Above Him Only Sky

I can still remember - you were my girl.

With skies so clear, we could see forever more

Through our window of the world.

-Window of the World

Glen Burtnik

Roko Camaj earned his living doing something that my pathological fear of heights would never have permitted me to do.  He was a window washer at the World Trade Center. Several times each year he and his partner would get into scaffolding suspended a robust 1,300 feet above the street below and wash the windows at the buildings' very top that its automated window-washing system could not reach.  Not only did doing what he did not fill him with dread, he absolutely loved it.  His son, Vincent, said that his father considered his job to be an escape, telling his son, "It is just me and the sky up there.  I bother no one.  No one bothers me." 

Tragically, on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, the murderous cowards who hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 and flew it into the South Tower of the World Trade Center at 9:03 am did more than simply bother Roko Camaj.  He was on the 105th floor when the jet impacted the building.  He telephoned his wife to tell her where he was and that he was awaiting evacuation.  He implored her not to worry, telling her that he and all of those with him were "in God's hands". 

He spent the final twenty-seven years of his life working as a window washer at the World Trade Center. He had started working there shortly after the complex opened. Not wanting his wife, Katrina, to worry about how it was he earned his living, he never told her that his job required him to spend time outside of the Twin Towers.  She only learned of his alfresco exploits when she read a story in the newspaper.  Roko and Katrina emigrated to the United States in 1969.  They lived in Manhasset, Long Island.  He was the proud father of three grown children

On February 26, 1993, Roko Camaj was at work when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center for the first time.  On that day, he telephoned his wife and children to tell them he would not be home for some time.  He then walked down the stairs from the 107th floor out into the fresh air and to safety.  By the time he exited the building, his skin was blackened by smoke.  Not wanting to worry his wife, he did not head home right away.  Instead, he spent the time necessary to clean himself up and to calm himself down.  

On February 27, 1993, he got up and went to work.  

On September 10, 2001, he had returned to work following a well-deserved vacation to Montenegro, Albania, where he had spent time with his four brothers.  The trip had been a birthday present from his daughter.  

On September 11, 2001, he got up and went to work. 

Roko Camaj

-AK