John Feal was not at the World Trade Centre when the planes struck, but as a demolition supervisor, he was one of an army of construction workers sent to Ground Zero in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Days after he began working at the site, several tonnes of steel fell on his left foot after part of the structure collapsed. He spent 11 weeks in hospital and half his foot was amputated after he developed gangrene and sepsis.
But he was denied any money from the original compensation fund, which only helped people injured within 96 hours of the attack.
Mr Feal, from Long Island, has since become a prominent voice in the battle to help those who suffered long-term illnesses following the events of 9/11.
More than 2,600 people died at the World Trade Centre on September 11.
First responders rushed to the scene, followed by construction workers including Mr Feal. For days, they sifted carefully through the debris, searching for human remains.
The structure was unstable, as Mr Feal discovered to his cost. Fires burned on the site for months and people working at Ground Zero picked their way through the wreckage, fearful of sustaining injuries from the jagged steel and iron strewn across the area.
Some first responders even wrote their names and phone numbers on their arms in case they were crushed or fell into a crevice.
In the aftermath of the attack, massive dust clouds rose from the site, enveloping the area in a dark gloom.
The wind carried a lethal cocktail of carcinogens including benzene, dioxins and asbestos that hung over Lower Manhattan for months.
Some 400,000 people were exposed to toxic dust from the collapsed twin towers, sustained physical injuries at the site or suffered emotional damage, official estimates show.
Only last year, a study by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City found that first responders were twice as likely to have contracted thyroid cancer than the general population.
Their risk of leukaemia was 41 per cent higher and the rate of prostate cancer was 25 per cent above average.
There were also long-term victims at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where a United Airlines flight crashed after it was hijacked.
Even today, the toll is rising.
At the last count, 255 New York police officers and 253 members of the city’s fire department had died from World Trade Centre-related illnesses.
Many victims were first responders but the toxic fallout from 9/11 also affected people living and working across Lower Manhattan - and Mr Feal took up the cudgels on their behalf.
“I started fighting for myself and then began helping others,” he told The National.
“When I was going to therapy and survivor groups, I saw everybody was going through the same thing that I was.”
Many were suffering from cancer, respiratory sicknesses and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
“The treatment was not good. It took us years to get bills passed to make sure they got free health care and compensation. We had to fight every step of the way.”
Mr Feal joined forces with Carolyn Maloney, a New York congresswoman, and her chief of staff, Ben Chavet, in trying to bring justice to thousands of people who, having contracted serious illnesses, were being left to fend for themselves.
Support was at best patchy after the closure of the original Victim Compensation Fund in 2004.
What aid there was — such as the Medical Monitoring and Treatment Programme — was not especially well funded, receiving only $475 million between 2002 and 2011, a fraction of the $7.4 billion allotted to the original Victim Compensation Fund.
In some cases, survivors had to turn to philanthropic organisations for financial support.
Others were dependent on health insurance.
As early as 2005, Ms Maloney introduced the Remember 9/11 Act to provide health care for those who had contracted diseases such as cancer following the attacks.
The bill went nowhere.
Mr Feal threw his weight behind the campaign. Having finally won a settlement on his own behalf, he spent thousands of dollars bringing other ailing survivors to Washington to lobby for legislation.
He threatened to run primary candidates against any New York congressional Democrats if they failed to vote for a bill providing compensation.
Ms Maloney tried again, introducing the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, named after a police officer and non-smoker who died of respiratory disease.
He was the first New York police officer whose death was attributed to toxins at the World Trade Centre site.
The measure eventually passed in January 2011, albeit with the funding slashed from $7.4bn to $4.6bn, and the 10-year time limit slashed to five because of Republican opposition.
It established the Word Trade Centre Health programme, which covered at least 68 cancers linked to toxins at Ground Zero.
The act, which re-established the Victim Compensation Fund, was supported by Jon Stewart, an American comedian best known as the host of The Daily Show.
He did the same in 2015, when the fund was renewed.
But within three years the Victim Compensation Fund was running out of cash and with the clock running down, pressure mounted for a lasting solution.
A fresh measure, called the Never Forget the Heroes Act, was introduced. Its key provision was to extend the Victim Compensation Act until 2090, again with the support of Mr Stewart.
