quests on that most tragic day, its residents immediately rallied with a swiftness and friendliness that even movies and books cannot accurately replicate. As DeFede consistently demonstrates, the town was a place where no call for assistance went unheard, and no person struggled alone.

Schools and halls quickly became emergency shelters. Residents invited people into their homes for showers, beds and meals. People stripped their houses bare of sheets and towels, and offered the use of their vehicles. Pharmacists filled prescriptions from all over the word at no cost. Local businesses emptied their shelves of food, clothing, toys and toiletries. One local business, Canadian Tire, was given instructions by its head office to provide whatever was required at no expense.

On a day when so many were dealing with mixed emotions of what had happened, what the state of loved ones were, whether more attacks would occur, and just trying to deal with this horrible reality, a community ensured that their basic needs of shelter, food, safety, and care were taken care of; an outpouring of love and compassion to people they had never met.

Since 9/11 we’ve seen reactionary security measures put in place, a war fought and continuing to be fought, a hardening of the North American borders, and an increased sense of distrust and suspicion.

And yet Gander provided us with an alternate story from that day: one of humans reaching out to one another without regard of country of origin. While we allow borders to define us, Gander showed that the tenets of humanity are universal; that when we see others in a place of need we have the ability to reach out and make a difference. They acted as true citizens of the world and their actions should be an example for us all.