Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

President Obama Extends Hand to Muslim World; Afghans React to President Obama's Speech; New Orleans Restaurant Competes; Wealth Disparity, Unemployment Hamper Egypt's Economy; Father Keeps Fighting for Son in Brazil; CNN Recalls Shutdown at Tiananmen Square; Chinese Law Enforcement Blocking Filming of Tiananmen Square and Information About Upcoming Anniversary; Detroit Youth Organization Discusses City's Problems

Aired June 04, 2009 - 14:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: We're pushing forward and we're reading between the lines of President Obama's history-making speech. He was talking to Muslims in Cairo, Egypt, today, but he was addressing the world. It was part presidential address, part sermon, and a full-on push for equal rights.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am convinced that our daughters can contribute just as much to society as our sons.

(APPLAUSE)

Our common prosperity will be advanced by allowing all humanity, men and women, to reach their full potential. I do not believe that women must make the same choices as men in order to be equal. And I respect those women who choose to live their lives in traditional roles. But it should be their choice.

That is why the United States will partner with any Muslim- majority country to support expanded literacy for girls and to help young women pursue employment through micro-financing that helps people live their dreams.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Women's rights, simply a dream in the Muslim world. No better people to answer that question for us. We continue to talk with our guests -- Zainab Salbi, founder and CEO of Women for Women International; Hussein Rashid, a blogger for ReligionDispatches.org; and Soumaya Khalifa, the executive director of the Islamic Speakers Bureau here in Atlanta, Georgia.

I don't know, Zainab, what do you think? I could just see Michelle Obama looking over his shoulder -- because I understood he wrote that part of his speech -- saying that's right, honey, you better get that in there, we're talking about women's rights.

ZAINAB SALBI, FOUNDER & CEO, WOMEN FOR WOMEN INTERNATIONAL: And he sure did a great job, actually, in it. It was a good balance between respect of Muslim women, particularly observant women who do believe that the headscarf is part of their Islamic duty, and between addressing and pushing that that should not contradict. And indeed, it does not contradict of Islamic values of women's access to education and economic and political rights. The balance between the two, I would say, calmed the Muslim population at large, where it's often defensive in terms of women's issues, and pushed them in the meantime of saying, you can do more and you cannot build your countries without full inclusion of women and girls.

You do have a very high illiteracy rate in the Muslim world. You have only 55 percent of Muslim women who are literate. And this is a very, very actually dangerous statistic. So him pushing on the literacy issue and on employment -- 40 women out of 100 men only work in the Muslim world at large. That's actually -- these are actually very critical issues that he pushed in it, and it was right on, and not expected.

PHILLIPS: Well, and here -- right on and not expected. But here's -- this is your specialty. I mean, you can talk to the whole microloan issue. You know how these women are when they're given a little bit of money or they're given a chance to start a business. I mean, you help them do it. You know how powerful women can be and what they can contribute to not only a family but an economy, to a government, to a military.

SALBI: Absolutely. I mean, I fully believe -- Women for Women International works with women at the grassroots level to help them get access to education and access to economic opportunities because we believe that this is the only way we can actually talk about the building of strong societies, strong nations and strong democracies. And that very much applies not only in the Middle East, but all over the world.

I just came from Iraq, where you have 76 percent of Iraqi women not sending their daughters to school. This is very dangerous. You can't talk about the future of Iraq if you don't address this crisis of girls not going to school.

And the same with employment. There are no employment opportunities for Iraqi women, and now we're working through Women for Women International about how do you create employment opportunities for women as part, as a prerequisite for nation building? So his...

PHILLIPS: Let me -- you know, while you're there, because I want to ask Soumaya this point. Because as I'm hearing you talk about the fact he's going throughout the country...

