Below is the press release everyone is referring to, it is interesting from the standpoint of how much humanitarian effort was actually expended toward the disaster. Let's see around three thousand bethelites in Brooklyn, many healthy strong young men, just two miles away from the disaster. How many were mobilized to help with the relief effort? How many offered to give blood? Which is now ok as long as used for fractions. How much money was set aside to provide food and suppplies for the victims? How many Watchtower trucks were mobilized to help with the relief effort? These are things that usually make a press release worth while.
Giving something to drink to three victims who walk through your door somehow seems a bit shallow.
Also did you notice the name change? J. Richard Brown, do we call him Richy for short, or just dick?
For Immediate Release
September 11, 2001
9-11
"I got rocked out of my chair." Timothy Eng was on the 83rd floor of World Trade Center's Building #1 and felt the first plane hit this morning. "At first I thought it was a really heavy wind, but then I saw one of the traders I work with; he was burned from head to toe. I rushed to put out the flames. People said a plane hit the building. All we saw was debris flying out from above. I helped the trader get down the stairs. As we came down it was dark and there was water and debris everywhere."
Michael Wittick was on the 59th floor in Building #2, preparing for a 9 a.m. meeting. After a sudden loud noise, he saw that Building #1 was on fire, with paper and glass flying outside. "We were told to evacuate. When we got down to the bottom they were about to let us go back up, thinking that only Building #1 was affected. All of a sudden Building #2 shook. There was some other kind of explosion, then everyone started getting panicky." He relates that he'd never experienced anything like this in his life, "I was very scared. My knees literally started to shake."
Both of theses men were survivors of today's tragedy, two of the thousands who made their way across the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges to escape the aftermath of this catastrophe.
Linda was another survivor. She works on Wall Street and saw debris flying. Soon her coworkers and relatives were telephoning. "One of the tenants was trampled, but thank God she was all right. Others saw the second plane hitting the tower. Everyone was scared. . . . Hatred can do so much harm. So many innocent lives were lost for no reason. We pray we can assist others who were going through such a hard time."
Reaching out to those hit by tragedy
Arriving in the lobby of the Watch Tower buildings across the Brooklyn Bridge, Timothy, Michael and Linda breathed a sigh of relief. All three are Jehovah's Witnesses and so felt particularly comfortable in the familiar complex of buildings where they chose to seek refuge. They were able to join many others who sought shelter in these buildings. The billowing smoke across the river is a reminder of what they just survived.
A volunteer brings Timothy a cup of water and offers him a chair. "You don't know how happy I feel to have made it to Brooklyn, coming down from 83 floors in the air." When he realized he really was out of danger, he added "I'm in the house of Jehovah now; I feel safe."
Food and refreshments are provided to the people who streamed in the building. "They are looking for a haven," Jack, one of the helping hands, remarks. "There was some panic. A lot of people who work here volunteered to help provide whatever was needed."
The Watch Tower buildings in Brooklyn were unaffected by today's tragedy, but the people working in them felt it deeply. As spokesman J. R. Brown expressed it, "Today's explosions sent a shock wave through the heart of New York and the rest of the world. Everyone will be touched by this tragedy. Comfort and cooperation are the necessary survival kit right now."
Contact: J. Richard Brown, telephone: (718) 560-5600
