It has been 5 years ago today that the world was rocked by horror. I remember how people came together in a way they did in the wake of that dreadful day. My husband said, "life in this country will never be the same." He was right. I cried for days, and in the months that passed, I've never felt such a patriotic surge. I was ready to sign up with the military if they take me.
9/11 is a culmination of terror and pain because we were awakened to the truth that America is vulnerable as a target to deranged terrorists. We grieved and wailed because of the many innocent lives that got killed, but we were also inspired with the stories of courage from the men and women who gave up their lives to help others.
This tribute is my small way of remembering one of the many people who died on that tragic day.
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First, let me thank
DCRoe for taking the time to initiate the
2996 Project. It is an honour to be able to participate in this endeavor and remember the
September 11, 2001 victims. For a list of tributes to the other victims, pls click
here**.
I remember "Jemal Legesse DeSantis" 
2,996: A Tribute to the Victims of 9/11
Jemal Legesse DeSantis, single, age 28
Place killed: World Trade Center. Resident of Jersey City, N.J. (USA).
Jemal Legesse DeSantis is a story of struggle and triumph. As a child in the 1970s, he and his brother fled from a repressive Marxist regime in Africa and had been adopted and raised by families in upstate New York. His adopted American parents were Annmarie and Vince DeSantis. He grew up and attended high school in Gloversville, NY. He went to college at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. While attending college, he also worked in a restaurant called Margaux's Restaurant in their sushi/oyster bar. People who met him said that he was classy, warm, energetic, debonair. A sports buff and an athlete, he was on the track and relay team in high school, played league basketball and was constantly working out in the gym. He also had the greatest smile according to Steven Harowitz, whom he met in the summer of 1991 in NC while playing basketball.
Other friends like Jami Dichard and Karen Smith remember him with fondness. Jami met Jemal while he was working at Pace University officiating basketball games for the Lawyer's League. He remembered him as "a gracious player and one of the nicer guys."
Jemal played in that league with the boys on the ESpeed team, Cantor's public affiliate. The investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald suffered the single-most losses of personnel in the World Trade Center Attacks on September 11, 2001 - 658 of the office's 1,000 employees perished. However, there was no mention anywhere in my research whether he worked there or not.
Karen Smith remembered him affectionately because of his warmth and kindness. When she took her son to NYC for a yankees game, he volunteered to escort them on the subway after the game so that they could catch their train safely!
Other people who have met him said that he was a down to earth person with a good heart. He worked hard and thought about his family and friends often and had never said an unkind word about anyone. He was a Muslim and through him, his friends were able to learn about and respect the Muslim religion.
I wish I knew more about Jemal Legesse DeSantis. But my research had been limited to what was said about him on the net.
I can never do justice with this small tribute to Jemal knowing that I only have bits and pieces of his life. I do not know how Jemal spent his last desperate minutes. However, I am almost positive that it is one of the stories of courage in the face of death. I am also sure that the imprint he left on the people that knew him well and loved him so will continue to live on forever.
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free." - Ronald Reagan
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