Soumaya, you know, it was just a few weeks ago that I was writing an opinion piece about the fact that a Saudi judge said in a domestic violence conference said it's OK to slap your wife if she spends too much money, and then we see our president there, you know, shaking hands with King Abdullah and, you know, having this warm relationship with him. I mean, I think we all understand that we need good relationships with these countries, but when it comes to how they treat women, and not only women, but just the whole issue of human rights, do you struggle with that? SOUMAYA KHALIFA, ISLAMIC SPEAKERS BUREAU OF ATLANTA: Well, I think the president did a great job. His speech was very balanced, in terms of talking about all those points. I think we need to step back and look about -- at what is taught from a religious perspective in the religion and the interpretation and the meaning of certain verses, and also the status of women in Islam.

Women in Islam were given the right to education over 1,400 years ago, and there are a lot of prophetic sayings that do support that. So, I think (INAUDIBLE) to rediscover their religion and know the status of women in that religion.

Also, in terms of history, from a historical perspective, when we track how women are treated, versus the society or the community, the advancement of that community or society goes hand in hand with the women and how they're given their status. I believe that for any community or country and, specifically, the Muslim world or the Muslim majority world, for them to advance and be able to move forward, they need to address the women issue for those that do have them.

I also like the point that President Obama made actually, too, his reference to his daughters. That gave it a real personal sense.

And he also recognized the leadership in Muslim majority countries of women as well. So, I believe what he said is really balanced, and we need to work on that and make sure that it...

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: And Hussein, I really want to give the male in the group a chance to respond to this, you know.

You know, it's very -- I guess it's hard for me as an American woman, you know -- and there are Muslim women that say to me it's hard for them to see, but then I've also talked with Muslim women in countries saying, well, that's just how it is. This is how women are supposed to be. This is the role. This is what we've had for centuries.

I mean, but then again, we're in 2009 and the world is so different. I mean, how do you make sense of it?

HUSSEIN RASHID, PROFESSOR OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES FOCUSING ON ISLAM, HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY: I think I just want to echo some of the comments that have been made already.

We can't assume that there's one rule or one way Muslim women are supposed to be. If we look at Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto is elected twice as head of state. Turkey has had a head of state. Indonesia has had a head of state. Bangladesh has had two female heads of state. So, clearly, women aren't just meant to be -- Muslim women aren't just meant to be at home, they are meant to be out there, meant to get educated.

If you look at the roles that women have played in Muslim history, you can't get away from the impact they've had, from the prophet's first wife, Kathidra (ph), who supported him and who was a very successful business women, jumping to the modern people. A lot of people don't realize that the first president of the League of Nations was a Muslim, Sultan Muhammad Shah, who called for greater access for education for women throughout the world.

About a year ago, when President Obama was running and people were trying to say, well, he might be a Muslim and that's a bad thing, somebody asked me, "Well, what do you hope to see five years, 10 years from now?" I said, "In 35 years from now, I want to see my daughter be able to run for president of the United States and not question whether she's Muslim or not or why she is or is not wearing hijab." Those are her rights as an American and those are her rights as a Muslim. And we really need to keep that in mind.

When we look seven Saudi state, which is the example you used, we have to realize that there are two components. There's the political side and the religious -- "religious authorities." And when we look at the religious authorities, they're afraid. They're afraid of difference.

And that difference means women, that means Shia, that difference means minorities of any sort. And so they don't want to give up that power.

They want women to be victims of abuse. They want to repress minorities because it allows them to keep power. But I think we also have to understand that women also have to be agitating for their rights at the same time as well.

PHILLIPS: Well, I know Zainab and Soumaya are doing that.

Hussein, great insight.

We're going to talk again, guys. Thank you so much.

Meanwhile, we want to get straight to the streets of the Muslim world while we can. President Obama reached out, but did he reach the people that he was talking to?

We've now connected with our Atia Abawi. She's in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Atia, we've heard a lot from the men. And also, we're trying to get more impact -- or more insight from the women. But we haven't heard a lot from the women over there. Why?

