 |
|
 |
 |
Gander sees influx of 6,500
Communities act as terrorism affects Canada
By Paul Banks, The Beacon
|
Back to 911... |
If there were ever any doubts about the global effect of terrorism in every town in the world, they were soon forgotten in the Gander region by Tuesday.
As local residents were stunned, like millions of others across the globe, their town and other outlying areas became an extended community of circumstance.
By late afternoon on Tuesday, 37 commercial and military aircraft had been diverted to Gander and were sitting on the tarmac because of U.S. airspace being shut down over terrorist attacks on New York City, Washington, D.C., and other targets.
With it came 6,500 passengers and crew, essentially increasing the population of Gander by a rough 60 per cent. The 37 planes that sat in Gander idle for several days -- as the world waited for travel to get back to some sort of normalcy -- were half of all of those that had to make unscheduled landings in the entire province.
After many passengers flew over the North Atlantic and then spent at least 10 hours in airplane cabins on the ground, a bolstered complement of RCMP and immigration officers began the long, slow and meticulous process of screening and performing security sweeps of each aircraft.
The first passengers were eventually able to get off a plane by mid-evening on Tuesday. It wasn't until 3:30 p.m. the next day that all passengers had been screened.
As of The Beacon's deadline on Friday, 12 of the diverted commercial planes had taken off from Gander, taking about 1,800 people. Some of the overseas flights destined for the states, with US airspace still very limited, went back to Europe.
At last word, airport authority officials expected all diverted aircraft to be gone by today, after working around the clock with rigorous security over the weekend.
It was estimated 200 to 300 people were being screened per hour, with the airport lounge becoming a confusing mass of people.
Also on Friday, much of the normal domestic air services resumed, but with the possibility of delays.
And there were numerous other problems. By late last week, some frustrated passengers, weary from the ordeal and anxious to get to their destinations, decided that they would not get on flights that were heading back to Europe, and took transportation into their own hands.
Some rented cars, while others chartered buses. But there was word that they could face further delays with weather playing havoc with Marine Atlantic's Port aux Basques and Argentia ferry runs.
There were also reports of passengers who had refugee status for the U.S. and refused to go back to Europe. It left officials scrambling to get them into the U.S. as soon as possible.
The whole crisis, of course, sent the community at large into the most massive emergency measures operations in recent times. It may have been the most spectacular sight of airplanes at Gander International Airport since the Second World War.
Agencies like the Town of Gander, Red Cross, the airport authority and the Salvation Army, among others, tirelessly co-ordinated what Gander Mayor Claude Elliott called a state of emergency.
Meanwhile, the airport had been sealed off with tight security as the emergency measures control centre with passengers being screened, registered and then transported to temporary lodging.
The community was expedient in its response. Volunteers worked around the clock -- some right through nights and into mornings -- in several temporary shelters or brought supplies such as blankets and food items to the facilities.
Shelters in the area included all three public schools and the local College of the North Atlantic in Gander, just about every church in Gander, service club buildings, all hotels in the airport town, a school, church and camp in the Glenwood/Appleton area, a school in Gambo and three schools in Lewisporte.
Other communities such as Glovertown went into high alert and prepared to accommodate visitors if necessary.
But just about every community in central Newfoundland had some sort of effort to help in the situation, with churches, organizations and individuals supplying bedding, food and other items.
On a crisp and sunny Wednesday morning, Gander, which has a resident population of about 10,000, resembled a town of a much different scale. Restless passengers from all over the world, strolled along the streets of Gander, with sleep being the last thing on many minds.
They were walking in the downtown core and Town Square area of Gander, passing by tens of large municipal election signs that were noticeable, but seemingly insignificant last week.
For the most part, many passengers out in the town were happily wading their time, but mildly anxious for many different reasons.
"I'm enjoying the scenery here, went shopping and then the head master for the school showed us the (Silent Witness) memorial. We are enjoying the hospitality here. We're so overwhelmed," said Gabriele Holzbach, who was traveling from Germany to Washington, D.C., with her three-month-old daughter to visit her husband.
