NUEVA YORK (AP).— El 11 de septiembre del 2001, Stephen Feuerman vio las Torres Gemelas en llamas por la ventana de su oficina en el Empire State y observó anonadado cómo una segunda bola de fuego se incrustaba en los edificios.
Corrió por el 78o. piso diciéndole a la gente que saliese, pensando que ellos serían el próximo blanco. Los medios de transporte dejaron de funcionar y no pudo llegar a su casa en el suburbio de Westchester por horas.
Sacudidos por la experiencia, este comerciante de prendas de vestir, su esposa y sus dos hijos pequeños se mudaron en menos de cuatro meses a un suburbio de la Florida que pensaron sería más seguro que Nueva York.
Y lo fue. Hasta el último Día de San Valentín, en que hubo otro ataque con muchas víctimas en Parkland, Florida.
Fotos del ataque a las Torres Gemelas el 11 de septiembre de 2001
FILE– Brooklyn firefighters George Johnson, left, of Ladder 157, Dan McWilliams, center, of Ladder 157, and Billy Eisengrein, right, of Rescue 2, raise a flag at the World Trade Center in New York in this Sept. 11, 2001 file photo. The flag in this photo was raised Monday, Oct. 1, 2001, over the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt during its current deployment. (AP Photo/The Record, Thomas E. Franklin, file) MANDATORY CREDIT MAGS OUT NO SALES TELEVISION OUT —— para la a-8
Workers survey the ruins of the World Trade Center in New York, Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2001. The cleanup and search for victims from the Sept. 11 terrorist attack continues. (AP Photo/LM Otero) —— página A-5, b y n, 3 cols. nuevas x 9.5 cm de altura.
A rescue worker and dog search the rubble that once was the World Trade Center Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2001, two weeks after the terrorist attack. (AP Photo/Roberto Borea) —— a dos nuevas, para la a-8
Smoke continues to rise from the rubble of what was once the World Trade Center complex in New York, Monday Sept. 24, 2001. This photograph was taken from the eigthteenth floor of 111 Broadway just north of Trinity Church in lower Manhattan. The building remains closed, but workers were allowed access to retrieve documents and other necessary items. (AP Photo/Ron Busloff, Alex Millar) —— a tres nuevas, para la a-6
American flags and a sign reading “We Will Never Forget” hang from the heavily damaged American Express building on West Street across from the site of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan Monday, Sept. 24, 2001. Part of the structure of one of the destroyed World Trade Center twin towers can be seen in the foreground. (AP Photo/Roberto Borea) —— página A-7, b y n, 2 cols. VIEJAS x 11.5 cm de altura.
An aerial view of the site of the World Trade Center disaster seen September 22, 2001. More than 6,000 people are feared dead after the September 11 attacks on the landmark World Trade Center twin towers that caused their collapse. REUTERS/HANDOUT/NYC Office of Emergency Management —— a trs nuevas, para la a-9
The site of the World Trade Center towers is seen in this aerial handout photo taken Thursday, Sept. 13, 2001. (AP Photo/New York Fire Dept.) —— a tres nuevas, para la a-7
The rubble of the World Trade Center attack continues to smolder Saturday, Sept.15, 2001, in New York. (AP Photo/Keith Meyers, New York Times, Pool) EDITORIAL USE ONLY —— a cuatro columnas nuevas, para la a-1
The site of the World Trade Center towers is seen in this aerial handout photo taken Thursday, Sept. 13, 2001. (AP Photo/New York Fire Dept.) —— a tres columnas nuevas, para la a-1
An aerial view of the World Trade Center disaster site seen on September 18, 2001. The attacks in New York and Washington left more than 5,000 people dead or missing and over 300 police and firefighters are believed lost in the attack. REUTERS/NYC Office of Emergency Management —— a tres nuevas, para la a-11
Rescue workers dig through the rubble at the base of the World Trade Center Thursday, Sept. 13, 2001, as they search for survivors and victims. They found nothing at this spot. (AP Photo/Stephen Chernin) —— para fotos
Rescue workers continue their search as smoke rises from the rubble of the World Trade Center, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2001, in New York. The search for survivors and the recovery of the victims continues since Tuesday’s terrorist attack. (AP Photo/Beth A. Keiser)
Rescue workers move debris under the twisted steel of the World Trade Center towers Thursday, Sept. 13, 2001, in New York. The search for survivors and the recovery of the body’s of victims continues in the wake of Tuesday’s terrorist attack. (AP Photo/Beth A. Keiser, Pool)
RETRANSMITTED TO IDENTIFY VICTIM Rescue workers carry fatally injured New York City Fire Department chaplain, the Rev. Mychal Judge, from the wreckage of the World Trade Center in New York City early September 11, 2001. Chaplain was crushed to death by falling debris while giving a man last rites in the trade center. The twin towers collapsed on September 11 after being struck by jetliners. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton —— a dos nuevas, para la a-10
