Gander began as a tiny airport in Newfoundland, Canada in 1935 as a refueling and emergency landing station for flights between New York and London. Then, during the second world war it became a military base, expanding in size. After the war the airport became open for civilians, and a town began to build around it. It was rather small and unnoticed until the day of the terrorist attacks.
Thirty eight planes, the second highest total landed under Operation Yellow Ribbon, were ordered to land in Gander. Almost 6,700 people were stranded in this tiny town. Most did not know what had happened, only learning of the terror attacks as they were being thoroughly inspected by security agents at the gates. They were not allowed to have their suitcases due to security concerns. Within the span of a day, Gander, having a population of not even 10,000, had a 66% population increase with people from all around the world.
The town welcomed them with open arms. The hotel in town was filled to capacity, so the bus drivers dropped their picket signs to transport the refugees to the schools which had been converted to shelters. The shelves of the local stores were bare as volunteers cooked and prepared supplies. The lives of everyone in town were put completely on hold as they took care of all of these displaced people. Many families opened their homes when the shelters could hold no more. They offered their cars and showers to help out any "plane people" they came across. These and other kind acts were offered without compensation for six days.
What inspired the whole community to band together in helping these refugees? We often hear stories about the bystander effect, and how everyone would stand aside and ignore emergencies. What caused the citizens of this town to leap into action?
The bystander effect defines a phenomena in which people are less likely to help others in need of help when they are in a crowd. They might notice the emergency, then see the other people around them are not reacting and decide that it must not really be an emergency. They might assume someone else in the crowd will do something instead. They might be afraid to look like a fool in front of the other people. What stopped the people of Gander from behaving the same way? There were a lot of risks in letting these people into their homes and shutting down their schools, but they did it all the same.
Our textbook describes the cost-reward model as one of the ways that people will analyze a stressful situation and whether or not they should help. If the benefits of helping outweigh the potential costs, people tend to help each other. Other studies show that sympathy or personal distress can also help increase the likeliness of a person assisting in a crisis situation.
In the case of Gander, the 9/11 terrorist attacks were terrifying. No one knew what had caused these planes to crash into the Twin Towers at the time. They didn't know if another world war was starting, if they were safe or not. They had television feeds of the towers burning and collapsing running all day long. They easily could be feeling distress over seeing all of that.
The refugees arrived with very limited information, if any at all. A lot of them learned about the events of the terrorist attack after leaving the planes. They had family that didn't know where they were, or if they were okay. Some of them had other friends and family members on flights that day as well.They were frantic to contact the people they loved, and had nothing but the clothes on their backs and whatever carry-ons they brought. It would be easy for a citizen of Gander to pity them or sympathize with their fear.
Quotes from the residents of Gander seem to imply that this very well was the case.
“Everyone looks at us and says that’s an amazing thing that you did, and the bottom line is I don’t think it was an amazing thing, I think it was the right thing you do.”
--Diane Davis, 2017
"You felt so bad for them. They didn't know where they were or what was going on back home or who we were."
--Beulah Cooper, 2017
The kindness of these people have been immortalized in a Broadway musical titled Come From Away. You can find the whole soundtrack on YouTube easily. It details the stories of some of the people on the planes and the townsfolk, and goes over the highlights of the ways the "plane people" entertained themselves while they were in town. A journalist, Jim DeFede, wrote a book focusing on the people of Gander and is available on Amazon.
If you want to learn more about what the town did for the refugees and don't have the time to read a book or listen to a whole musical, I recommend reading the links below.
Are there any things I might not have considered when analyzing the motivations of this town? Do you think that something like this could happen again, or was this just a fluke?
References:
Dvorak, P. (2016, September 10). On 9/11, a tiny Canadian town opened its runways and heart to 7,000 stranded travelers. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/on-sept-11-a-tiny-canadian-town-opened-its-runways-and-heart-to-7000-stranded-travelers/2016/09/08/89d875da-75e5-11e6-8149-b8d05321db62_story.html?utm_term=.2525b6ecfda9
Gillies, R. (2011, September 4). In unlikely place, the human face of 9/11. Retrieved from http://www.nbcnews.com/id/44391951/ns/us_news-9_11_ten_years_later/t/unlikely-place-human-face/#.XKV6sphKhPY
Hortensius, R., Schutter, D. J., & de Gelder, B. (2016). Personal distress and the influence of bystanders on responding to an emergency. Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience, 16(4), 672–688. doi:10.3758/s13415-016-0423-6. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4949296/
Lackey, K. (2017, September 8). An oasis of kindness on 9/11: This town welcomed 6,700 strangers amid terror attacks. Retrieved from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2017/09/08/gander-newfoundland-september-11-terror-attacks-kindess-come-from-away/631329001/
Moore M. (2018, September 11). Meet the Marsons, the couple brought together in Gander during 9/11. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/meet-the-marsons-1.4818013
Paulson, M. (2016, October 31). A 9/11 Parable, Resurrected in Newfoundland. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/01/theater/come-from-away-in-newfoundland.html
Trex, E. (2018, September 10). September 11th and the Hospitable People of Gander, Newfoundland. Retrieved from http://mentalfloss.com/article/31491/september-11th-and-hospitable-people-gander-newfoundland
Washburn, L. (2017, September 7). Archive: 9/11 fear sent scores of jets to Canada. Retrieved from https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/nation/2017/09/07/9-11-fear-sent-scores-jets-canada/643634001/
No author is given but I read this, too. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/gander-on-9-11-told-you-were-the-best-of-us-1.1073493
Wow that is an awesome an inspiring story! I have always been frustrated by the bystander effect, it just has never made much sense to me why people would walk away from somebody truly and obviously in need. Unfortunatly these are the stories you hear the most of. It was great to read about the opposite happening in this little town. I do think this type of thing could, and does, still happen. I feel like the difference is you rarely will see a situation of this magnitude. I have to believe that countless good deeds are done every day, deeds that go against the bystander effect. These good deeds simply don't get the publicity that dramatic examples of the bystander effect receive. Would you agree or disagree with this thought/hope?
