Ground Zero: A story of 9/11
Hello Everyone,
Afghanistan is at its absolute worst right now. The Taliban has taken over the country, and the American army is leaving Afghanistan after 20 years of operation. After watching the news from Afghanistan, I’m very disappointed to learn about violence and terror. People are forced to leave their homes and start life as a refugee. Taliban is against girl’s education and equal rights for women. I don’t know what will happen next.
Well, today on the twentieth anniversary of 9/11 I am going to talk about the terror attack of September 11.
I recently read a book called Ground Zero by the author Alan Gratz. It talks about the Taliban, the nightmare of the terrorist attack of 9/11, and the unrest in Afghanistan. If you don’t know the details about what happened on 9/11 (September 11th, 2001), I would recommend you to read Ground Zero. There was a terror attack on the US on that date when the terrorist group Al Qaeda had decided to attack the Twin Towers in New York. Osama Bin Laden was the leader of the group. Hundreds of people were injured as the tallest tower was hit by hijacked two American Airlines planes and not many survived sadly. The same day the Pentagon was also attacked. Well, I wasn’t born in 2001 but hearing any story of 9/11 absolutely breaks my heart. Especially after the attack, innocent Muslim people were being called terrorists and were mistreated. While reading the book Ground Zero I got the chance to understand the perspective of a 9/11 survivor and life in Afghanistan under the terror of the Taliban.
You must be wondering, why is the book called “Ground Zero”? Well, it is the term for the place after everything is destroyed and turned into piles of rubble. This is what happened after the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Tower of the World Trade Centre in NY.
Ground Zero is about the life of two characters, Brandon, a boy in NY, and Reshmina, an Afghan girl. Brandon currently is in the year 2001 in New York while Reshmina is in the year 2019 in Afghanistan. Brandon is a nine-year-old boy who lives with his father in New York. His mother passed away from cancer when he was young. After being suspended from school, on September 11th morning, he had to go to his father’s workplace at the World Trade Center on the top 107th floor. After wandering off the top floor, as Brandon gets into an elevator, the terrible incident happens! Yes, the tower was attacked and the top floors get destroyed. It is very scary to read the horrible things Brandon and others in the elevator experience. Brandon is worried about his dad who works on the top floor of the tower. In this difficult time, he meets Richard, a nice man with whom he goes through adventures. What will happen to his father? Will he survive the attack? What will happen to Brandon?
Reshmina is an 11-year-old Afghan girl who wants to learn fluent English, not get married as soon as she turns sixteen, wants the Taliban to go away, and get a job as a translator. Her older sister was killed by the American army and her twin brother wants to be a part of the Taliban. One day, Reshmina finds a wounded American soldier on the ground outside and decides to help him. He had lost his eyesight after the attack. She takes the soldier home, and her father helps him and takes care of him. They don’t want the Taliban to find him, but some of her family doesn’t support the decision. Especially her brother, who hates the Americans and looks up to the Taliban. Reshmina’s family, like other people of Afghanistan, feel trapped by a war between the American army and the Taliban. Will her brother inform the Taliban about the wounded American soldier in their house? What will happen to these characters as the story unfolds? Will Reshmina be able to study and become a translator? Will the soldier be alright? How are the characters from 2001 in NY and 2019 in Afghanistan connected? Read this book to find out.
I recommend this book to ages 12 and up. If you’re less than twelve, I recommend that you read this book with a group or with an adult. This book talks about violence and scary stuff featuring the Taliban, death, and fire.