Appearing before a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee in June 2019, he laid into Congress with astonishing ferocity.
“Behind me, a filled room of 9/11 first responders, and in front of me, a nearly empty Congress,” he said.
The bill passed, albeit with two Republican senators — Mike Lee and former presidential candidate Rand Paul — objecting on grounds of cost.
Care is now in place which should at least provide some financial security for those who have paid dearly over the past two decades.
“These responders and survivors should not have had to drag themselves through the halls of Congress to get action but that is what they had to do,” Mr Chevat said.
“After struggling for so many years, those affected by the toxins are now getting the care they deserve and need, and compensation for their injuries.”
Now 54, Mr Feal regards his suffering as minute compared to other victims of the attack. “My story pales into comparison to those who have died.”
But he takes pride in the success of his campaign. “It is the reason why more than 100,000 people got free health care.
“I don’t want to downplay the significance of others. But if we hadn’t done what we did, there would not have been legislation today.”
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
FIGHT CARD
1. Featherweight 66kg
Ben Lucas (AUS) v Ibrahim Kendil (EGY)
2. Lightweight 70kg
Mohammed Kareem Aljnan (SYR) v Alphonse Besala (CMR)
3. Welterweight 77kg
Marcos Costa (BRA) v Abdelhakim Wahid (MAR)
4. Lightweight 70kg
Omar Ramadan (EGY) v Abdimitalipov Atabek (KGZ)
5. Featherweight 66kg
Ahmed Al Darmaki (UAE) v Kagimu Kigga (UGA)
6. Catchweight 85kg
Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) v Iuri Fraga (BRA)
7. Featherweight 66kg
Yousef Al Husani (UAE) v Mohamed Allam (EGY)
8. Catchweight 73kg
Mostafa Radi (PAL) v Abdipatta Abdizhali (KGZ)
9. Featherweight 66kg
Jaures Dea (CMR) v Andre Pinheiro (BRA)
10. Catchweight 90kg
Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Juscelino Ferreira (BRA)
MATCH INFO
Karnatake Tuskers 114-1 (10 ovs)
Charles 57, Amla 47
Bangla Tigers 117-5 (8.5 ovs)
Fletcher 40, Moores 28 no, Lamichhane 2-9
Bangla Tiger win by five wickets
Votes
Total votes: 1.8 million
Ashraf Ghani: 923,592 votes
Abdullah Abdullah: 720,841 votes
Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites
The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.
It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.
“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.
The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
The line up
Friday: Giggs, Sho Madjozi and Masego
Saturday: Nas, Lion Bbae, Roxanne Shante and DaniLeigh
Sole DXB runs from December 6 to 8 at Dubai Design District. Weekend pass is Dh295 while a one day pass is Dh195. Tickets are available from www.soledxb.com
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
Mrs%20Chatterjee%20Vs%20Norway
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ashima%20Chibber%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rani%20Mukerji%2C%20Anirban%20Bhattacharya%20and%20Jim%20Sarbh%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
THE BIO
Favourite car: Koenigsegg Agera RS or Renault Trezor concept car.
Favourite book: I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes or Red Notice by Bill Browder.
Biggest inspiration: My husband Nik. He really got me through a lot with his positivity.
Favourite holiday destination: Being at home in Australia, as I travel all over the world for work. It’s great to just hang out with my husband and family.
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
RACE CARD
6.30pm: Baniyas Group 2 (PA) Dh 97,500 (Dirt) 1,400m.
7.05pm Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,200m
7.40pm Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,400m
8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,400m
8.50pm Rated Conditions (TB) Dh 120,000 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm Handicap (TB) Dh 95,000 (D) 1,200m
10pm Handicap (TB) Dh 85,000 (D) 2,000m
Saturday's schedule at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
GP3 race, 12:30pm
Formula 1 final practice, 2pm
Formula 1 qualifying, 5pm
Formula 2 race, 6:40pm
Performance: Sam Smith
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 3.9 seconds
Price: Dh230,000
On sale: now
Stormy seas
Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.
We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Match info
Manchester United 4
(Pogba 5', 33', Rashford 45', Lukaku 72')
Bournemouth 1
(Ake 45 2')
Red card: Eric Bailly (Manchester United)
Company%20profile
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