ReplyDeleteI agree with your thought on the bystander effect. I think that many small acts are done every day, while we haven't had something of such a large maginitude in many years. We did have a large output of help from the community when the fathers day flood happened in Houghton. I know of some people who didn't have severe damage done to their homes who went out and helped those who were worse off.
DeleteThats a really good example with the Fathers Day flood. It was really cool to see so much outpouring of help from so many people during that time. I think that situation also went to show just how much community help like that can help bring people and overall communities together.
DeleteSo do you think there is a way to get these kinds of good deeds in the news more? Obviously, news outlets make money with fantastic headlines, but I feel like this is more important than making money, you know? How should we circulate it when people break this unfortunate norm?
DeleteI wasn't really cognitive at the time that this was happening, but I think the times have changed a bit in regards to spreading good news. I've seen clips of major news stations talk about good karma things that spread around Facebook, talk shows will invite obscure guests that make enough of a splash on the internet. Maybe if the event had happened closer to now, people would have been able to hear about it easier. In 2011 a bunch of people came for the ten year anniversary of the event and the town made it a big event. That would have been the perfect time. It might be too late for Gander, but I don't think something like that could easily happen again in the future!
DeleteThis story really warms my heart to read and gives me hope for the future. I’m really happy those townsfolk helped out those displaced after 9/11. This story could have very easily turned into a horror story with the majority of people having to sleep out in the gutters or being taken advantage of in a time of crisis. I’m so glad that was not the case and that this town managed to do the right thing and help them out without any promise of compensation. I think it’s interesting to think about how some crises cause people to completely go crazy, while others cause people to band together like never before. I wonder what factors cause one outcome over the other.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea why sometimes it goes either way. I could only hope that I would choose to help those who are in a crisis.
DeletePerhaps one factor could be they picture themselves in the shoes of those affected. I know if I was one of those people who was stranded far from anyone I knew and only hearing these crazy accounts of planes crashing into buildings, I would want any kind of help even if it was just a simple place to sleep and a warm meal.
Do you think that the uncertainty of the crisis unified people together more than the concept of mirroring and seeing yourself as the wearied traveler?
DeleteGreat story! Definitely one of those "unsung heroes" cases that you don't often hear about. You don't often see people band together as a true community in this sense, but I suppose that crisis has the ability to bring out the very worst, and in this case, best of us.
ReplyDeleteFar too often nowadays people like hearing about bad news, controversy or drama or allegations of severe corruption--and not stories of the 'good guys'. It's a real shame, because there are probably a lot more stories like this (well, with different scenarios) than people realize.
How did you hear about this in the first place, if I may ask?
I learned about this from my roommate who loves Broadway more than air! She "discovered" Come From Away and told me all about it!
DeleteWhen you gave your topic in class I was surprised, I haven't heard much about Gander and I was interested in learning more about all that the people did.
ReplyDeleteIn middle school we learned about the town, but just that they took people in. It amazes me that people can decide to give up everything to help people who are displaced. I would hope that I would do the same if something like that ever happened to me. I just think about what if that happened to me, what if I was the one stranded I would hope people would take me in and help. To be in a situation where something utterly devastating is happening with no way to contact loved ones, I would hope to be received with compassion and aid.
Loved this post! Do you think that this is something that is unique? Like are the inhabitants of Gander just special? Is it because they're Canadian? More seriously though, do you think that small towns are more likely to have this reaction than larger towns and cities?
ReplyDeleteI don't think they're any more special than any of us. I didn't grow up in a small town, but my mom did. She's told me about how no one locks their doors, everyone knows each other, and that life is generally harder in them so people help each other out. I think the specific circumstances surrounding 9/11 helped, too. I don't remember which source I heard this from, but no one really knew what was going to happen in retaliation. Some thought World War Three was beginning, Everyone was scared, so helping out someone less fortunate than them probably made them feel better. In regards to your last question, I think a small town would more unanimously do this, but I think a decent chunk of people in cities or large towns would still help. Maybe not to the same extent, though.
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ReplyDeleteThis was a really heart-warming read and an amazing find. I had never heard of this story before. It's really nice to hear about a scenario where, when something terrible happens, there will be someone/some group of people that will go out of their way to help despite the bystander effect. I kindof wonder if the citizens of gander got to third step of helping because they think of themselves as a collective? They're a small town where, presumably, everyone knows everyone. Or maybe since there wasn't another town for another 25 miles (I checked Google maps) and didn't think the nearby towns would be able to help either?
ReplyDelete[I deleted my previous post due to grammatical errors]
Wonderful post! I wish stories like this were talked about more often so that people would have more models of selfless caring to look up to.
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