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Saturday, 22 Sep 2001:
I am not sure how many of you have seen the
pictures on the news but a factory exploded yesterday in Toulouse
but the following is what we experienced and there were many
more who were closer to the incident.
We were all in class when there was a bright
flash of light. I looked out the window and saw the explosion
building a plume of smoke. Within a fraction of a second some
of the windows blew out and we threw ourselves to the floor.
As we were doing this there was a huge explosion that shook
the building, blew in all the windows, knocked down parts
of the ceiling and the lights. 8-12 of us were hurt from the
flying glass and the glass that was on the floor. We immediately
left the building and could see a huge cloud of smoke and
dust. More frightening was seeing each other with blood runing
down our faces and arms. We immediately split into groups
of injured and non-injured in search of medical help. Normal
classes had not yet commenced so there was no nurse in the
building and we had been split up from the majority of our
group. When I ducked under the table my cell phone fell out
of my pocket so I had no way of contacting any one. The other
5 people with me could not make calls with there cell phones
because the network was so busy.
We were escorted off campus and as we were walking
we were wondering if it was a terrorist attack on the metro
or the city capital which are both always full of people.
After 15-20 minutes or less we could smell amonia and there
was a cloud blowing over the campus. At that point I figured
it was a factory that exploded and terrorism but we were not
sure until several hours later.
In front of the school there was a half-assed
medical center where they cleaned our cuts with something
that hurt more than turpentine and the media, much like the
U.S. was in everyone's faces. I had a large cut in the palm
of my hand that would not stop bleading and a small cut on
my head that covered part of my face in blood. We finally
met up with our professors and put around 10 people in 2 SMALL
cars. The roads were blocked and after 10-20 minutes we were
not moving at all. We were in front of a medical office so
we all got out to try and get 6 of us treated. It took 20
minutes or more to finally find the doctor who then had to
send his assistant to the pharmacy to buy thred for stiches.
In the mean time my hand had bled continuously on my sweatshirt
which I was using as a pressure bandage to stop the bleeding.
I finaly recieved 3 stitches in my hand only becuase he did
not have enough material to give me any more. Several others
were treated for their cuts including someone who recieved
2 stitches in her head. After we were all treated we had to
walk a few miles to get back to the center of the city where
we all live. The majority of the buildings had windows blown
out and everyone was wearing a mask because of the chemicals
in the air.
We finally made it home and slowly met up with
our friends who had been in class with us. Several people
gathered all the books and personal effects of others so nothing
that we know of was lost. Throughout the city businesses were
closed and life was very quiet and shocked. Fortunately my
stiches were the most extensive treatment required but many
people who were sitting next to the window have cuts from
the glass that flew at us.
The two people who were looking at me when I
looked out the window have said that they will never forget
the look of horror on my face nor will we forget the fear
for each other and ourselves as we were shaken by the explosion
and saw each other bleeding. Now that the shock is gone we
are all very tired, stressed and jumpy. When I see a flash
of light I flinch and start to crouch, when there is a loud
noise my heart races and even when a car reves its motor I
react as if it is going to hit me. Though there is relief
that it was not a terrorist attack the shock and experience
of a major explosion is unnerving.
I have described this to you in detail so that
when you think of the victims of a terrorist attack anywhere
in the world you can relate it to the first hand information
from someone you care about. More importantly, when you think
of U.S. retaliation to terrorism think of this story and the
impact it has had on us, then relate it to those who will
experience the same fear and pain at no cause of there own.
I will truly never look at life, war or love the same for
the rest of my life and I hope this story will do the same
for you.
Life in Toulouse continues and the last 2 weeks
have changed all of us more than our entire existance up to
this point. The rest of the year here should only be better
and remember that life is for living, not living in fear.
love,
Brandon
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