ATIA ABAWI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the reason is, Kyra, they're not allowed to talk. We were out on the streets trying to talk to the people on the streets. The women that we did approach, many of them just said, "Hello," "Thank you," and walked away.

We also approached a woman in a car. There was a group of women. We asked them their thoughts. And actually, we had a grandmother there with her daughter and her granddaughters and one grandson. And the grandmother herself said, "I have so much to say, but he won't allow me to say it." She was pointing at her grandson. She said, "If only we can give President Obama a house-to-house tour of Afghanistan so they can see how we live, how the women are oppressed."

The women in Afghanistan aren't living normal lives. They are very oppressed. The children and the women here are the biggest victims.

Although, we did talk to some men on the street, and they actually went on camera. And this is exactly what they had to say about President Obama.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We think that he's better for Muslims compared to the last president. There is now a hope that between Muslims, America, and other nations, we can come together in friendship, uniting all human beings.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He may help people, but unless we unite ourselves as Muslims and help one another, it's never going to help us if outsiders come and try to help us. We have to unite ourselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABAWI: And Kyra, these men were actually just reacting to Obama, what we told them that President Obama said to the Muslim world, because they themselves had no clue that President Obama was actually speaking today. But they did have a good reaction.

And actually, for the most -- most Afghans in Afghanistan, they won't know about President Obama's speech until tonight on the evening newscast. That's for those who have TV sets. And it will go on for the next few days on the television and radio.

They'll have debates, but still, many in the Afghan -- in the country of Afghanistan won't be reached out to, the places that don't have electricity, that can't get radio reception or television reception. So, for right now, the Afghan people are doing what they do best, and that's just surviving -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Atia, thanks.

Democracy, it might be a bad word in parts of the Muslim world, but President Obama spoke on that today. You might be surprised at what he said. Our guests return at the half-hour to read between the lines.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, Sonia Sotomayor, as you know, returned to Capitol Hill today for the third day of one-on-one visits with senators who are going to try to decide whether to confirm her or not for the U.S. Supreme Court. And you know, part of that process is you have to fill out a questionnaire, and she's expected -- or has expected to turn in a number of writings and speeches, unpublished rulings. And here's a little tidbit.

Apparently, it has been turned in to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Our Brianna Keilar got her hands on it. She's looking at it right now. We're going to talk about exactly what it reveals.

And here's a little tidbit. It looks like it's the swiftest questionnaire completion in recent history. Sotomayor staying on schedule there even before expected.

So, we'll track that.

Also, a glimmer of hope in the bleak job market. New unemployment claims fell last week to 621,000, a decline of 4,000, and continuing claims fell by 15,000 to just over 6.7 million. That's the first drop in 20 weeks. Continuing claims had set to record highs every week since late January.

And the job market will be getting a major boost in the months ahead. Wal-Mart says that it plans to hire about 22,000 workers to staff 150 new or expanded stores across the U.S. this year. The Arkansas-based company is the world's biggest retailer with more than two million employees. Its sales last year topped $400 billion.

Fighting the recession, our special series "Money & Main Street" spotlights a New Orleans restaurant owner battling the competition after surviving a natural disaster.

CNN's Sean Callebs reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If there's one thing New Orleans can do, it's amazing cuisine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do I need to order more crabmeat?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we need to order more crabmeat.

CALLEBS: Stephen Schwarz is the owner of Mat & Naddie's in New Orleans uptown. Tourists and locals have a wealth of restaurants to choose from, and the economic downturn is making competition that much more fierce.

STEPHEN SCHWARZ, MAT & NADDIE'S RESTAURANT OWNER: It's a matter of how much stamina we can have and how long we can last before things turn around.

CALLEBS: Consider this: Before Katrina, there were about 800 restaurants in New Orleans. Now it's close to 1,000.

SCHWARZ: I think eventually there are going to be places that are going to go out of business. They're going to have to.

