An ex-JW friend of mine just forwarded this to me. I know the reputation Newfies have among their fellow Canadians, but I'm thinking they've gotten a really bad rap!!!
Kudos to the Newfies and ALL our Canadian friends for their outstanding humanitarian aid immediately post-WTC:
This originated from a flight steward on Delta Airlines.
> >
> >We were about 5 hours out of Frankfurt flying over the
> >North Atlantic and I was in my crew rest seat taking my
> >scheduled rest break. All of a sudden the curtains
> >parted violently and I was told to go to the cockpit,
> >right now, to see the captain. As soon as I got there I
> >noticed that the crew had one of those "All Business"
> >looks on their faces. The captain handed me a printed
> >message. I quickly read the message and realized
> >the importance of it. The message was from Atlanta,
> >addressed to our flight, and simply said, "All airways
> >over the Continental US are closed. Land ASAP at
> >the nearest airport, advise your destination."
> >
> >Now, when a dispatcher tells you to land immediately
> >without suggesting which airport, one can assume
> >that the dispatcher has reluctantly given up control
> >of the flight to the captain. We knew it was a serious
> >situation and we needed to find terra firma quickly.
> >It was quickly decided that the nearest airport was
> >400 miles away, behind our right shoulder, in
> >Gander, on the island of New Foundland.
> >
> >A quick request was made to the Canadian traffic
> >controller and a right turn, directly to Gander, was
> >approved immediately. We found out later why
> >there was no hesitation by the Canadian controller
> >approving our request. We, the in-flight crew,
> >were told to get the airplane ready for an
> >immediate landing. While this was going on
> >another message arrived from Atlanta telling us
> >about some terrorist activity in the New York area.
> >
> >We briefed the in-flight crew about going to Gander
> >and we went about our business 'closing down'
> >the airplane for a landing. A few minutes later I
> >went back to the cockpit to find out that some
> >airplanes had been hijacked and were being
> >flown into buildings all over the US. We decided
> >to make an announcement and LIE to the
> >passengers for the time being. We told them
> >that an instrument problem had arisen on the
> >airplane and that we needed to land at Gander,
> >to have it checked. We promised to give more
> >information after landing in Gander. There
> >were many unhappy passengers but that is par
> >for the course.
> >
> >We landed in Gander about 40 minutes after the
> >start of this episode. There were already about 20
> >other airplanes on the ground from all over the
> >world. After we parked on the ramp the captain
> >made the following announcement. "Ladies
> >and gentlemen, you must be wondering if all
> >these airplanes around us have the same
> >instrument problem as we have. But the reality
> >is that we are here for a good reason." Then
> >he went on to explain the little bit we knew
> >about the situation in the US. There were
> >loud gasps and stares of disbelief. Local time
> >at Gander was 12:30 pm. (11:00 AM EST)
> >
> >Gander control told us to stay put. No one was
> >allowed to get off the aircraft. No one on the
> >ground was allowed to come near the aircrafts.
> >Only a car from the airport police would come
> >around once in a while, look us over and go
> >on to the next airplane. In the next hour or so
> >all the airways over the North Atlantic were
> >vacated and Gander alone ended up with 53
> >airplanes from all over the world, out of which
> >27 were flying US flags.
> >
> >We were told that each and every plane was to
> >be offloaded, one at a time, with the foreign
> >carriers given the priority. We were No.14 in
> >the US category. We were further told that we
> >would be given a tentative time to deplane at 6 pm.
> >Meanwhile bits of news started to come in over
> >the aircraft radio and for the first time we
> >learned that airplanes were flown into the World
> >Trade Center in New York and into the Pentagon
> >in DC. People were trying to use their cell phones
> >but were unable to connect due to a different
> >cell system in Canada. Some did get through
> >but were only able to get to the Canadian
> >operator who would tell them that the lines to
> >the US were either blocked or jammed and to
> >try again. Some time late in the evening the
> >news filtered to us that the World Trade Center
> >buildings had collapsed and that a fourth
> >hijacking had resulted in a crash.
