The article addresses the invisible pain and prolonged trauma of the September 11, 2001 attacks, focusing on the experience of a Portuguese-descendant firefighter named David Simões. The article title uses a quote that describes the traumatic task of transporting victims' remains to the morgue, one of the duties performed by rescuers during and after the attacks.
David Simões, the firefighter of Portuguese ancestry mentioned in the article, avoids remembering the tragedy. This avoidance is presented as a common response among survivors and witnesses of the attacks, who developed psychological mechanisms to deal with painful memories.
The article indicates that doctors explain why people like Simões avoid recalling traumatic events. Mental health professionals recognize that processing extreme experiences can manifest in various ways, including deliberate avoidance of trauma-associated memories.
The article suggests that the pain from the September 11 attacks persists invisibly, affecting not only direct victims but also emergency professionals who worked in the rubble and faced extreme situations such as handling human remains.
