Vistors to the 9/11 Memorial 25 Years Later

MANHATTAN, September 10

A day before the 25th anniversary of 9/11, the line outside the 9/11 Memorial Museum moved forward under a bright sunny sky. People came from all over the world to visit the museum and to see where the towers once stood. Some wanted to remember, to honor those killed and others wanted to learn something more about what happened that day.

Nearby at the twin reflecting pools family members and others sobbed quietly as they ran their fingers over names in the bronze parapet. People mourning in the crowd still bore the weight of loss more than twenty five years old.

Among them,  Miguel and Emma Fravike, a young couple visiting from Italy. They stood near the edge of the South Tower reflecting pool for the first time. They used Google Translate and the little bit of English they knew to communicate.

“It was not easy to be here,” Miguel Fravike said. “It was a very memorable moment in time.” He described the visit as “very emotional,” while his wife stood beside him, saying little but nodding in agreement. 

The couple explained that they had come to New York and had made the memorial site and the museum a stop on their trip. They joined  the steady crowd of tourists, mourners, and the curious who passed through Ground Zero on this day. Each carried  their own reason for being there, like us.