For eight months after the attacks, tens of thousands of people -- many of them immigrants -- cleaned Ground Zero and nearby damaged buildings. - 'Injustice' -Gil, like all the cleaners spoken to by AFP, cannot work because of illnesses believed to be derived from the 9/11 operation. More than 2,000 cleaners, rescuers and police officers died from illnesses linked to 9/11, according to the federal victims' compensation fund. Most of the 9/11 cleaners have full medical coverage through the World Trade Center's federal health program, but many have not received compensation for their illnesses. Rosa Duque, a 56-year-old Guatemalan cleaner who has difficulty breathing, says the cleaners are "in oblivion" and must be given permanent residency.

Source: Bangkok Post September 06, 2021 01:30 UTC