Twenty-five years ago today, as the world was glued to their TVs in horror, a small Canadian town opened its doors to thousands of complete strangers.
Now that remarkable 9/11 story is coming to Guernsey, with a local am-dram group GADOC staging Tony-Award-winning musical ‘Come from Away’ next month.
On the anniversary of the horrific terrorist attacks, Express decided to look into the remarkable true story behind the songs.
The musical tells the story of what happened in Gander, Newfoundland, after US airspace was closed on 11 September 2001 and hundreds of aircraft were forced to divert.
Thirty-eight of those planes were sent to Gander International Airport, bringing more than 6,600 passengers and crew – plus 19 animals – into a town with a population of fewer than 10,000 people.
The unexpected visitors had come from around the world, many frightened and confused and desperate to find out what had happened to friends and relatives back home.
But while the authorities worked out what to do with thousands of stranded passengers, the people of Gander simply started looking after them.
Speaking 15 years after the event, Mayor Claude Elliott told a Canadian news outlet: “We got together and put everything in motion and got everything arranged for where everybody would sleep.”
Residents opened their homes, while schools, churches and community buildings became temporary accommodation and volunteers organised food, clothes, toiletries and other essentials.
Local reporter Janice Goudie, who was immortalised in the musical, spent the five days covering the story for the Gander Beacon.
She recalled seeing the community come together with remarkable speed: “It was so amazing to see all things come together so quickly.
“Nobody questioned anything. People just did.”
People who had never met before were invited into strangers’ homes to eat, shower, sleep and make phone calls, with the Canadian Government later describing Gander as an “iconic symbol of unity and compassion”.
The passengers eventually remained in Gander for several days before being allowed to continue their journeys, but many of the friendships formed during that time lasted for years afterwards.
Those extraordinary events eventually became the inspiration for ‘Come from Away’, after its creators Irene Sankoff and David Hein travelled to Gander and interviewed people who had experienced them first-hand.
Their interviews with passengers and local residents became the basis for a musical which has since been performed around the world, telling a story that is rooted in one of the darkest moments in modern history but is ultimately about kindness.
It is not a story that tries to make light of 9/11, but instead focuses on what happened afterwards, when ordinary people found themselves faced with an extraordinary situation and chose to help thousands of strangers.
Elliott later summed up what the experience meant to him by saying: “It was a sad day for the world, and certainly for the United States, but we had the opportunity here to show people that there was still a lot of love and generosity left in the world.”
The show’s creators have described it as a “9/12 story”, because its focus is not on the attacks themselves but on the human response in the days that followed.
That is perhaps why ‘Come from Away’ has resonated so strongly with audiences, offering a reminder that even in the aftermath of terrible events, people can still choose generosity and compassion.
The people of Gander did not know they were creating the story for a future hit musical; they simply saw thousands of people who needed help and did what they could.
And the kindness was not forgotten: over the years, passengers have returned to Gander, donated money and established scholarships, turning an act of generosity in the aftermath of 9/11 into a lasting two-way relationship.
The terrorist atrocities that unfolded that fateful Tuesday showed the worst of humanity, but the people of Gander showcased the very, very best.
With lyrics including ‘Welcome to the Rock’ and ‘I am an islander’, ‘Come From Away’ is sure to hit a little harder in Guernsey.
‘Come from Away’ will run for six performances at Beau Sejour from Saturday 17 to Friday 23 October.
Tickets cost £21 or £17 for concessions, with a 7.5% booking fee on top.
