GE and Others Help in Huge Numbers . . . Aiding Victims and Their Families

○ . . . In Washington D.C. and New York City more than three times the average number of people are flocking to donate blood at donation centers. From the day of the terrorist attack to September 12, thousands of citizens lined up at one donation center and waited 7 to 8 hours. The center requested that ``they stop donating blood for the time being and come back next week.``

Prominent American corporations such as General Electric, Sysco Systems, Wells Fargo volunteered to donate thousands of dollars to help victims and their families. On September 12, GE decided to donate $1, 000, 000 (approximately 13 million won) for families of New York firefighters and policemen who died in the rescue effort, and the computer network company Sysco Systems, and Wells Fargo promised to donate $1, 000, 000 each to the Red Cross. Telecommunication service company Sprint gave $500, 000 in donations and announced plans to cancel payments for the 2300 mobile telephone calls made by rescue workers. Many other corporations such as Heinz pledged to make donations in the hundred thousands, and restaurant chain Stop and Shop is accepting donations rather than payment for food.

○ . . . Head of the Palestine independent government Yassir Arafat also participated in donating blood for American victims of the terrorist attack at the Sifa Hospital in the Gaza strip. ``We offer the small help that we can give to American President George W. Bush and American citizens.`` Mr. Arafat said after giving blood.

Asked whether he had anything to say to American citizens, Mr. Arafat repeated the statement `May God bless them` three times, reported British PA press on September 12.

○ . . . One of the publicly known victims in the incident was the producer of popular American TV sitcom `Frasier` David Angell. Mr. Angell was a veteran producer who had received six Emmy awards. He was on board American Airlines flight 11 in order to attend a friend`s wedding when the plane was hijacked and crashed into the first tower of the World Trade Center.

Also, actor Anthony Perkins` wife and actress Marisa Berenson lost her sister Barry Berenson Perkins in AA 11. She worked as a photographer and actress.

Daniel Lewin, owner of internet communication technology company Akamai Technologies was on board the same flight and was killed. He was one of the top ten millionaires in 1999. Edmund Glazer, vice president of MRV Communications, was also killed on board AA 11.

○ . . . New York City announced on September 12 that they have prepared 10, 000 body bags for victims. ``We have added 5000 extra body bags to the 5000 bags currently available in New York City.`` stated Ellen Borovkov, spokesperson for the New York City Department of Health. She projected that the number of victims may amount to 10, 000.

However, New York City Mayor Rudolph Guliani seemed hesitant to make estimates on the number of victims. To reporters` question, ``Is it true that 6000 body bags have been secured.`` he simply answered ``Yes.`` `` 82 deaths have been confirmed, 370 firefighters and policemen are reported missing.`` said Mayor Guliani.

○ . . . At the site of the destroyed New York World Trade Center, rescue teams looking for victims buried in the rubble called in search dogs, sound detectors, heat detectors and used all available resources to rescue survivors. Yet they have found only a handful of survivors and occasionally tracked buried victims who gave their last cry before dying in the wreckage.

Meanwhile, the wreckage is being transported to trash facilities on Staten Island next to Manhattan. FBI agents lit bright inspection lights and searched through the wreckage for the remains of the planes and black boxes well in to the night.

○ . . . New York firefighters continued their heroic rescue efforts at the site of the tragedy even after losing hundreds of their fellow firefighters. Thomas Von Essen, Chief of New York Fire Department said, ``Around 300 persons working at the World Trade Center site are missing. It appears that most of them have lost their lives.``

Adding to the heartache was the death of Ray Downey, chief of special operations FDNY and leader of New York volunteer team during the Oklahoma federal building bombing in 1995.

``Words like war zone can`t express the magnitude of the tragedy. It`s hard to count just the bodies that I have seen.`` said one firefighter.

○ . . . Online auction network ebay cancelled all auctions of wreckage and other material connected to the World Trade Center terrorist attack. ebay took this step when about 200 items such as videotapes, photos, and fragments of the wreckage went online immediately after the incident on September 11.

Ebay foresaw that sales of merchandise related to the terrorist attack would flood the website and eliminated all such items from the auction site.

○ . . . American insurance companies announced, ``The damage in property from the terrorist attack exceeds all imagination and it is not possible to make a calculation right now.``

At the first bombing of the World Trade Center in February, 1993, when a bomb that exploded on the second floor below ground killed 6 people and injured around 1000 people, the insurance companies paid $5, 010, 000, 000 to victims.

The recent attack destroyed the 110-floor twin towers, the 47-floor building number 7, and threatens to destroy building 5 and other buildings within a 1 km radius of the attack. Involved parties estimate that insurance payments will cost over 400 million dollars (approximately 52 billion won).

Meanwhile, the British paper The Guardian reported on the 12th that the New York Harbor authorities, who own the World Trade Center, never imagined that the twin towers would fall and that only one of the buildings was insured.

○ . . . The American government respectfully refused Japan`s aid for relief and restoration on September 12. Japanese Minister of State, Hukuda Yasuo announced at a press conference on the 12th, ``Our government was ready to send an emergency rescue team but the U.S. conveyed the message, `We are grateful for your offer but we have to refuse because the measures we are taking to address the situation is enough for the present time`.``

○ . . . As if reflecting the immense interest in the recent incident, books on the World Trade Center, terrorist attack suspect Osama bin Ladin, and Nostradamus` prophecies have risen side by side on the Amazon.com bestseller list.

Angus Kress Gillespie`s book on the World Trade Center, `Twin Towers` surpassed former GE CEO Jack Welch`s autobiography and topped the bestseller list. Another book on the World Trade Center, `Divided We Stand` by Eric Darton also rose to number five on the list. John Hogue`s `Nostradamus` rose to number three, and Simon Reeve`s `The New Jackals` on the role of Osama bin Ladin in future terrorism rose to number four.

Kang Sue-Jean sjkang@donga.com