CALLEBS: Schwarz has no plans on becoming a statistic. Now in his early 50s, Schwarz came to New Orleans on a visit about 30 years ago and never left.

To keep the restaurant going, his catering business is branching out and now counts for about 40 percent of Schwarz' income.

KRYSTAN HOSKING, MICHAEL'S CATERING: Hi. Would you like some pulled pork?

CALLEBS: He employs about 28 people part and full time. Without catering, Schwarz would have gone under. And without glowing reviews, his business would wither on the vine.

HOSKING: Word of mouth is very important, because if you get one bad review, there's tons of restaurants that will -- you know, people are just waiting to try.

CALLEBS: Meeting payroll and paying suppliers is a monthly challenge. Schwarz benefited from a $10,000 grant and a $40,000 low- interest loan he received from the state.

It's part of Louisiana's effort to help small businesses recover from Katrina's devastating effects. But in this case, it's money getting him through the lean months of this recession.

SCHWARZ: How much capital do you have or how much can you generate to maintain a slow loss over a long period of time and still be able to meet your obligations?

CALLEBS: New Orleans will always have great atmosphere and great food. He says it may take creative financing, but Schwarz plans on being part of the city's culinary landscape for years to come.

Sean Callebs, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And you can watch more of the special series tonight at 8:00, "Money & Main Street: How to Cope Through This Tough Economy," right here on CNN, 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

How about putting a roof over your head for only $1? We're going to tell you why the government is letting hurricane victims buy the FEMA trailers that they're living in for only $1.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I know there has been controversy about the promotion of democracy in recent years. And much of this controversy is connected to the war in Iraq.

So, let me be clear. No system of government can or should be imposed by one nation by any other, but I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain thing things -- the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn't steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose.

These are not just American ideas. They are human rights. And that is why we will support them everywhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Democracy and Islamic law, will they forever be at odds? We're pushing forward on President Obama's speech to the Muslim world today.

Let's bring back our guests, Zainab Salbi, founder and CEO of Women for Women International; Hussein Rashid, a blogger for ReligionDispatches.org; and Soumaya Khalifa, is the executive director of the Islamic Speakers Bureau here in Atlanta.

And just -- you know, that one part, Hussein, we started to talk a little bit about it, about the president saying it's not just American ideals, but we're talking about human rights.

What do you make of that?

RASHID: I thought it was just brilliant. You know, it takes it out of the realm of America or England or France or Germany or any of these other nations of the so-called West saying that it's our way or the highway, and saying that there are certain things that we hold in common that we can strive towards.

And it's funny, I wrote an article at Religion Dispatches about a week ago saying, "What would I like President Obama to say?" And he said exactly what I wanted him to say.

And it was almost like he was paraphrasing Ali, who was Prophet Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law. He was the first man of the Shia community who, in a letter to his governor of Egypt, outlined many of the same things -- represent everybody, make sure everybody's treated equally under the law, don't show favoritism to anybody. And when you're serving yourself or your family more than you're serving the people, remove yourself.

And so, there are certain echoes even dating back 1,400 years that, when you put it in human rights discourse, make it very palatable to a Muslim audience.

PHILLIPS: So, Zainab, you know, some -- well, a lot of people say the only way to clear that path to protect human rights is to have a democratic government.

Do you agree with that? SALBI: Absolutely. I would say that would be essential.

And I think it is absolutely possible in the Muslim world at large to have democracy. And there is a way to meet between democracy and Islam. They are not necessarily contradictory to each other.

To do that, we need to do a few things.

Women's rights are important, and I would say a prerequisite to have a true democracy. Freedom of press, which a lot of the Muslim countries, particularly the Middle East, still has a long way to go in terms of freedom of press. And then we do need to talk about the stability, the economic stability of the Muslim world at large, and the Middle East in particular, considering his speech is in Cairo. These are a prerequisite to actually pave the way for a solid democracy.

