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CNN Live Today

Discussion with David Turnley

Aired March 28, 2003 - 11:44   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.


PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Bill. Pulitzer-Prize-winning photographer David Turnley is in Iraq, following the daily lives of Iraqis during the war, and he joins us now by videophone from Kifri, to join us -- show us some amazing pictures of the Iraqi people and the stories behind them.
David, thank you very much for joining us. And I know you're not going to see the images, but we are going to start with the images of three generations of men. Tell us what you were trying to capture here.

DAVID TURNLEY: Paula, I just made a trip across northern Iraq, from the west to the east. We're right now in a town called Kifri, which is about two kilometers from the front line. It's 120 kilometers from Baghdad. It's actually the closest position in the north to Baghdad.

I've been trying to photograph the daily life here, to get a sense of what people are feeling, what life is like. In this instance, we walked through a market. People have been very anxious here because they're so close to the front lines. They actually, in fact, think that the war has gone better for them than they might have expected. They're very anticipating of what will come. They congregate in the market to drink tea, to talk about what news they've received.

The food is scarce, but it's available. Kurds are very hospitable, and they take care of each other. In the last couple of days, they've certainly been elated by the idea that 1,000 troops arrived in the north. It's a constant flow of information, what different pieces people receive. And it's also a bit surreal. As we visited some homes here of Kurdish families, most of them sit around televisions with satellite dishes, receiving CNN and Fox News and the like, getting a kind of American perspective, if you will, on what's happening in the war.

ZAHN: We're looking at a picture now of a young woman with a scarf, with a plastic tent in the background. Apparently -- we're going try to go -- yes, there, we're looking at that now. Where did you find this woman?

TURNLEY: This is a family, 74 people, several generations, one Kurdish family that had fled the town of Kifri, being very concerned about the possibility of a chemical weapon attack from Baghdad. And they are now living in these makeshift tents about 30 minutes north of Kifri, here in northern Iraq. ZAHN: There's another shot we're going to look at now of three young boys. With school not in session, I guess they have a lot of time on their hands. How did you find these children?

TURNLEY: Well, the children in this area, as you just mentioned, their schools have been shut down during this war. They have lots of time on their hands. They have been like children everywhere. They seem to make the most of their time.

The situation here and the dynamics that one witnesses are actually confusing, in the sense that, yes, we are very close to the front lines of the war, but on the other hand, if one were to arrive here, for all intents and purposes, things sort of carry on as usual. You have to sort of dig a little bit under the surface.

On the other hand, as we've traveled from the western side of this country to the east, we're very close to Iran. I can tell you that the tension here is much greater than on the other side of the country. Where we are is actually configured geographically in a pretty interesting position. As I said earlier, it's 120 miles north of Baghdad. It's just next to Iran on the east. And just a bit north of here is the town of Halabja, which is a Kurdish enclave that was -- where Saddam Hussein had lobbed some chemical weapons in 1988, and many, many Kurds were killed. So they find themselves in a very complex political equation.

ZAHN: I imagine they do. We've moved on now to a picture of a young girl with a black scarf, one of those members of that family I think you just told us about, of 74. What else did you learn about her?

TURNLEY: Well, one of the things that certainly strikes me as I visit northern Iraq, wherever I have been, is that the Kurdish people, in the midst of this very difficult time, continue to be the most hospitable people that I have ever encountered. Their dignity just surfaces at every instance. So when we arrived in this refugee camp, despite the fact that these people have next to nothing -- in fact, they had just created this small, effectively, tent city -- the first thing they wanted to do was invite us in for tea.

ZAHN: I guess I've heard of a lot of that generosity being shown by some Iraqis in some parts of the country, even though they have so little. We're looking at a very powerful picture of an older woman, who I understand is also a member of that same family, with those plastic tents in the background. Anything else you want to say about that and what struck your eye when you saw this scene?

TURNLEY: Paula, I've traveled around the world. I've had the good fortune to photograph in so many different cultures. I have to tell you, I have never encountered a people like the Kurds, who effectively, so like to be photographed. They're a very proud people. It's interesting. The men, in particular, have some very sort of keen sense of themselves and their beauty.

This woman was -- I'm always very touched and, of course, when I see a woman like this woman kneeling, I identify with my mother, my grandmother. And it's -- you know, it's a very heart-breaking experience to witness someone who's suddenly been uplifted from where they have spent most of their life and displaced, as this woman is. And yet, as I said, she continued to maintain her dignity and her pride and her strength. The first thing, as I told you earlier, she did is want to bring us in for some tea, which we then did. And we certainly sat and heard the story of this family, 74 strong, who are determined to defy their current situation.

ZAHN: Well, the images are beautiful, some of them, in their rawness. And David Turnley, we thank you very much for joining us. And give your brother, Peter, who often travels along with you into very dangerous places, our greetings. Thank you again for spending some time with us today here on CNN. Good luck to you.

TURNLEY: Thank you, Paula. Thanks a lot. Thank you.

ZAHN: And we leave you -- our pleasure. We leave you with more of those images that David Turnley shot as he traveled through the country.

When we come back after this short break, I'll be checking in with Bill Hemmer, who's standing by in Kuwait City. Here again, some of the faces that David Turnley captured with his very talented eye.

