Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

Images From 09-11 on Display in Thailand

Aired May 17, 2002 - 06:55   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The city of New York is planning a ceremonial end to the World Trade Center cleanup on May 30th. Hundreds of people have worked around the clock since September 11th. Even with the ceremony, though, the work will not end this month. There will still be pockets of debris to sift through. Nearly 3,000 people were killed when the twin towers collapsed. The remains of more than 1,800 have not been identified.

Some of the powerful images from that fateful day are now on display in Thailand. And before we hand it over to our friends in New York, we hand it to our Bangkok Bureau Chief, Tom Mintier, with more on the exhibit of carnage and courage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM MINTIER, CNN BANGKOK BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): They are images as disturbing today as they were on September 11th. Now on display at Thailand's National Gallery, far from the ruins of the World Trade Center.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When the first group comes in, they see the first images...

MINTIER: The images, 27 of them, are from photographer Joel Meyerowitz. All taken from what has become well known as "ground zero." The exhibit, sponsored by the U.S. State Department and the Museum of the City of New York, is touring 60 cities in 23 countries around the world for the next three years. When it first opened in Washington D.C., U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell called the exhibit both a remembrance and a reminder.

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: A remembrance of those who perished, and a reminder of our commitment to pursuing terrorists wherever they may try to hide.

MINTIER: The pictures, a combination of haunting portraits and disturbing silhouettes, depict the aftermath at the World Trade Center. Each photograph has a story of carnage and courage. For photographer Meyerowitz, there is even humor about this picture of exhausted rescue workers sitting in chairs.

JOEL MEYEROWITZ, PHOTOGRAPHER: Thousands of chairs came out of the buildings and they were all over the site. There were armchairs and executive chairs and lobby chairs and, you know, chairs from cafeterias. And they were everywhere.

MINTIER: As the pictures are put into place at the gallery here, the workers are pausing to view them. The images so strong, so powerful. Unlike many photographic exhibits, this one contains pictures that just about everyone is familiar with. They have been seen dozens of times in magazines or on TV. But for many, this is the first chance to see them up close.

(on camera): While the 27 powerful images of the World Trade Center may be small by exhibition standards, it is part of a much larger collection of more than 5,000 images that will be on permanent repository at the museum in New York City.

Tom Mintier, CNN, Bangkok.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com