"Everything changed on Sept. 11, 2001."

It's become a cliche since that day that nothing will ever be the same again. But what exactly is different?

AP reporters posed that question to Afghani store owners, Liberian street preachers, London bus drivers, New York students and more. Their answers provide a kaleidoscopic perspective of how the world changed -- or didn't -- on that day five years ago.

KARACHI, Pakistan

"It changed the entire world for Muslims and it changed the world perception about them. ... We have been projected as fanatics and extremists everywhere and the U.S. successfully capitalized on the situation and made the world believe Islamic extremism was the biggest threat to world peace."

-- Abdul Waheed Noor, 35, lawyer.

"Just look how America got the chance to rule the world without any big hindrance after 9/11. It changed the world for them as they have now very easy access everywhere because they have a major tool in hand -- the 'war on terrorism.'"

-- Mahboob Ali, 45, farmer.

"That made the world worse ... every common man can tell you this. ... Whoever did that made no service to humanity or Muslims. ... That day brought destruction in the world and it is going on and Muslims are suffering."

-- Muhammad Yasin, 48, snack vendor.

NEW YORK

"I think people have become more cautious about their interactions with other people. But I also think it has made New York and the country stronger. We'll always have that memory of 9/11 -- it will always be in the back of people's minds. But I think as time goes by, things can return back to the way they were before the attacks -- your parents can come with you to the gate, you will be able to bring lotion and you can walk through security without taking your shoes off."

-- Megan O'Brien, 18, New York University student.

"There's more fear. The news, newspapers -- there's this element of, 'Something's going to happen, something could happen.' People are scared. When I'm on the subway and you start hearing those announcements -- 'Contact police if you see something suspicious' -- everyone is looking around wondering. There's no friendliness. You don't know who you can talk to. And on top of that, you have crazy New York people to deal with."

-- Carlos Reyes, 35, information-technology coordinator.

KABUL, Afghanistan

"It is almost five years from the Sept. 11 incident and we still have security problems. Our lives have actually changed from bad to worse. Recent attacks and fighting in the south of the country are a big concern for us. We don't want a big number of security forces all around. Why can't they prevent the terrorist acts in our country?

"The educated people are jobless. Those people who are working for the government have good salaries, nice houses, nice cars. I don't like such democracy that they are talking about. I am not optimistic about the future of my children."

-- Mohammad Karim, 67, retired, a father of four.

"There have been some changes in the life of the people of Afghanistan following 9/11. We were under the Taliban oppression, the girls could not go to school, the human rights were violated. Now we don't have those problems, but that of course is not enough. We expect more from our government.

"Five years on, there are a lot of unemployed people in Afghanistan. Security is a major problem as is the lack of universities. What will happen to all these Afghan youngsters, once they cannot get a proper education?"

-- Hatiqullah Asem, 22, stationery shop manager.

PARIS

"On Sept. 11, I got my driver's license so everything changed. ... But really, it's mostly people's attitudes that have changed. A lot of fear -- a bit too much actually. It's a way of thinking which has become quite scary. The smallest things scare us, and everything becomes a global phenomenon, like SARS. We were more afraid of the terrorism risks that it posed than the illness itself.

"Terrorism has invaded our minds. It's a real shame. And it's like that with all major events now -- terrorism is in the forefront of everyone's minds. But in my own life, it hasn't made much difference. It's a tragedy but there are many others ... like an earthquake, like the tsunami."

-- Pauline Rymarczy, 21, economics student.

MONROVIA, Liberia

"9/11 has made the world learn a lesson, but whether it has really changed the world, I don't know. The lesson is that any country, big or small, can be hit at any time. Even those who are superpowers can be hit. The fact that it could happen on American soil means that 9/11 has taught the world that nowhere is safe -- superpowers, non-superpowers, smaller countries, nowhere is really safe."

-- S. Kpanbayeazee Duworko, 47, English instructor at the University of Liberia.

"9/11 has changed nothing in the world. It could be a punishment from God. ... The world should learn that whatever you sow you should reap it.

"... The step we, as a world, need to take to avoid things like terrorist attacks is to first of all ask God to forgive us for our sins. If we continue to live in sin, God will use nations against nations and individuals against nations. God told the children of Israel, 'If you sin I will use your own brother to chastise you.'"

-- Abraham B. Karnga, 58, street evangelist.

MEXICO CITY

"I believe that now everyone is waiting for something to happen. Before we were more innocent. Not everyone in the world is good."

-- Concepcion Castro Martinez, 53, mother of five and volunteer at a domestic violence shelter.

"The attacks against the United States affected Mexico without a doubt. The immigration reforms that were on the table were scrapped. Now when Mexicans with no work go to look for work in the United States, the United States has closed the border. This creates deaths."

-- Herberto Jara, 22, law student.

SHANGHAI, China

"It was a real shock when 9/11 hit, but since we didn't feel the pain directly, I can't really get the full sense of what it meant. The American system is really the best due to its diversity, but you get into serious trouble when you try to impose your values on the rest of the world.

"It really had an impact on my whole outlook on the world. I've become very pessimistic about the future of mankind. These days, I don't even want to look at the news."

-- Qiu Shaohua, 49, convenience store owner.

LA PAZ, Bolivia

"Since that moment, sure, life has changed. But for poor people, it didn't change much. We're still here working. People here just keep working like always."

-- Miguel Angel Aruquipa, 27, a vendor in an open-air market.

"It left a tremendous impression on us when it happened -- it was terrible, all the people who suffered. The next feeling was this worry, this sadness for those people. But in my personal life now, I don't feel it as much anymore. Time passes. That's just life. Every year I remember what happened on that day -- nothing more."

-- Guido Mamani, 20, wearing a jacket emblazoned with the American flag.

LONDON

"We're bus drivers, but we're also police officers now. We look for bags under the seats, we look all the passengers in the eye. We've become so much more security conscious."

-- Andy Bownass, 38, waiting with fellow bus driver Sayed Nazir, 44, to start their shifts.

"We used to think about how to outfight armies. Now it's all about intelligence, surveillance and networking, trying to outthink them."

-- Rupert Culyer, 26, King's College student.

"We are more scared now, but we still travel. People have to use the train, the bus, the plane. But all over the world, Sept. 11 changed nothing. We still have wars and we still have terrorism."

-- Karuna Ponnuthurai, 52, convenience store owner.

Reported by Zarar Khan in Karachi, Megan Scott in New York, Rahim Faiez in Kabul, Aurelie Toulemonde in Paris, Jonathan Paye-Layleh in Monrovia, Katie Burford in Mexico City, Christopher Bodeen in Shanghai, Dan Keane in La Paz and Raphael Satter in London.

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MORE ON SEPT. 11

For more stories related to the fifth anniversary of the attacks, look at asap's special report Living with 9/11.

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