Remembering 9/11 Twenty Years Later

I reported to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst today, as I have on countless other occasions, but on this occasion, everything looked different. The barracks have been converted into makeshift housing for hundreds of refugees who have been evacuated from Afghanistan. Tracks that once hosted 6:00 am runs have been converted into tented settlements for thousands of Afghan evacuees. Fields that were once barren have become a city of refuge, teaming with children flying kites and kicking soccer balls.

Today is the 20^th anniversary of the attacks of 9/11. Those violent attacks brought destruction that forever altered history. They triggered America’s longest-standing armed conflict. The humanitarian relief being carried out at the joint military base symbolizes the polar opposite of 9/11; it embodies love and mercy, and demonstrates the humanity of the American people, a people who will sacrifice their resources and comfort and stand with the oppressed, carrying their burdens with them.

What I witnessed today was surreal: thousands of Afghans walking to and from their tents, men wearing the traditional shalwar kameez, women and girls wearing bright yellow and red hijabs, deep green abayas and ocean blue robes fluttering in the summer wind. The US military has built an entire city at Doughboy field, a field with which I have grown intimately familiar. The tarmac that once hosted our Army combat fitness tests, our 6:00 am sprints, ruck marches, deadlifts and shuttle runs now hosts Liberty Village, a city whose new residents will face persecution if returned to Afghanistan.

Twenty-foot tall tents have sprung up overnight across Liberty Village. Some of them serve as shelters. Others serve as cafeterias. Still others are storage facilities distributing clothing, shoes, sandals, even toys to the thousands of refugees who fled their nation, many without a moment for preparation, having abandoned all their possessions as they scrambled to board one of the last military flights to leave their nation. Some tents are dedicated to translators, others to information management offices, still others for logistics, coordination, and the distribution of supplies from relief organizations. Everything from tee shirts to diapers to baby formula to Pedialyte can be found in these tents.

The new refugee settlement spans several acres. It has become a city within a city, with its own micro-economy. Some refugees can be found standing in lines at food trucks serving traditional Afghan meals; others at cafeterias that have sprung up in the past days. Children can be found playing in playgrounds, swinging on swings. Around the settlement, soldiers are stationed to attend to the needs of evacuees. Some soldiers serve as translators; others as civil affairs liaisons; some are assigned to retrieve the occasional stray soccer ball.

The sprawling lawns across the base, once empty, are now teeming with life and movement. All around the tented settlement, bulldozers and diggers are working around the clock to lay the foundations for new buildings and tents that will accommodate the growing influx of refugees. Passersby hear the laughter of Afghan children who greet soldiers, calling out to them, “salam!”

While witnessing these scenes, I remembered the words of the prophet Isaiah: “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.” The world was forever changed by the attacks of 9/11. It is my hope that the assistance being given to Afghan refugees on this twentieth anniversary of 9/11 will similarly change the world, that it will sow seeds of reconciliation. It is my hope that every Afghan will know plenty rather than famine, kindness rather than cruelty and peace rather than war; that they will know a world where love overcomes all things.

Postscript: A wide range of NGOs and humanitarian organizations, including the American Red Cross and Team Rubicon, are collecting financial and in-kind donations to support Afghan evacuees. For the most up-to-date information on how to give, visit the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/USAFEC.

Notice: The views expressed herein are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. government, the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center or any other branches or organs of the U.S. military. Photos appearing herein are U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center public domain images and/or are posted herein under the fair use doctrine for non-commercial, educational purposes.