Boat Lift Meaning 9/11

On September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked public airplanes and flew them into the twin towers in lower Manhattan, New York. After the first building fell, the entire city’s population was in chaotic distress. Authorities had shut down all modes of transportation including bridges and all subways. For the first time in over a hundred years, transportation by boat was the only way in or out of Manhattan. The Coastguard knew they needed a more organized method of evacuating civilians, so they decided to make a call on the radio, asking all boats in the area that are available to come to the pier to help evacuate. Many party boats, tug boats, and even private boats all rushed to the scene at the same time. Each boat picked up as many people as they could fit and sailed them to safety. They believed that even if they could rescue one person, that it would be better than doing nothing. Nearly 500,000 people were rescued from Manhattan in just under 9 hours. At the time no one really knew what was going on, and everyone was afraid that another attack might strike the harbor. The people who sailed their boats to Manhattan to rescue the civilians showed heroic qualities of compassion. It is Human nature to help out others when you see them in need. A hero is someone who does what they can, and that’s what all of the crewmembers did when they saved everyone, despite their suspicions. I showed the documentary of “Boatlift” to my mom. She had never heard of the story before, but it brought tears to her eyes. She found it amazing the way everyone came together all at once to help those in need, and she believes that is part of our human nature. She said “Although what happened on 9/11 was so horrible, this story showed me that even when something awful happens, there can sometimes be some good come from it.” I found the documentary very heart touching. I have seen only a few documentaries of what happened that day, but they always just showed the horror of