PHILLIPS: Soumaya, human rights is the only way, you say, for this to happen in the Middle East as true democracy.

Is there any room at all for the extreme Muslim cleric?

KHALIFA: I hope so. The rights that we are talking about are also in the Koran and in the Prophet Muhammad's tradition in terms of human dignity, human rights, the right to free speech. All those are in line with the Islamic teaching as well.

I think that we -- the extremist Muslim clerics need to rediscover their religion and look at it from a different perspective. And they are aligned very much with those principles, are aligned very much with the principles on which our country, the United States, was founded on.

PHILLIPS: Hussein, final thought there?

RASHID: I think that it's important to realize that there's no distinction between being Muslim and American. And when President Obama's speaking to the Muslim world, as he said, he's speaking to Americans as well. There's religious extremism in every faith community. We need to move beyond that. There is a history of living and working together. We need to move towards that. And I want to end the same way our president began this morning, with assalaamu alaykum.

PHILLIPS: We're going to leave it right there. Thank you so much to all three of you, Zainab Salbi, Hussein Rashid and Soumaya Khalifa. Shukran to all three of you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, like the rest of the world, the Egyptian economy is facing many challenges. Growth is slowing, and there are big gaps between the rich and the poor. CNNmoney.com's Poppy Harlow has the breakdown from New York. Hey, Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Hey there, Kyra. Yes, a lot of us don't know anything about the Egyptian economy, but one thing we do know is the wealth disparity, a huge gap, as you said, between the rich and the poor. It's so distinct that the World Bank says 44 percent of Egyptians live right now on less than $2 a day.

But it's the second largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid behind Israel. And what the big challenge is there, Kyra, for the economy is the unemployment challenge, just as we're facing in this country. Much more exaggerated there. What they have is about 900,000 young people entering the work force every year, not nearly enough jobs. And the concern, Kyra, understandably, that joblessness among the youth breeds discontent and instability, and it's not a good situation there for the country as a whole -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: So, how much of a hit has the Egyptian economy taken, then, from the global economic downturn?

HARLOW: A huge hit. And an expert I spoke with about this last night said, listen, it's bad, and it's getting worse. The economy there is still growing, but right around 4 percent, which is better than here in the United States, but that's down from really extreme growth from more than 7 percent just last year.

And what's hurting this economy is, first of all, falling remittances from a lot of Egyptian workers that work in the Gulf region, sending money back home. That number is down. Foreign direct investment has been cut in half. The Suez Canal tolls, that's a big, big revenue stream for this country. They're down 26 percent because of less global trade and piracy, and the tourism industry there, Kyra, is off about 22 percent, right, because of political instability and the economic crisis as a whole.

And when you look at the exports from Egypt -- you've got cotton, of course, textiles, potatoes, they just had a big natural gas find, that could help, petroleum products -- those are all down. Kyra, the interesting silver lining from Egypt it that it has been shielded from the worst effects from the credit crisis that we have felt because their central bank, interestingly, didn't make it credit as easy to access as ours did and we saw in Europe. So, that's one silver lining for them, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, there's a headline, just came across a natural gas line. Is that what you said?

HARLOW: It's interesting, yes, there's been a natural gas find there recently that they haven't even tapped into yet, so they do export some, but there's more that could come.

PHILLIPS: All right. Poppy Harlow, thanks.

HARLOW: Sure.

PHILLIPS: Well, close, but no son. An American father separated from his son by the -- by one continent, rather, and thousands of miles of red tape.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: Well, a congressman from New Jersey wants Brazil punished for getting between a father and his son. Brazil's supreme court reversed a lower court ruling that would have let David Goldman bring his son back to the U.S. after five years of separation. Nine- year-old Sean Goldman has been living with his stepfather since his mother's death. David Goldman spoke on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE" last night about how Sean left the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID GOLDMAN, SEAN'S FATHER: We were never divorced in America. We were never separated. We were living together and I drove her and my son to the airport for a vacation. And apparently they granted her a divorce in Brazil. I drove them to the airport with blessings to go on a healthy, happy, safe, two-week vacation. And they say that because I allowed that, that's not an abduction. That's one of their arguments.

