Nineteen years ago. Memories. World on fire. Burning issues.

It’s September 11th. Here’s something I “borrowed” from a Facebook post:

“On this day.. 19 years ago, 246 people went to sleep in preparation for their morning flights, 2,606 people went to sleep in preparation for work in the morning, 343 firefighters went to sleep in preparation for their morning shift, 60 police officers went to sleep in preparation for morning patrol, 8 paramedics went to sleep in preparation for the morning shift. None of them saw past 10:00am Sept 11, 2001. In one single moment life may never be the same. As you live and enjoy the breaths you take today and tonight before you go to sleep in preparation for your life tomorrow, kiss the ones you love, snuggle a little tighter, and never take one second of your life for granted.”

I remember it being a quiet day at the college where I was working. I went down to reception for some reason and found everyone glued to a TV screen. Someone had seen the news and had alerted everyone in the reception area where they had a TV and watched repeated footage of the Twin Towers being destroyed. I drove home early and found my family doing the same thing.

Elsewhere I read today that next year will see the twentieth anniversary of the US-UK invasion of Afghanistan. Safely in the last for most of us, the disruption continues for refugees from places like Afghanistan, many of whom ended up on Lesbos. And now Moria camp on Lesbos is a burnt out mess. The causes of the fire remain under investigation. It’s that time of year when there are always fires - how frightening to think of fires being a kind of seasonal thing. A friend of mine who lives on a Greek island has commented on seeing firefighting planes scooping water from the sea. I have seen that in Galicia in recent years too.

But some people suggest that the fires that destroyed the Moria camp might have been set deliberately. “Some people do not respect the country that is hosting them,” Stelios Petas, a government spokesman, told reporters in Athens. “They believed that if they set fire to Moria, they’d be able to leave the island indiscriminately,” he added, saying only unaccompanied minors would be removed from Lesbos. “We tell them they did not understand. They will not leave because of the fire.”

The Moria camp was already a mess, having a capacity for 3,000 refugees but housing 13,000 and then having 35 people diagnosed with Coronavirus, just to add to the chaos. People fled from the flames, almost certainly losing their few belongings as they went. And the government sent in police reinforcements who tear gassed the people fleeing to prevent them from reaching the main town on the island.  Refugees are sleeping in the open.

Meanwhile in the USA their wildfire season continues. In Oregon more than 500,000 had to leave their homes, something like 10% of the population. Homes have been destroyed, possession have been lost, some people have died. It’s the worst fire season in three decades.  On Thursday night, President Donald Trump approved an emergency declaration in the state, enabling federal assistance to bolster local efforts.

And there’s the difference. State aid may not solve all the problems but it is there.

Here’s another difference. The pictures from Lesbos show grey and grimy ruins of the camp. The California fires, devastating as they are, have produced images of frighteningly astounding beauty.

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!