Dr. Lemma@DoctorLemma
Just found out that on 9/11, when the United States shut its airspace, 38 planes got diverted to a tiny town in Atlantic Canada called Gander, Newfoundland.
The town’s population at the time was around 10,000 people. Overnight, 6,700 strangers arrived. The population nearly doubled in a few hours.
Apparently the town just opened up. Schools, churches, and community halls were turned into sleeping areas. Bus drivers who had been on strike came off the picket lines to shuttle passengers. Pharmacies filled prescriptions for free. The ice rink at the community centre became a giant fridge because there was so much donated food. People invited strangers into their homes for showers, meals, and a bed.
The passengers were only there for four days. Twenty-five years later, many of them are still in touch with their Newfoundland hosts. One flight raised money for a scholarship fund for kids in Gander. It started at 15,000 US dollars and has since paid out over a million dollars to local students.
A musical was made about it called Come From Away. It ran on Broadway for five years.
When a reporter asked one of the Newfoundland women why they did it, she said, “You don’t turn your back on people in need.”