"We're just waiting now. There's no news, but you're making it so nice here. I'm anxious about what's going on and for the future of the states and the world."
Sandy Jenner from London, and also on her way to the U.S. capital, said she was in a state of calm insomnia after 12 hours in a airplane seat in Gander.
"I'm drinking lots of coffee. I can't sleep yet. I'll try to get a few hours in tonight. You have to make the best of the situation. But the people here have been great. It's been just fantastic and there's nothing that they won't do for you.
"It's them pulling together that's just absolutely brilliant. They need medals these people.
"I'm fine about being here, it's a bit like being in a dream. It's a very strange feeling watching it on TV. But I don't want to leave and be fearful of it."
There seemed to be a consensus from the many overtired people who did not realize they would be in Gander on Sept. 11. It was a feeling of praise for the Newfoundlanders who did everything they could to help out.
"It was a pleasant surprise. Getting off the plane was like a feeling of escape. And then to find school buses waiting with cheerful people that I had never met was fabulous," said Bob Sadur, who was on his way to Newark, N.J., after a vacation in Rome.
He was one of the lucky ones to get off the planes first and be taken to a busy, but serene Hotel Gander.
"Every single person -- the people driving the bus, preparing the meals -- were volunteers. I have to send a love letter to Gander."
It was an unnerving flight for Mr. Sadur as his plane reached North America. He said the pilot addressed passengers in Italian, which he doesn't understand. "There was a ripple of reaction. But the first thing that I thought was that it was an inconvenience of something. In English, he gave minimal information. But I'm not critical of the pilot. When we got on the ground he leaked a little bit at a time.
"I happened to have a cell phone, and I picked up a signal. I immediately called my daughter. The shocking thing was when she told me the building went down. I'm avoiding (the news) right now."
Many others did not. Getting into the hotel was the first time they got specific details on the events that took place earlier, affixed on a large-screen TV, some with tears, others stoic.
A very tired Mayor Elliott said on Wednesday morning that he never realized the impact the incident in the U.S. would have on Gander.
"We were notified about 11:15 that everything was coming out of the sky. I was not prepared or did not expect what I have seen here in the last 24 hours. We're prepared for a plane crash, being an airport town. It's a good chance you can have one, but you're only talking about 300 people.
"Never in my wildest dreams did I think we would have to be dealing with 6,000 people all at one time, in a matter of two or three hours."
However, the mayor said the calls of aid were almost immediate. Towns from all over the region offered what they could to help Gander deal with the sudden influx of people.
"As a community, we've had hundreds of people offering their homes to put people up, feed them and give them a bed to sleep in. I think when you look at what happened and the devastation, it was just people's compassion. The region came through," said Mayor Elliott.
The town had looked at the possibility of setting up the Gander Community Centre to house stranded passengers. However, because ice is in place, it was determined it would have taken several hours too long to set up. The town decided to utilize it's resources in other ways.
"I have never been so proud of the community. Regardless of politics, what I have seen today makes me very proud of Gander," said Mayor Elliott. "I know some of these people will come back here because of the way they've been treated."
Local stores and banks opened up early to help accommodate needs of those getting off planes, and extra shipments of food and toiletries were made to deal with the demands.
Many of those who got off the planes went directly to telephones to contact family and friends. The demand for telephones was so great that Newtel set up 50 outside of its offices in Gander.
James Paton Memorial Hospital went into a heightened mode at around 11 a.m. on Wednesday, assembling its team to deal with increases for health services. It also released 200 cots from its emergency hospital setup for beds at two of the schools.
The Emergency Measures Organization was in charge of the hospital response.
"It's gone very smoothly I think," said David Lewis, the CEO of the Central East Health Care Institutions Board. "It's been a complete community effort."
The medical needs dealt mostly with prescriptions, and the hospital worked with local pharmacies to help fill requests. One concern was the effect of passengers sitting in airplanes for so long, but Mr. Lewis said there were no problems.
The Canadian Forces brought in 6,000 cots to the province to help with accommodations.
- Back to Main 911 Page -
|
|
|
 |
