I survived the North Tower. It took a red-light district to show me why

When the Twin Towers fell 25 years ago in New York, nothing would ever be the same again. Millions of people were affected, with relatives, family, and friends who were lost to us, leaving holes in lives that could never be filled. Yet for millions of others, including the thousands of us who made it out alive, a strange paradox was born: That day full of horror would also become a catalyst for purpose and the beginning of new endeavors in a different world.Sept. 11, 2001, started off as a beautiful morning. I arrived at work early, taking my place at my desk on the 81st floor of the North Tower before the hectic workday began, and sent an email to a friend of mine explaining how life was going well since arriving in America from India. I told him that I was still searching for a purpose beyond my work, and asked him to pray for me. I had no idea how relevant those words would become. Less than an hour later, a tremendous explosion rocked the building as the first plane hit the North Tower. Rushing with others to the stairwell, I was terrified for my wife, who would have been at her office in the South Tower, and wasn’t answering her cellphone. First responders heading up passed us on the stairs, and we thanked them as they passed. We would be the last ones to see them alive. As we made it down to the concourse level, I ran toward the South Tower to find my wife, only to be caught in its collapse. Terror overwhelmed me, and I thought I would die in that rubble. I huddled with a few others, and we prayed what we thought would be our last prayer before we spotted an ambulance’s light shining through the raining ash.Following the light, we emerged into a new world. The scene was surreal, with the towers gone and the landscape eerily transformed into a war zone. I wandered around in a daze, continually trying to call my wife. Hours later, my phone rang, and I learned that her life had been saved as she was late for work that morning.While we were some of the lucky ones to make it out alive, thousands of others didn’t. I saw their bodies strewn across the ground and buried in debris, a reminder of each family that would never be the same. As New Yorkers lined up to donate blood, as people across America came together in prayer and support, those of us who survived knew that there would be no returning to our normal lives.Surviving a near-death experience changes you, and bearing witness to so much death and destruction instills an urgency of purpose to do something that matters with the second chance you were given. For some, they joined the military or became first responders. For others like me, it meant finding a way to make sense of the madness through service, turning what was meant for evil into some sliver of good.What I didn’t know was what that could look like in a post-9/11 world. The country had changed overnight, and you didn’t have to survive the towers to realize that we were all looking for a purpose in a world that suddenly seemed senseless. I wanted to help, to encourage instead of divide, but I didn’t know how.My first clue was an email I sent to friends afterward that went unexpectedly viral. From this newfound fame, media opportunities, and speaking engagements opened across America for me to share my story of resilience and faith to encourage a nation. Slowly, my purpose became clearer. These opportunities eventually equipped me to use my platform to fund aid and service projects around the world. One of these service projects led me back to India, where I had a chance to visit New Delhi’s red-light district. The horror of what I saw there was unimaginable — women and young girls in cages, tortured, shamed, and exposed for the lust of others — and I was shocked that a horror like this could exist so openly.As we left, one woman grabbed my arm and pleaded with me: “You can free us.” I realized that this was the purpose I had been searching for since the towers fell. I had been trapped in the collapse of the towers, doubting that anyone would ever find me, just as these women felt trapped in their bondage. As men would come and repeatedly bid on them for fetishistic exploitation, they had given up all hope of a life out of this hell. First responders rescued me from my rubble, but who was here to rescue them? THE LEFT IS GASLIGHTING YOU ABOUT ABDUL EL SAYED’S 9/11 POSTSThat moment was the birth of YouCanFreeUs, a nonprofit bringing freedom and hope to women and children enslaved in the world’s darkest corners. Since its founding, we’ve seen a 98% success rate at helping these girls and women reintegrate into society with new hope and practical skills to live a life away from the rubble of their abuse.While September 11 brought me to the end of myself, it also led me to my true purpose and gave me a second chance. Now, for thousands of women trapped in modern slavery, 9/11 was what led to their second chance, too.Sujo John is a DFW-based motivational speaker and humanitarian who has taken his message of resilience and hope to millions around the world. He is also the founder of YouCanFreeUs, an international human rights organization that is fighting modern slavery around the world.