June 16th, 2004, my son was abducted. I've been down in brazil, here, 11 times. I've been down in court hearings. I've tried nonstop, tireless effort, night and day, to try be repatriated with my son. Never, ever stopping. And they want to make it seem like after she passed away, then I came out of the woodwork. I've been since day one trying to bring my son home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: An attorney for the Brazilian family says that the boy repeatedly told psychologists that he wants stay in Brazil. Congressman Chris Smith plans to introduce a bill to suspend U.S. trading preferences with Brazil until it honors a treaty of international child abductions.

It's been a quiet day in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, a stark contrast to this date 20 years ago, when the Chinese government brutally crushed democratic protests. It was a landmark event in China's history and a memorable one for CNN as well. When government officials entered our Beijing control room and ordered us to shut down our broadcast, we made history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEC MIRAN, CNN PRODUCER: Our policy is, the government has ordered us to shut down our facility. We are shutting down our facility.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can we sign off? May we sign off? May we sign off?

MIRAN: (INAUDIBLE), Vernon (ph).

BERNARD SHAW, FORMER CNN ANCHOR: OK, we've heard the orders. We have our instructions from headquarters in Atlanta. For Steve Hirst (ph), good-bye. It's been a lot of fun. It's been very interesting. I've never seen anything like this.

John Lewis.

JOHN LEWIS, CNN: Interesting hardly describes what we've seen, Bernie.

SHAW: Mike Chinoy.

MIKE CHINOY, CNN: The most extraordinary event I've ever witnessed of following China.

SHAW: In my 26 years in the business, I've never seen anything like this. The situation in Tiananmen Square is that -- it is a standoff. For all the hardworking men and women of CNN, goodbye from Beijing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, we were forced off the air, but we didn't stop covering the story. CNN's Cynde Strand, who was then our photographer, was there several days later when those tanks rolled in to Tiananmen Square. She doesn't shoot now, but she's been promoted. Cindy is our director of coverage for international news gathering, and I'm going to leave the set and take you right over there, where she works now, which is not far from me. I'm always asking her, actually, about questions regarding our international stories because she's the one with all the knowledge.

Thank you for doing this. I appreciate it. So, we go off the air, and there you are. Did you even realize what you were about to get into?

CYNDE STRAND, DIRECTOR OF COVERAGE, INTERNATIONAL NEWSGATHERING: You know, for a camera person at CNN, an international camera person, 20 years is a long time to think back, but I can remember that night so clearly and the six weeks up to that night. You know, Mike Chinoy, the reporter, and I were based in China.

And for six weeks we had either marched to the square with the students or -- you know, we were living in that square. We hadn't left the square, and Mike and I, we knew what was coming. Even though the government, it was a battle between the reformers and the hard- liners within the Great Hall of the People, and that allowed the student thing to keep happening, but we knew the night would come. We knew it was going to happen. We knew there was going to be a crackdown.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And so when it did happen, there you are. It's dark, it's crazy. Students are being killed. You got your camera. What do you remember?

STRAND: Well, you know, we started the evening obviously on the square. And we started getting reports -- you know, it's not like today where we had cell phones. I had a walkie-talkie that was out of juice. I didn't even communicate to home base. And we're getting reports that the tanks were starting to move in towards the square. That people were being killed at the roundabouts. We started seeing bodies come into the square. You know, I pulled my team together and I offered them the option, you know, go if you want to go, it's a brave thing. I'm staying. If you want to stay, you're welcome to stay, but if you want to go, go.

PHILLIPS: Why did you stay?

STRAND: Well, you know, it's easy to take the pretty pictures and it's easy to, you know, film the documentaries, but, you know, as a camera person, this is it. This is the moment. This is the...

