September 11 2001 is a date tattooed on the neurons of every person who watched television on the day of those attacks. While that has not changed over the past 15 years, what has is the meaning of this mental tattoo.
What was then seen as a one-off event became the gateway to being part of an existing a worldwide problem. On September 11, Europe gazed in horror at what was going on across the ocean in the US. But the past two years will be remembered as the years that changed Europe’s position from that of bystander to being the main victim.
I was 12 years old in 1994 when the first bus exploded in the centre of Tel Aviv, killing 22 people. My mother gave me this advice, packed with my lunchbox, as I set off for school the next day: “When you are in a public place, always make sure you know where the emergency exits are. During an event in an open space, be certain to have a clear path in case you need to escape.”