09 sept 2011
New York: Ten years after the 9/11 terror attack, one of the harshest reality that a 9/11 victim's family faces is never having found the remains of their loved ones.
Many of the people killed in the attacks have never been found. Five scientists work full time on trying to identify DNA to match 1100 missing dead to around 9000 degraded remains. In the last five years, only 26 new identifications could be done.
Charles Wolf lost his wife Katherine on 9/11 attacks. Ten years later, he is still looking for closure. Because, he still has not seen his wife's body. He wishes he had some physical part of his wife, so that the two could be buried next to one another.
"I mean if one believes in any kind of spirituality, one understands that even we say 'the body of so and so.' It's not 'so and so', it's the body of 'so and so' so 'so and so' is still alive in the spiritual world but the body is not alive anymore. But still, you need that, and unfortunately I don't have it," said Charles Wolf.
Like Charles, the last 10 years have been painful for Michael Burke, whose brother was killed in the World Trade Centre's North Tower. William was killed while trying to save a paralyzed man.
"You know it's remarkable to think that in the morning you got a living, lively, loving human being and then you're searching for DNA a couple of days later. And nothing, nothing of the jacket, nothing of the helmet, and he's basically gone into history," says Michael.
9/11 anniversary: Ten years on, relatives pine for remains of loved ones
Five scientists work full time on trying to identify DNA to match 1100 missing dead to around 9000 degraded remains. In the last five years, only 26 new identifications could be done.
New York: Ten years after the 9/11 terror attack, one of the harshest reality that a 9/11 victim's family faces is never having found the remains of their loved ones.
Many of the people killed in the attacks have never been found. Five scientists work full time on trying to identify DNA to match 1100 missing dead to around 9000 degraded remains. In the last five years, only 26 new identifications could be done.
Charles Wolf lost his wife Katherine on 9/11 attacks. Ten years later, he is still looking for closure. Because, he still has not seen his wife's body. He wishes he had some physical part of his wife, so that the two could be buried next to one another.
"I mean if one believes in any kind of spirituality, one understands that even we say 'the body of so and so.' It's not 'so and so', it's the body of 'so and so' so 'so and so' is still alive in the spiritual world but the body is not alive anymore. But still, you need that, and unfortunately I don't have it," said Charles Wolf.
Like Charles, the last 10 years have been painful for Michael Burke, whose brother was killed in the World Trade Centre's North Tower. William was killed while trying to save a paralyzed man.
"You know it's remarkable to think that in the morning you got a living, lively, loving human being and then you're searching for DNA a couple of days later. And nothing, nothing of the jacket, nothing of the helmet, and he's basically gone into history," says Michael.
No comments:
Post a Comment