PHILLIPS: This is what you work for.

STRAND: ... this is what you stay for. You know, we didn't have the live feed then, and we didn't have cell phones back then and we didn't -- we couldn't communicate, but that's what you're there for, to be the witness.

PHILLIPS: So, what you had to do, since we couldn't be live, you actually had to sneak your tape. What was it then? Was it half inch?

STRAND: Three quarter inch and you were tied to the cord with the cameraman -- I mean the sound person. You were stuck together.

PHILLIPS: So, how did you sneak your video out, and how did you get it to the world after we were shut down?

STRAND: Well, that night we spent the night in the square. We were able to talk to the students after they were beaten off the square, you know, the -- the government -- there was a lot of chaos on the -- on the areas around the square, but, you know, they didn't -- from my watching and interviewing people afterwards, you know, they didn't kill people on the square. They beat them off the square.

So, it was a long night. We had news. We had the story, and this old man in a flatbed rickshaw, he hid us on his rickshaw and we covered up and he rode us back to our base and, you know, people -- the windows started flying open because no one knew where we were. And reporters are yelling, "What happened, what happened? Tell us what happened."

We realized that there were soldiers at the front of the hotel, so we hid the tapes in someone's car. Got into the hotel and eventually we had to pigeon the tape out. Which means we asked someone to take the tapes and fly to another country, and we had this old, clunky machine that we were able to send just a few images out. I mean...

PHILLIPS: Amazing.

STRAND: ... so different from today.

PHILLIPS: Speaking of images as I let you go, can we show that one picture of Cynde in the square with her head down on her knees. Can you tell me what you were thinking at that point, besides the fact that you were completely exhausted? STRAND: Well, it doesn't matter how exhausted you are, sometimes you know it's just one of those moments in your life as a camera person. Those moments you can flash on them. It doesn't matter if it's 20 years later, and it's just history.

PHILLIPS: Yes. And you have kept that and brought it to our international desk and, of course, you are our leading lady now when it comes to coverage.

Thank you.

STRAND: Well, thanks, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: You know how much we love and admire you. She's a tough gal, let me tell you.

Now take a look at Tiananmen square looks like now. John Vause paid a visit. Quite a different story.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm John Vause, this is Tiananmen Square. This is about a close as you can get because the plainclothes officers are using their umbrellas to try to stop our view so that we cannot actually do any videotaping. There's an incredible security presence on the eve of the twentieth anniversary. There are so many police and soldiers. These plainclothes officials -- you rolling -- are trying to stop our videotaping anywhere near the square. There are carrying the walkie-talkies right there. He has a walkie-talkie, so does this other gentleman here.

Authorities are also rounding up dissidents. Many, they say, according to some reports, have been sent out of town. Others have been detained. University students, too, have also been warned to watch what they say, and there is also heavy security around many of the schools and some of the bigger campuses here in Beijing. And right now, as you can see, these officials continually blocking our view to try and stop us from filing any kind of report from Tiananmen Square.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

EMILY CHANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Information controls are also being stepped up. I'm Emily Chang at an Internet cafe in Beijing where people are suddenly having trouble logging on to different Web sites.

Twitter, the popular microblogging Web site, has apparently been blocked. If you try to pull it up, you get this error message saying the page cannot be reached. Hotmail and Flickr, a photo-sharing Web site, are also not working, and You Tube has been blocked since march. The Chinese government doesn't comment on specific Internet issues, but has said it manages the Internet according to law. Now, international TV channels are also being censored. CNN reports on the Tiananmen crackdown have been repeatedly blacked out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, Thursday marks the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHANG: Chinese officials have declined to comment on these latest service interruptions. Last year CNN's coverage of protests in Tibet was also blacked out. But it hasn't happened again until now as China reaches this sensitive anniversary.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, do you remember where you were when Tiananmen Square, when that crackdown happened? What do you remember about it? Log on to our blog or Twitter. Tell me about it. I'll read some of your responses on the air.