> >
> >Now the passengers were totally bewildered and
> >emotionally exhausted but stayed calm as we
> >kept reminding them to look around to see
> >that we were not the only ones in this predicament.
> >There were 52 other planes with people on them
> >in the same situation. We also told them that the
> >Canadian Government was in charge and we
> >were at their mercy. True to their word, at 6 PM,
> >Gander airport told us that our turn to deplane
> >would come at 11 AM, the next morning. That
> >took the last wind out of the passengers and
> >they simply resigned and accepted this news
> >without much noise and really started to get
> >into a mode of spending the night on the airplane.
> >
> >Gander had promised us any and all medical
> >attention if needed; medicine, water, and lavatory
> >servicing. And they were true to their word.
> >Fortunately we had no medical situation during
> >the night. We did have a young lady who was 33
> >weeks into her pregnancy. We took REALLY good
> >care of her. The night passed without any further
> >complications on our airplane despite the
> >uncomfortable sleeping arrangements. About
> >10:30 on the morning of the 12th we were told to
> >get ready to leave the aircraft.
> >
> >A convoy of school buses showed up at the
> >side of the airplane, the stairway was hooked
> >up and the passengers were taken to the
> >terminal for "processing". We, the crew, were
> >taken to the same terminal but were told to
> >go to a different section, where we were
> >processed through Immigration and customs
> >and then had to register with the Red Cross.
> >After that we were isolated from our passengers
> >and were taken in a caravan of vans to a very
> >small hotel in the town of Gander. We had no
> >idea where our passengers were going.
> >
> >The town of Gander has a population of 10,400
> >people. Red Cross told us that they were going
> >to process about 10,500 passengers from all
> >the airplanes that were forced into Gander.
> >We were told to just relax at the hotel and
> >wait for a call to go back to the airport, but not to
> >expect that call for a while. We found out the total
> >scope of the terror back home only after getting
> >to our hotel and turning on the TV, 24 hours after
> >it all started. Meanwhile we enjoyed ourselves
> >going around town discovering things and
> >enjoying the hospitality. The people were so
> >friendly and they just knew that we were the
> >"Plane people". We all had a great time until
> >we got that call, 2 days later, on the 14th at 7AM.
> >We made it to the airport by 8:30AM and left for
> >Atlanta at 12:30 PM arriving in Atlanta at about
> >4:30PM. (Gander is 1 hour and 30 minutes ahead
> >of EST, yes!, 1 hour and 30 minutes.) But that's
> >not what I wanted to tell you. What passengers
> >told us was so uplifting and incredible and the
> >timing couldn't have been better.
> >
> >We found out that Gander and the surrounding
> >small communities, within a 75 Kilometer radius,
> >had closed all the high schools, meeting halls,
> >lodges, and any other large gathering places.
> >They converted all these facilities to a mass
> >lodging area. Some had cots set up, some
> >had mats with sleeping bags and pillows set
> >up. ALL the high school students HAD to
> >volunteer taking care of the "GUESTS".
> >
> >Our 218 passengers ended up in a town called
> >Lewisporte, about 45 Kilometers from Gander.
> >There they were put in a high school. If any women
> >wanted to be in a women only facility, that was
> >arranged. Families were kept together. All the
> >elderly passengers were given no choice and
> >were taken to private homes. Remember that
> >young pregnant lady, she was put up in a private
> >home right across the street from a 24 hour
> >Urgent Care type facility. There were DDS on
> >call and they had both male and female nurses
> >available and stayed with the crowd for the
> >duration. Phone calls and emails to US and
> >Europe were available for every one once a day.
> >During the days the passengers were given a
> >choice of "Excursion" trips. Some people went
> >on boat cruises of the lakes and harbors. Some
> >went to see the local forests. Local bakeries
> >stayed open to make fresh bread for the guests.
> >Food was prepared by all the residents and
> >brought to the school for those who elected to stay
> >put. Others were driven to the eatery of their choice
> >and fed. They were given tokens to go to the local
> >Laundromat to wash their clothes, since their
> >luggage was still on the aircraft.
