The lingering remorse of a chef who survived 9/11 by swapping shifts with a colleague

Sekou Siby was scheduled to work on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center's North Tower on the morning of 11/9/2001. A last-minute shift change saved his life, but he has carried survivor's guilt for the past 25 years.

Days before 11/9/2001, Moises Rivas, an Ecuadorian colleague at the Windows on the World restaurant on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center (WTC) North Tower, asked Sekou Siby to swap shifts. Rivas wanted sunday off to perform with a band. Siby agreed to cover Rivas's shift, with Rivas taking the tuesday morning shift on 11/9.

Rivas became one of over 2,700 people who died in the twin towers that fateful day. Siby, then 36, woke to a frantic call from a colleague's wife, who reported the building where her husband worked was on fire.

He turned on the television, saw the North Tower engulfed in smoke, and repeatedly called two phone numbers in the restaurant's kitchen, but no one answered. "When the building collapsed, the phones went silent", Siby recalled.

He initially hoped his friends had escaped, but they remained unaccounted for days. Siby and other surviving colleagues visited hospitals to search for the missing. Many restaurant employees were undocumented immigrants, making their relatives hesitant to contact authorities. Some families also faced language barriers, relying on Siby to help find information.

Sekou Siby visiting the National 9/11 Memorial in New York. Photo: CNN

Eventually, they learned no one above the plane's impact point in the North Tower survived. Siby lost 79 colleagues that day and has lived with survivor's guilt for 25 years.

During his most recent visit to the 9/11 memorial, Siby paused before Moises Rivas's name carved in stone. He stated it was the spot where, for 25 years, he had believed his own name should be.

Siby, originally from Ivory Coast, was a French teacher before immigrating to the US in 1996. In his early years, with limited English, he worked as a supermarket delivery person, using his off-hours to study English.

In 10/1998, Siby joined Windows on the World as a commis chef, earning 8 USD per hour. He proactively learned knife skills and food preparation during slow periods, eventually earning a promotion to chef with a 12 USD hourly wage.

Windows on the World, which opened in 1976 on the 106th and 107th floors of the North Tower, was once the highest-grossing restaurant in the United States. Many employees were immigrants from Australia, Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Siby recalled that they often gathered in a Queens park on weekends to eat, play soccer, and share concerns about immigration documents, employment, and life in the US.

After the attacks, Siby never returned to the restaurant industry. He avoided jobs requiring extensive communication, instead becoming a taxi driver due to his fear of further loss. He then began supporting victim families and workers displaced after 9/11.

The events of the 11/9/2001 terrorist attack in the US. Video: X/USATODAY

He once served as president of the Restaurant Opportunities Center United, an organization protecting the rights of restaurant workers. Siby is now a US citizen, holds a doctorate in business administration, and operates a consulting firm for nonprofit organizations.

Around 5 years ago, at a gathering for former Windows on the World employees' families, Siby heard a woman mention her husband was meant to have 11/9 off but had swapped shifts with a colleague. He immediately recognized her as Elizabeth Rivas, Moises Rivas's wife, and realized he was the colleague she spoke of.

Siby approached her, explaining he was the one who swapped shifts with Rivas and still carried the guilt. Elizabeth burst into tears. Before this encounter, she had never known the identity of the colleague her husband had traded shifts with.

Siby and Elizabeth did not keep in touch after the meeting. He felt the story was too emotional, and he didn't believe he could offer further help.