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Ten Years On

Scartlett MccGwire was in Kosovo when the planes flew into the twin towers.

By Scarlett MccGwire

11 Sep 2011, 19:00

I was working in Kosovo on 9/11. On returning, a friend told me that it must have been rather frightening being in a Muslim country. I cannot think of a safer place. Kosovo Albanians have always defined themselves by nationality rather than religion. They were so grateful for the NATO bombing which liberated them that they called a major thoroughfare in Pristina, Bill Clinton Avenue and named dozens of babies born in the months (and in some cases years) after the war Tonyblair.

The news of the attacks provoked shock and sadness there. An impromptu candlelight vigil was held that evening in the centre of the capital. Most others watched television, trying to piece together exactly what happened and why. The next day I tried to run a training course for women candidates in the upcoming elections. Some had been up all night in front of the TV, grieving for the families of the dead; others had managed a couple of hours of sleep. The hotel staff were exhausted; the red-eyed manager said he found it difficult to stop crying. He was not alone. Their hearts were in New York. The only violence was stones thrown through the windows of an Islamic charity.  

Tony Blair announced that planes would no longer be allowed to fly over London and I wondered how 9/11 would affect ordinary life. Returning home a few days later, looking down at one of my favourite views, the Thames winding its way through the capital, clearly the panic was over.

Hindsight 10 years on is depressing. Yes, Bin Laden is dead, but our actions allowed him to become a hero to far too many Muslims instead of marginalising him. Standing should to shoulder with the United States and taking vengeance on Afghanistan, many, many more ‘innocent’ Afghans were killed than the number of victims. Attacks have quadrupled since last year, running at over 20,000 a month. Politicians talk of leaving democracy and a strong Afghan army when the troops leave in four years; reality promises to be rather different.

And then there is Iraq. Sadam Hussein is no loss, but a once modern country is now a violent client state with a barely functioning infrastructure. The invasion lost the US all sympathy it gained by 9/11; deepened the fissure between Muslims and the west; wrecked Tony Blair’s credibility in Britain and cost countless unnecessary lives.  

It could have been so different.