> >
> >In other words every single need was met for those
> >unfortunate travelers. Passengers were crying
> >while telling us these stories. After all that, they
> >were delivered to the airport right on time and
> >without a single one missing or late. All because
> >the local Red Cross had all the information
> >about the goings on back at Gander and knew
> >which group needed to leave for the airport at
> >what time. Absolutely incredible.
> >
> >When passengers came on board, it was like
> >they had been on a cruise. Everybody knew
> >everybody else by their name. They were swapping
> >stories of their stay, impressing each other with
> >who had the better time. It was mind boggling.
> >Our flight back to Atlanta looked like a party flight.
> >We simply stayed out of their way. The
> >passengers had totally bonded and they were
> >calling each other by their first names, exchanging
> > phone numbers, addresses, and email addresses.
> >And then a strange thing happened. One of our
> >business class passengers approached me
> >and asked if he could speak over the PA to his
> >fellow passengers. We never, never, allow that.
> >But something told me to get out of his way.
> >I said "of course". The gentleman picked up
> >the PA and reminded everyone about what they
> >had just gone through in the last few days.
> >He reminded them of the hospitality they had
> >received at the hands of total strangers. He
> >further stated that he would like to do something
> >in return for the good folks of the town of
> >Lewisporte. He said he was going to set up
> >a Trust Fund under the name of DELTA 15 (our
> >flight number). The purpose of the trust fund is to
> >provide a scholarship for high school student(s)
> >of Lewisporte to help them go to college. He
> >asked for donations of any amount from his
> >fellow travelers. When the paper with donations
> >got back to us with the amounts, names, phone
> >numbers and addresses, it totaled to $14.5K or
> >about $20K Canadian. The gentleman who
> >started all this turned out to be an MD from Virginia.
> >He promised to match the donations and to start
> >the administrative work on the scholarship. He
> >also said that he would forward this proposal to
> >Delta Corporate and ask them to donate as well.
> >
> >Why, all of this? Just because some people in
> >far away places were kind to some strangers,
> >who happened to literally drop in among them?
> >WHY NOT?
> >
> > -------------------------
> >The following note was received from a person
> >in Gander and I've chosen to repeat it as received;
> >
> >It's been a hell of a week here in Gander.
> >The stories are amazing. We had 38 aircraft
> >with a total of 6656 people drop by for coffee.
> >they stayed for 3 or four days. Our population is
> >just under 10,000, so you can imagine the
> >logistics involved in giving each of these
> >people a place to sleep and hot meal three
> >times a day. Many of us spent our time bringing
> >people home so they could get a shower or,
> >once the rain started on the third day, driving
> >them to the mall or sight seeing to relieve their
> >boredom.
> >
> >The diversity of the people who have been in my
> >car and in my shower over the past few days is
> >pretty wild. You should have seen the look on
> >my little girl's face when three Muslim women
> >came home with me for a shower. With their
> >robes, she could only see their faces, hands
> >and feet. Their hands and feet were coverd with
> >Henna Paint and two of them didn't speak
> >English. There was a King from the Middle
> >East here. A British MP. The Mayor of Frankfurt
> >Germany, etc.etc.
> >
> >There were also immigrants from all over the
> >world, some of whom didn't have two pennies to
> >rub together. They all slept side by side in schools
> >and church halls. Except the Irish, of course! A flight
> >from Ireland was put up at a couple of local drinking
> >establishments: The Royal Canadian Legion Hall
> >and the Elks Club. One woman here gave a driving
> >tour to a fellow from the US. When she brought
> >him back to his gymnasium cot, they exchanged
> >cards. She looked at his and said, "So you work
> >with Best Western?" He replied, "No, I own Best
> >Western"! You should have been here, but of
> >course, there wouldn't have been room. What an
> >experience!
> >
> > --end--
>
> It just goes to show you that THERE ARE
> A LOT OF GOOD PEOPLE LEFT IN THIS
> WORLD
outnfree
Par dessus toutes choses, soyez bons. La bonte est ce qui ressemble le plus a Dieu et ce qui desarme le plus les hommes -- Lacordaire