N000436
Monday, December 24, 2001 10:53 AM
victims comp
My name is and I am writing to you in regard to the recent
announcement of the preliminary award figures from the September 11th Fund.
My mother was one of most dedicated employees.
She worked for for more than 18 years.
The minimal salary she received kept us
afloat for many years as she struggled to keep her head above water. This
woman raised me all by herself from the age of sixteen to my mid twenties.
We had a wonderful relationship and I refused to leave her all by herself
to live alone until I got married. She was an extraordinary woman who was
admired by all who knew her, for her inner strength and sense of humor.
She taught all her children how to respect and love ourselves above all.
For we could never love others until we truly loved ourselves. She was the
true matriarch of our family and the center of everything we planned.
So without hesitation, my eldest
sister quit her six-figure job in Manhattan to take care of my
sister and her children. has three children of her own and she has
had a very difficult time dealing with this horror. and my mother
were more than just mother and daughter, they were great friends. We all
have been scarred by this event. I myself, witnessed the fire and collapse
right in front of my own eyes from my office building in Manhattan. When
the buildings collapsed I dropped to my knees in front of all my co-workers
and balled my eyes out. That image of the building collapsing is burned in
my memory and appears whenever I close my eyes. I recall walking aimlessly
through Manhattan that day, walking downtown as thousands walked past me
going uptown. I was scanning every face that passed me, hoping to see her
beautiful face. But I never did and I know I will never see it again in
this life. We still have not received any remains either.
My sister's and I speak on almost a daily basis and try to help each
other through the sheer insanity. On September 11th my family members were
victims to one of the most heinous crimes in the history of the world.
Then on December 20th we became victims for a second time. This time, by
our own government that I love so much. The mere pittance that the
government thinks my mother's life is worth, is an insult to our family and
should be, to all of the caring and thoughtful Americans who emptied their
pockets to help the victims families. With regard to the unbelievable
outpouring of monetary support, I just want that thank the American people
from the bottom of my heart for caring so much. But I also would like to
apologize to them, and tell them that their good wishes may not have
reached the people they intended to reach. From what I hear in the media
approximately $1.4 billion has been collected from the public so far, my
family to date has received approximately ??$20,000. Seems to be a little
problem with the math here huh? Let's see?$1.4 billion, 3,500 or so
victims should be about $400,000 per family right? Seems as if the
charities use the same mathematical calculations that the government used
in figuring out the "Victim Compensation Fund". The presumed payouts from
the Government's Victims Compensation Fund are an utter insult and I take
major offense. I keep hearing about the average payout being $ 1.6 million
per family. Well let me give you the actual figures. According to the
charts provided yesterday, our government feels that our mother's life is
worth $250,000.
The other thing I think that needs clarification is the fact that the
government is not giving a "gift" to the victim's families. The government
knows that the airlines were negligent. The airlines did not provide the
proper security to prevent these animals from boarding the planes with
knives in the first place. They did not provide a cock pit door that was
impenetrable. Have you ever seen those cockpit doors? I had a stronger
door on my tree house as a kid. If they can't get in the cockpit, they
can't crash the planes into the WTC and kill 3,000 people. It's that
simple. It is all about profit, and the airlines did not want to eat into
their profit to provide these safety measures that would have prevented
this catastrophe. THAT IS WHY THEY ARE NEGLIGENT AND THAT IS WHY THE
GOVERNMENT BAILED THEM OUT. The government knew that if they didn't step
in, the airlines would go bankrupt. The other little caveat the government
snuck in under our noses in the Airline Stabilization Act is a cap on the
liability to the airlines. Meaning, if we choose not to accept this
"offer" and choose to sue the airlines, then the cost to the airlines would
be minimal. This is unprecedented by the way.
Now back to the offer by the government. I do not argue with the
economic compensation part of the award. Which you see many greedy people
on TV challenging. I do not even argue the fact that my mother's portion
of that amount is only 50,000 compared to the millions that others will
collect. I do not even argue that. What I do find the biggest insult of
this offer, is the non-economic portion. The government states that for
the pain and suffering this has caused all of us we are entitled to
$250,000. Which will be reduced by the amount of my mother life insurance.
Correct me if I am wrong but when was the last time a settlement in a
negligence lawsuit was reduced by the victims insurance. I'll tell you
NEVER!!!! That is money that my mother paid out of her own pocket for.
The airlines didn't pay her premiums, the government didn't pay her
premiums. The thing that gets me so upset is the fact that I personally
know people who have settled lawsuits for minor car accidents that caused
them to miss a few weeks of work for more than $250,000. And these
settlements were purely for pain and suffering. THESE PEOPLE ARE STILL
ALIVE. My mother was a victim of possibly the most hideous crime in the
history of man. And the airlines and the government were asleep at the
wheel. How can the government possibly compare a minor car accident to
this cataclysmic event? I personally, can not even put a figure on the
physical and emotional damage that has befallen my family. I am not saying
that my mother should receive the same amount as others. After all, most
of the people who perished were the sole breadwinner in their homes. These
people need to be taken care of first and compensated at a higher level
than my family. I know what's right and what's wrong. When someone
contacted me from the , I stated that I refused to take
any money until all the mother's with children were taken care of first.
Which is exactly what they did. This is not a matter of greed it is a
matter of respect. I think the American public needs to know the truth
about how this "offer" insults the families of the older people involved in
this tragedy. I implore them to think for one second how they would feel
if it were there mother or father who was crushed to death and then had to
live with the idea that their parents remains may very well lie in a dump
right now. It torments me to write that, but this is the reality of the
situation and we have to deal with that on a daily basis. I need to ask
Mr. (the administrator of the fund) why he feels someone his own
age is worth almost nothing dead or alive? Would he be satisfied that his
family would receive the same compensation as someone involved in a fender
bender?
I for one, love my country and support it every chance I get, but I
am extremely ashamed that my government insulted us this way.
Feel free to contact me if you wish.
Sincerely,
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