Photo courtesy of Kiran Chaudhory Three weeks after the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, friends and families of victims
continue to leave flowers and write messages of condolences. Others
remain hopeful that those missing will return.
By Christian Mignot
Daily Bruin Contributor
Many remember their first time in New York City for the dazzling
lights in Times Square, the extensive collections of fine art in
museums or the adrenaline pumping rush-hour cab rides.
UCLA alumna and relief worker for the American Red Cross, Kiran
Chaudhory, will never forget her first time, but for entirely
different reasons.
Chaudhory, who graduated last year with a biology degree,
traveled to New York three weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks to help
government agencies provide emergency services and piece together
the shattered section of south Manhattan.
Joining thousands of other volunteers from various national
relief organizations, Chaudhory and 14 other Los Angeles-based
volunteers working for the National Readiness and Response Corps of
the American Red Cross performed a variety of tasks, from serving
rescue workers refreshments to counseling relatives and friends of
victims.
“The majority of our NRRC volunteers worked directly with
clients and have been forever changed by their experience with
these NYC residents,” said Anna Hocker, L.A. County
Coordinator for NRRC.
Chaudhory was stationed at Pier 94. The Family Assistance Center
was set up to provide services for families of victims and people
living in the designated disaster area.
Along with 60 other ARC caseworkers, Chaudhory assessed the
financial needs of those coming in and verified that clients lived
within the boundaries of the assistance area.
The ARC and other government funded agencies then provided cash
grants to those directly affected to help pay for utility bills,
rent or food while jobs were at a standstill.
The center processed between 300 and 400 clients every day,
working from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and processing one client file every
hour and a half, Chaudhory said.
“Most of the time was spent just listening to the stories
that each had to give, providing them with emotional
release,” Chaudhory said.
Families who lost loved ones in the terrorist attacks were given
large cash gifts and money as long as there was a need.
“It was very easy to become emotionally attached to the
clients that came in, and I often found it hard to keep a
professional air to myself,” she said.
Chaudhory also participated in a memorial service organized by
the Family Assistance Center for the families of victims on Oct.
28. To help provide emotional closure, each family was presented a
flag and an urn containing ashes from Ground Zero, engraved with
“September 11, 2001.”
In addition, the Red Cross counseled victims traumatized by the
scenes they had witnessed. Images of people jumping from flames in
the upper levels of the building were the most shocking for many,
Chaudhory said.
She recalls in particular a 5-year-old boy who repeatedly drew
pictures of the twin towers on flames with people jumping out of
the windows gently floating down to the ground, secured with
parachutes.
“Drawing those pictures was his way of saving those
people, his mechanism for dealing with what he saw,” she
said.
Chaudhory also recounted the trauma and guilt of a janitor who
had traded his morning shift on Sept. 11 with one of his colleagues
killed in the attack.
Many family members and friends refused to give up hope for lost
loved ones, even refusing to sign death certificates weeks after
the attacks. The front walls of the Family Assistance Center were
covered with pictures and messages to the missing, each imploring
them to come home.
“Some of the NRRC workers said that working was almost
like going to a funeral every day,” she said. “It was
hard to deal with people coming in every day and telling us how
much they loved someone who had not yet been found.”
Despite all the grief, Chaudhory said the hardest part of the
relief work involved turning back people ineligible for aid. Most
often, these were people who lived slightly outside the official
government-approved boundaries of the disaster zone. Eventually,
the boundaries were widened and regulations loosened, she said.
“I remember having to turn away a limousine driver who
lost a great portion of his customer base because of the
attacks,” she said. “We had to tell him he was
ineligible, and he broke into tears telling us he had a family to
support.”
Dealing with such highly emotional experiences all day long was
distressing and fatiguing for the NRRC workers, Chaudhory said,
adding that hugs and quiet conversation heavily featured in the
nightly routines for unwinding.
Chaudhory will never forget what she experienced those three
weeks in New York.
“I was so privileged to be able to help these people in
New York,” she said. “I don’t think I will ever
experience anything like this again in my life.”