On Monday, April 15, Americans routinely went about their typical Monday afternoon when a brutal reminder of life’s fragility shook the country in the form of two explosions that injured runners and spectators at the Boston Marathon. This terror attack was one of many tragedies to strike America in the past year, including the shooting at a movie theatre in Aurora, the devastating destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy, and the murder of twenty children and six adults in Newtown. These disasters left thousands of individuals traumatized, stricken with grief, and filled with the question: how can we move on after such severe devastation?
To recount the April 15th events at the Boston Marathon, at approximately 2:50 pm on Monday, two bombs exploded near the finish line on Boylston Street in the heart of Boston. The blasts wounded many individuals and left three dead, including an eight-year-old boy. The marathon, described by CNN as the “world’s oldest annual marathon,” attracts thousands of people from all over the country to run on Boston’s celebrated Patriots’ Day. CNN further cites that the explosion left at least 10 victims with amputated limbs while others sustained serious injuries that will require serious operations and close medical attention. For the lucky individuals who evaded physical injury, many will sustain severe psychological repercussions such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or clinical depression. One eyewitness, Roupen Bastajian, is quoted in the New York Times describing the absolute horror of the scene. He said, “these runners just finished and they don’t have legs now… So many of them. There are so many people without legs. Its all blood.”
Another witness, James Brennan, interviewed with CNN to recount his experience of the deadly attack. As manager of a shop “about five feet from where the bomb went off,” he recalled seeing a picture of a woman who was killed in the blast, remembering her from when she had come into his store earlier that day to purchase candy. Ryan Wateland, another eyewitness at the scene, is quoted in USA Today describing the incident as “like 9/11” with people running frantically in different directions. Utter chaos swallowed the area, splattered with blood, debris, and abandoned objects. The number of casualties being treated at local hospitals escalated over the next few hours, first being referred to in the “dozens,” then in the 70s, later in the 100s, and by Monday night, news sites were headlined with big, bold letters: “3 Dead, 144 Injured.”
How does one even begin to fathom such tragedy? For starters, many people are forced to acknowledge that one’s entire life can change over the course of a few seconds. It forces the acknowledgement that all it takes to end an entire life is mere seconds. Thoughts pushed to the back of our minds surface in the wake of these jarring moments.
Some find solace by focusing on the light in the darkness. This is expressed in a quote by Fred Rogers circulating online: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people helping.’” True to her word, many civilians stayed behind to comfort the injured victims while help was on the way. Some of America’s darkest moments are also the moments that unite us the most.
This is the attitude that many people adopted in the face of this incident. Mere hours after the explosions, according to CNN and other major news channels, uninvolved Bostonians reacted by offering their homes and food to the victims and others who had nowhere to stay.
Even within the Stern community, people have been reaching out to one another and offering their support. Devorah Yarmush, a Stern student and native Bostonian explains, “I’m truly overwhelmed by how many people have reached out to me to find out how I am and inquire about the safety of my family…The incredible outpour of concern and support I experienced—and am still experiencing—from so many people, literally all around the world, is really astounding”
Devorah further described her reaction upon finding out about the incident. She provided a suggestion for coping. “I’m deeply saddened by the terror that touched my city and feel like it’s a bit surreal—anyone I know could have easily been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Thankfully that was not the case, but the timing of the bomb, occurring during our transition between Yom Hazikaron to Yom Ha’atzmaut, was startling and sad. It served as a reminder that we, unfortunately, must not only commemorate our own people’s constant encounter with terror, and remember those in Israel’s history who have died, but that we are still combating terror all over the world. Israel is my home, but Boston is too.”
Meira Lerner, a Stern student and fellow Bostonian, shared her pleasant memories of Patriots’ Day and the Boston Marathon, “In the past, I have spent Patriots Day in Boston watching the marathon. I remember my grandfather teaching me how to hand a cup of water to passing runners.” Although she personally did not fear for the safety of her family, since she knew no members were planning to attend the marathon, she feared for the safety of friends who would be running or watching the runners. She explained, “Any terrorist attack is scary. I think everyone—Bostonians and New Yorkers alike—would be affected similarly by the bombings… While terrorist attacks display true evil, they also highlight the incredible selfless nature of majority of people.” Meira is fully confident that the Boston community will “display incredible unity and aid during this time.” Both Meira and Devorah ended their interviews by stating that they are proud to be Bostonians, united as one community in the face of terror.
There is no denying that we live in a scary world, filled with hate, war, crime, and terror. Often when tragedy strikes, we feel utterly helpless. The only thing we can do is stand together, show our support for those affected, and offer help in whatever way possible. It can be as small as changing a Facebook or Twitter status to express that your thoughts are with the victims, or it can be as large as an organized donation or memorial service. Perhaps you may choose to cope with tragedy privately, by increasing your appreciation for life’s little things or praying for the recovery of the victims. Instead of “looking for the helpers” when scary things happen, I encourage you to be a helper in any small way you can. Even small acts can combat the enormity of terror.