story5942.xml
Title
story5942.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-09-12
911DA Story: Story
Our 17-year-old daughter, Victoria, who was adopted by my husband and myself from Guatemala 3 years ago became a US citizen on Valentine's Day, 2001. On 9/11/2001, John Booker, her father and my husband, was working in Argentina, and she and I were preparing her for school. I heard on the radio that something had happened at the World Trade Center and urged her to turn on the television---to see the World Trade Center on fire. She turned to me with the eyes of a child who has already seen too much horror in her life [including losing both birth parents by the age of 7 and being put on the streets of the very dangerous Guatemala City to beg for coins at age 3]. Her face collapsed in tears and she collapsed in my arms. The World Trade Centers collapsed to her growing terror.
After a while, she agreed that she could go to school---if I would work at home [only 1-1/2 miles from school] that day. She went to school and I tried to work, frankly unable to hold a coherent thought. When I picked her up at the end of the day, she was so sad, this beautiful child we wanted to give happiness to. "One of my teachers was crying," she said, "She's from New York and she's afraid her friends were in there." And later, "You and Papa made me an American, Mom, and now I'm a target."
After a while, she agreed that she could go to school---if I would work at home [only 1-1/2 miles from school] that day. She went to school and I tried to work, frankly unable to hold a coherent thought. When I picked her up at the end of the day, she was so sad, this beautiful child we wanted to give happiness to. "One of my teachers was crying," she said, "She's from New York and she's afraid her friends were in there." And later, "You and Papa made me an American, Mom, and now I'm a target."
Collection
Citation
“story5942.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed January 14, 2026, https://www.911digitalarchive.org/items/show/18148.