This photo released by the New York City Office of Emergency Management shows an aerial view of the World Trade Center area on Friday, Sept. 17, 2001. The date of the photo was included as digital information attached to the image. (AP Photo/pool, NYC Office of Emergency Management) —— a tres nuevas, para la a-10
Lower Manhattan is shown in this satellite image taken Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2001. The image shows an area of white dust and smoke at the location where the 1,350-foot towers of the World Trade Center once stood. (AP Photo/Space Imaging) —— para la plana de fotos
New York City firefighters raise a flag from the rubble of the World Trade Center Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. Two hijacked airliners were crashed into the twin towers by terrorists and subsequently collapsed killing and injuring both the trapped and the rescuers. (AP Photo/ The Journal News, Ricky Flores) MANDATORY CREDIT —— a dos nuevas, para la -6
Emergency personel work close to piles of rubble near the site of the World Trade Center, Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2001, in New York. In the most devastating terrorist onslaught ever waged against the United States, knife-wielding hijackers crashed two airliners into the World Trade Center on Tuesday, toppling its twin 110-story towers. (AP Photo/David Gochfeld) —— a tres antiguas, para la a-7
Rescue workers look over the rubble of the World Trade Center towers in New York, Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2001. The towers collapsed after two commercial aircrafts struck the towers Tuesday in a terrorist attack. (AP Photo/Virgil Case)
Firefighters work in the rubble of the World Trade Center towers in New York, Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2001. The towers collapsed Tuesday after being struck by two commercial aircrafts in a terrorist attack. (AP Photo/Virgil Case) —— a tres nuevas, para la a-8
Firefighters make their way through the rubble after terrorists crashed two airliners into the World Trade Center in a deadly series of blows Tuesday that brought down the twin 110-story towers in New York Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. (AP Photo/Shawn Baldwin)
Firemen work in the rubble at the base of the World Trade Center in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. Mounting an audacious attack against the United States, terrorists crashed two hijacked airliners into the World Trade Center and brought down the twin 110-story towers. (AP Photo/Matt Moyer) —— para la plana de fotos
A group of workers stand at the base of the “ground zero” site of the World Trade Center in New York City, September 29, 2001. New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said it could take a full year to complete the cleanup. REUTERS/Jeff Christensen —— a dos nuevas, para la a-6
A man walks in the street near the World Trade Center towers in New York City, early September 11, 2001. Both towers were hit by planes which crashed into the buildings, which collapsed shortly after. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton —— para la plana de fotos
The remains of burned cars and a New York City police patrol car on the streets outside of the World Trade Center after both towers collapsed after planes crashed into the buildings in New York on September 11, 2001. REUTERS/Peter Morgan —— para la plana de fotos
Smoke billows from the top of one of the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001, as a cloud of smoke and dust rises from the other tower as it collapses. Terrorists crashed two hijacked airliners into the World Trade Center and brought down the twin 110-story towers Tuesday morning. (AP Photo/David Karp)) —— a dos nuevas, a color, para la a-14
RETRANSMITTED TO PROVIDE ALTERNATE CROP — Smoke billows from one of the towers of the World Trade Center and flames and debris explode from the second tower, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. In one of the most horrifying attacks ever against the United States, terrorists crashed two airliners into the World Trade Center in a deadly series of blows that brought down the twin 110-story towers. (AP Photo/Chao Soi Cheong) —— para la pagina de fotos
“No hay ningún lugar seguro”, dice ahora Feuerman, cuyos hijos sobrevivieron, pero perdieron dos amigos en la matanza de la secundaria Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, donde fallecieron 17 personas.
De todos modos, siente que hizo bien al irse de Nueva York y se siente más integrado todavía a Parkland desde la balacera, pues se involucró más en campañas a favor de la seguridad en las escuelas y sobre otros temas.
“Llevamos una buena vida aquí”, afirma. “Esto pudo haber sucedido en cualquier lado”.
Los Feuerman son parte de una cantidad indefinida de personas que se fueron de Nueva York después de que terroristas secuestrasen aviones y los estrellasen contra las dos Torres Gemelas de Nueva York, el Pentágono y un terreno de Pensilvania, matando a casi 3.000 personas el 11 de septiembre del 2001.
Algunos buscaron mayor seguridad. Otros decidieron vivir más cerca de sus familiares. Muchos se replantearon lo que querían de la vida.
Compartimos junto con este texto una galería de fotos publicadas en Diario de Yucatán hace 17 años tras los ataques a las Torres Gemelas de Nueva York.