Sunel Merchant, a survivor of the Sept. 11 attack, shares his testimony and appreciation for firefighters, police and all other armed forces because they are the reason he is alive today.
As Merchant was working on the 49th floor of the World Trade Center, he was sharing a joke with his colleague when suddenly the laughing turned to tears and shock instantly.
"What I do not remember is what the joke was," Merchant said. "I was standing by my desk and looking out the window as I was talking to him, I turned after telling the joke and suddenly something happened. That is when the plane hit the building."
It was all a blur to Merchant, he said they knew something terrible was happening but not a sole understood why or what else was about to happen.
"A lot of people will say they heard a loud noise or bang, that exact moment is totally blank," He said. "If I would have looked out the window a little bit more I may have seen the plane coming sooner because that is the exact direction it came from."
As Merchant tells his story giving tears to peoples eyes he explained the details he could remember.
"At that moment the building shifted forward, like a moving escalator," he said. "That was the most helpless moment of my life because you are on the 49th floor and the whole floor is moving and there is nothing to hold on to."
Merchant said that is when you realized that God controls everything. He has his reasons and he knows why all of these things happen.
"It took me an hour to get out of the building. While I was still on the 30th floor stairs, the second plane hit the second building."
He said at this time they all felt trapped because the noise came from the bottom of the building they were exiting.
The life changing moment for Merchant through all of this is when he saw the first firefighter running toward him, he said.
"I saw the first firefighter coming up. What is really interesting is I was on the 49th floor and I came down 24 flights of stairs at this point. The firefighters were outside of the building needing time to get organized and it took them the same amount of time to arrive at the site and run up 25 flights of stairs with all of their equipment."
He said this really changed his appreciation for many things knowing that someone was willing to risk their life for his.
He said he got out with no physically injuries, but still many mental injuries to this day. Being involved in such a tragedy has a tremendous affect on one's family as well.
"I was not able to contact my family for almost an hour after I was out of the building," Merchant said. "Nobody knew if I was still inside the building or what had happened. When the second building collapsed they still did not know if I was safe or not."
He said his wife and children were very worried while having no contact with him at all, just waiting to hear any sort of news.
"My wife and I carry a pager and a cell phone," he said. "She was sending me a code number we have for emergency's, 786, which in some religions it means 'In the name of God.' It is supposed to be a lucky number. She kept paging me that number which gave me a lot of hope because I knew God was with me."
Merchant said one day his son asked him who his favorite superhero was; Batman, Superman and so on. Merchant replied to him saying the firefighters and all other forces that are human flesh willing to risk their lives for others.
He said this is all the reason for what he does today. Merchant is the owner of the local Philly Connection in Auburn. Today, for Sept. 11 he is providing free meals for all people in uniform; firefighters, police, army, navy and more. This is because he believes providing food for others is a way to bless them.
Merchant said it is a shame it takes an event such as Sept. 11 for people to show their appreciate for those that help fight for our country. He wants to encourage everyone to thank those in uniform.
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