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







Aired March 28, 2003 - 11:44   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Bill. Pulitzer-Prize-winning photographer David Turnley is in Iraq, following the daily lives of Iraqis during the war, and he joins us now by videophone from Kifri, to join us -- show us some amazing pictures of the Iraqi people and the stories behind them.
David, thank you very much for joining us. And I know you're not going to see the images, but we are going to start with the images of three generations of men. Tell us what you were trying to capture here.

DAVID TURNLEY: Paula, I just made a trip across northern Iraq, from the west to the east. We're right now in a town called Kifri, which is about two kilometers from the front line. It's 120 kilometers from Baghdad. It's actually the closest position in the north to Baghdad.

I've been trying to photograph the daily life here, to get a sense of what people are feeling, what life is like. In this instance, we walked through a market. People have been very anxious here because they're so close to the front lines. They actually, in fact, think that the war has gone better for them than they might have expected. They're very anticipating of what will come. They congregate in the market to drink tea, to talk about what news they've received.

The food is scarce, but it's available. Kurds are very hospitable, and they take care of each other. In the last couple of days, they've certainly been elated by the idea that 1,000 troops arrived in the north. It's a constant flow of information, what different pieces people receive. And it's also a bit surreal. As we visited some homes here of Kurdish families, most of them sit around televisions with satellite dishes, receiving CNN and Fox News and the like, getting a kind of American perspective, if you will, on what's happening in the war.

ZAHN: We're looking at a picture now of a young woman with a scarf, with a plastic tent in the background. Apparently -- we're going try to go -- yes, there, we're looking at that now. Where did you find this woman?

TURNLEY: This is a family, 74 people, several generations, one Kurdish family that had fled the town of Kifri, being very concerned about the possibility of a chemical weapon attack from Baghdad. And they are now living in these makeshift tents about 30 minutes north of Kifri, here in northern Iraq. ZAHN: There's another shot we're going to look at now of three young boys. With school not in session, I guess they have a lot of time on their hands. How did you find these children?

TURNLEY: Well, the children in this area, as you just mentioned, their schools have been shut down during this war. They have lots of time on their hands. They have been like children everywhere. They seem to make the most of their time.

The situation here and the dynamics that one witnesses are actually confusing, in the sense that, yes, we are very close to the front lines of the war, but on the other hand, if one were to arrive here, for all intents and purposes, things sort of carry on as usual. You have to sort of dig a little bit under the surface.

On the other hand, as we've traveled from the western side of this country to the east, we're very close to Iran. I can tell you that the tension here is much greater than on the other side of the country. Where we are is actually configured geographically in a pretty interesting position. As I said earlier, it's 120 miles north of Baghdad. It's just next to Iran on the east. And just a bit north of here is the town of Halabja, which is a Kurdish enclave that was -- where Saddam Hussein had lobbed some chemical weapons in 1988, and many, many Kurds were killed. So they find themselves in a very complex political equation.

ZAHN: I imagine they do. We've moved on now to a picture of a young girl with a black scarf, one of those members of that family I think you just told us about, of 74. What else did you learn about her?

TURNLEY: Well, one of the things that certainly strikes me as I visit northern Iraq, wherever I have been, is that the Kurdish people, in the midst of this very difficult time, continue to be the most hospitable people that I have ever encountered. Their dignity just surfaces at every instance. So when we arrived in this refugee camp, despite the fact that these people have next to nothing -- in fact, they had just created this small, effectively, tent city -- the first thing they wanted to do was invite us in for tea.

ZAHN: I guess I've heard of a lot of that generosity being shown by some Iraqis in some parts of the country, even though they have so little. We're looking at a very powerful picture of an older woman, who I understand is also a member of that same family, with those plastic tents in the background. Anything else you want to say about that and what struck your eye when you saw this scene?

TURNLEY: Paula, I've traveled around the world. I've had the good fortune to photograph in so many different cultures. I have to tell you, I have never encountered a people like the Kurds, who effectively, so like to be photographed. They're a very proud people. It's interesting. The men, in particular, have some very sort of keen sense of themselves and their beauty.

This woman was -- I'm always very touched and, of course, when I see a woman like this woman kneeling, I identify with my mother, my grandmother. And it's -- you know, it's a very heart-breaking experience to witness someone who's suddenly been uplifted from where they have spent most of their life and displaced, as this woman is. And yet, as I said, she continued to maintain her dignity and her pride and her strength. The first thing, as I told you earlier, she did is want to bring us in for some tea, which we then did. And we certainly sat and heard the story of this family, 74 strong, who are determined to defy their current situation.

ZAHN: Well, the images are beautiful, some of them, in their rawness. And David Turnley, we thank you very much for joining us. And give your brother, Peter, who often travels along with you into very dangerous places, our greetings. Thank you again for spending some time with us today here on CNN. Good luck to you.

TURNLEY: Thank you, Paula. Thanks a lot. Thank you.

ZAHN: And we leave you -- our pleasure. We leave you with more of those images that David Turnley shot as he traveled through the country.

When we come back after this short break, I'll be checking in with Bill Hemmer, who's standing by in Kuwait City. Here again, some of the faces that David Turnley captured with his very talented eye.

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