Photo Interesting photo in history (1 Viewer)

[Ahsoka]

The photo itself doesn’t look that out of the ordinary. Personally if I saw it without context, I’d assume it’s some natural disaster related photo, I’ve seen many of those where people have temporary shelters set up in schools and such. But this situation was a bit different

This photo is from Gander Elementary School sometime between September 11-13, 2001. These people are a few of the 7,000ish people whose flights to the US were diverted to Gander, Newfoundland after the US airspace was closed due to the plane hijakings on 9/11. Gander was not a particularly big town, with a population just under 10,000 people, meaning that the population close to doubled those couple days.

Regardless, Gander made sure to treat the stranded people, who they called plane people, as well as they could. Homes were opened to guests, schools were cancelled and made into sleeping quarters, medications were filled free of charge, the ice rink was transformed into a giant freezer, food was donated by the people of Gander and surrounding areas, necessities and toiletries were given free of change, phone lines were set up so people could contact loved ones, laundromats were allowed to be used free of charge (the passengers on the flights weren’t given their luggage for security reasons), and all kinds of people volunteered to help, including bus drivers who were on strike but agreed to set that aside while the people remained stranded in the town. The locals even helped keep the people entertained, taking them on trips, showing them the town and surrounding nature, organizing activities and games, and so on.

Afterwards, the people who were stranded in the town donated money to set up a scholarship fund for the people of the town and surrounding towns, which has continued to grow. This event has also inspired a Broadway musical called “Come From Away” (which I haven’t seen so idk if it’s good or not). But yeah, that’s the story of that image. The cause is definitely horrible, but this specific part is cute, and really shows the best of humankind I think

 

[Selfmate]

what's good for the goose is good for the Gander???