In the shadow of 9/11

Living in the shadow of 9/11

Six extraordinary people reflect on how their worlds changed

Chris Nobrega, 2021 (Johnny C.Y. Lam for Maclean's; Mural photo: Getty Images)

An incomplete mission: For Chris Nobrega, no wars were won after 9/11

Over the past two decades, Nobrega has had a unique, occasionally jarring, view of a world in flux. Afghanistan was merely the first stage.

Hadia Essazada (Photograph by Farrah Skeiky; mural photograph: Wasim Mirzaie)

Post 9/11, young Afghans tasted peace. Now, Hadia Essazada is in exile.

When the Taliban fell after 9/11, Afghanistan entered a period of hope. For Essazada, it feels as if the Taliban have won again.

Shirley Brooks-Jones, 2021 (Photograph by Maddie McGarvey; Mural photograph: Courtesy of the town of Gander )

After being stranded on 9/11, Shirley Brooks-Jones gave back

Brooks-Jones started a fund for students in a small town in Newfoundland after a local Lions Club looked out for her—leading to lifelong friendships and Broadway

David Adeeb Hassan, 2021 (Photograph by Carlos Osorio; Mural photo: Carlos Osorio/Reuters)

‘Hatred thrives when there is fear:’ What David Adeeb Hassan has learned since 9/11

‘We are as much a part of the fabric of this community as anyone. But people didn’t know this. So post-9/11, we opened our doors,’ says Hassan, the then-chairman of the London Muslim Mosque.

Brian Clark (Photograph by Spencer Platt/Getty Images; mural photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

9/11 ‘rolls like a movie’ in Brian Clark’s brain

He was on the 84th floor of the south tower. While 9/11 does not haunt Clark to the degree it does so many others, he lives in its shadow.