Ravi Kamble

Enough is enough. I was with Zohran on September 11th 2001. We were 9 years old at school in Morningside Heights. By 9:30AM we realized something was really wrong, because the teachers looked scared and they had paused classes. They had us call our parents to come pick us up. I remember looking at Zohran on his dinky Nokia phone with his dad, as I was on with mine. We both had the same look on our faces because we were realizing our dads were also scared. We were wide-eyed, frightened kids who didn't know the world was changing around us in that moment. We could hear fighter jets flying low over the Hudson. I went home and got under the covers in my parents' bed. I bet Zohran did the same. The jets kept flying overhead as I watched the towers burn on TV, then collapse. The memory of that day is indelible, as it is for every New Yorker. You can say whatever you want about Zohran and his politics. I have, both good and bad. But the sickening weaponization of September 11th against Zohran, who was just another scared kid on that day, isn't just beyond the pale. It's a betrayal of every child and adult who spent that day dizzy with fear and confusion. No apology or retraction is sufficient.