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Rodriguez Tour Secures Full Page Spread
Just Give Us The Truth About 9/11
Ahead of a visit to Merseyside, Twin Towers' survivor and rescue hero William Rodriguez tells Chief Feature Writer Paddy Shennan About his Miracle Story - And His Quest For The Facts
William Rodriguez, said to have been the last man out of the World Trade Centre alive, wants to put the record straight and he wishes that the powers that be would follow suit.
After spending 20 years as a janitor with the unenviable job of cleaning stairwells on all 110 floors of the North Tower, Mr Rodriguez, who will be speaking at public meetings in Birkenhead and Liverpool on Monday and Tuesday, suddenly found himself the centre of attention after 9/11. The 46 year old was hailed as a hero for saving people's lives, invited to the White House and showered with awards.
But then, he claims, the authorities turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to him...because he started asking awkward questions. Nearly six years on, he's still asking them and he intends to carry on. In America, Europe and across the UK.
The hills - and internet sights - are alive with the sound of paranoia, conspiracy theories and claims and counter claims about the attacks on the WTC and Rodriguez, a Puerto Rican who lives in New Jersey, is at pains to point out what he has and hasn't said.
He tells me: "I do not believe the American Government conducted a thorough investigation into 9/11, I think it was a whitewash and the victims have a right to a thorough inquiry and to have their questions answered. I have never said there were controlled demolitions of the Twin Towers, although people believe I have. I was a janitor. I am not an expert on explosives and don't know how explosives work. Does it look like a controlled demolition? Absolutely. Was it? I don't know."
Of the more extreme conspiracy theories, he says: "There are people saying the planes were superimposed - that there were no planes and ridiculous statements like that, which offend the families. I always make a point of saying 'I don't have the answers, I have questions' and when you have questions, you can't be attacked"
Mr Rodriguez says he can't still understand why the evidence he gave to the 9/11 Commission wasn't included in its report "More than 1000 people, including myself, testified behind closed doors and I was a high profile VIP at that time, even my attackers will tell you was instrumental in the 9/11 commission being set up"
His detractors might suggest that it's down to his use of language - on one internet forum, for example, it's pointed out that during an interview with CNN just hours after the attack, Mr Rodriguez said he heard a "rumble" before the plane hit the North Tower but later described it as an "explosion". But Mr Rodriguez says he has always used both words, explaining "It's very simple I said the same that day as I am saying now I'm Hispanic and for me "rumble" and "explosion" were the same thing."
The janitor had called in sick on that fateful day but agreed to come in after being begged to do so by his supervisor - because nobody else fancied taking on his job of cleaning all 110 floors of the North Tower. " I said 'OK' but that I'd be in a little late. If I'd have been in at my normal time I would have been at the top of the Tower because I always started cleaning from the top down. Instead i went straight to the basement office."
Mr Rodriguez, who lost 200 friends and collegues in the disaster, says he helped save the lives of 20 people and used his keys to help firefighters reach and evacuate many others. He pauses before recalling "The worst part, I think, was...Oh my God - I remember people who were stuck inside the lifts screaming for help and not being able to help them because I didn't have the tools or the knowledge to get them out. Just to hear these screams of horror stays with you forever and I will never forget coming out and seeingall the bodies of the people who had jumped from the building."
Mr Rodriguez, who had got as far as the 39th floor before being sent back down by firefighters, dived under a truck seconds before the tower collapsed "I think I was therefore between 3 and 3 and a half hours, but I lost all sense of time - every second felt like an hour".
Miraculously he received only minor injuries - and soon after being pulled free was again assisting with the rescue attepmpts and now at the invitation of the Merseyside Truth Campaign, he's coming here to tell his story - and explain why he believes the American Government needs to hold a more comprehensive enquiry into 9/11. He says "I survived for a reason, I have been threatened. I could show you some of my emails - but the only people who can stop me doing what I am doing are the families of the victims of 9/11 and up to now I have their support."
28/06/2007
