Israeli saying goodbye from the South Tower
When the phone rang on the morning of September 11th 2001, Sigal Shefi-Asher couldn't have imagined that her husband was about to utter his final words; 'He understood that he was going to die. I understood that those were his last words.'
Sunday marks the 15th anniversary of the September 11th terror attacks. In honor of the occasion, Army Radio will be broadcasting a special program called "102 Minutes," which recounts the events of the day from the view points of nine different people, including Shefi-Asher, a worker saved from the buildings, an NYPD officer, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's chief of staff and others.
In 2001, Sigal and Haggai lived in New Jersey with their two children. Haggai was the president of an American high-tech company and had decided to start another company with a friend in which he would serve as its director.
On the morning of September 11, Haggai went to the city for a conference on the 106th floor of one of the towers.
When Sigal awoke, her daughter Nomi was still sleeping, but her five year old son Roi was awake. "Roi insisted on seeing his dad and drinking hot chocolate with him and that was the last time he ever saw him," recounted Sigal in an interview with Ynet's sister publication, Yedioth Ahronoth.
At 8:00am, Haggai made it to the tower (the first to collapse in the attack) and ascended in the elevator. Sigal recounts, "I took Nomi with me for a walk in the stroller. As soon as I got back, I heard the phone ring and all of a sudden I hear Haggai." In a calm tone, Haggai told her, "There was an explosion; there is a lot of smoke. I understand that I can't get out of here and that I can't be rescued." After uttering those terrible words, Haggai finished the conversation with a personal goodbye to Sigal, which she prefers to keep to herself.
The line then went dead.
Sigal immediately turned on the television to see the horrific scenes occupying every television channel. "I couldn't believe what I was seeing. A plane hit the second tower; people were jumping out of windows. It was a horrible sight."
A moment later, Haggai's parents called to see if everything was alright. Ostensibly, they didn't have a reason to be worried because they knew Haggai worked in New Jersey. She did not hide the truth from them and told them about the terrible conversation she had with Haggai, but immediately hung up in order to keep the line open in case Haggai tried to call again.
Two days after the tragedy, his body was found, intact, in the rubble. Two years later, Sigal and her children returned to Israel. She currently lives in Yehud and her two children are now grown up; Roi is 20 and Nomi is 18.
"Haggai gave me a huge gift," Sigal said, struggling to get her words out. "That conversation is etched in my memory and I go over it again and again. He was saying goodbye to me. He understood that he was going to die. I understood that those were his last words."
Sigal spoke of her thoughts and the never ending yearning. Now, as the anniversary comes back around, the pain intensifies. "In the last few days the tears come back and so does the sharp pain in my heart. There is something about this period that brings me back to that horrible day and it will be with me until I die."
