My name is Jian Hong Huang. I recorded this on September 20, 2002. I want to talk about my September 11th experience. On Sept 11, I went to work at 7:30 a.m. I work on 38th Street in Manhattan. I went to work a little bit early on that day. When I reached 34th street at 9:00, the first building had already collapsed. My husband called me at 10:00. We heard on the radio that the building was attacked by terrorists. I was very worried because my brother- in-law and his brother both worked in the World Trade Center. I called my sister and she said that her husband’s brother had already called and said he was safe but her husband hadn’t called.

I saw many people on the street but there was no subway service. I waited until 2pm and my sister told me that her husband finally called and said that, because he was late to work he went to NJ (instead of the WTC) and he was safe. I waited until 4pm until the F train started running and got home very late – about 6pm.

After Sept 11th, many garment shops closed. This event had a big impact. I had to go to collect unemployment. I found out that the Chinese American Planning Council (CPC) had a September 11th special training program and I registered to train to be a home attendant. Thanks to the CPC, I got financial help.

Translation/Synopsis by Lana Cheung + Sherry Kane