And from far away, the paint job looks shiny, but the Motor City is broken down. As Detroit's new mayor starts tinkering, he's got some young folks along for the ride. Youth voice, speaking up, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Urban blight block to block. From home sweet home to foreclosure to crack house, homicides up 24 percent, unemployment now almost 23 percent. Dozens of broke schools closing down.

Yes, that's Detroit's problems. They're not new. But they are -- there are some new voices trying to address them. Jasmine Boatwright and Latrice McCants are members of Youth Voice, a group that's just met with Detroit's new mayor, Dave Bing. And, guys, our producer, Katie Baritone is from Michigan and she said, "You have got to read about these students and what they are doing in Detroit. It's fantastic."

Thanks so much for coming on. I love promoting the organization you're working for. Latrice, let's start with you. I know you and Jasmine and a lot of the other folks took a number of pictures straight to the mayor and said, "Sir, this is what we're dealing with. We need your help." Tell me why pictures and how did that help what you were trying to get across?

LATRICE MCCANTS, YOUTH VOICE MEMBER: We actually wanted to be very visual with him, so we brung pictures and he seen exactly what we were -- what we saw, so...

PHILLIPS: And when he was looking at these burnt out houses and these boarded-up houses, what did you tell him was happening in these neighborhoods, in these homes?

MCCANTS: We told him that if we was to walk up or around it, it was dangerous. Actually, one of our youth -- one of our representatives, she actually walked past it and was taking pictures and a drug dealer walked up to her and asked her, does she want some weed.

PHILLIPS: Wow. And Jasmine, I understand that you did the same thing. You went hands on. You know, you brought these pictures to the mayor, as well.

Do you think he understood what you were trying to tell him? Was there anything that you said where he kind of sat back and thought, wow, I didn't realize that?

JASMINE BOATWRIGHT, MEMBER OF YOUTH VOICE: Yes. I mean, definitely. We had a whole list of those abandoned houses. And once we start showing the pictures and our youth was telling the stories exactly some things that was happening around those houses, he looked kind of afraid, like, oh, wow, I didn't even know that this stuff was going on to this extreme --

PHILLIPS: For example?

BOATWRIGHT: -- especially in southwest Detroit.

For example, like Latrice said, about the drug dealers coming up to our youth voice representatives. One of our youth voice representatives was friends with a little boy, and she used to baby sit him all the time, and he went -- the little boy went into this house to -- it was an abandoned house, he was just playing around, you know, like little kids do. You know, exploring and everything and the stairs fell on top of him and killed him.

PHILLIPS: Oh, my gosh.

So, and then -- and I shot of Edgar Gomez in there. He's also part of your organization. Said that he's had no luck in landing work this summer and his concern is with the lack of jobs and these recreational opportunities, getting lost out, that this is going -- a lot of kids are going to have nothing else to do, so they're going to you know, roll with the gangs, get into trouble, sell drugs. That's how they make money.

MCCANTS: That's exactly how it happens, especially in Detroit, when there's not opportunities and resources available, then you do what you can. And unfortunately, it is a lot of gang access and a lot of gang activity. So, that's just what you can do, you know?

BOATWRIGHT: That's what's available to them right now.

PHILLIPS: That you're saying that's it, Latrice, huh? Like, that's the best opportunity for them.

MCCANTS: That's how they think now.

PHILLIPS: So, what keeps you out of it, Latrice?

MCCANTS: I love my job. I love what I do. I just interact with kids and I actually have fun with them. So, that's basically why I stay where I'm at.

PHILLIPS: And tell our viewers what you do, Latrice.

MCCANTS: I'm a youth advocate at Southwest Counseling Solutions. I actually put on groups for kids, keep them out of trouble. I actually enjoy traveling with now my job. I stay in Lansing more than usual. I've been in meetings to actually sit at tables -- at the table as a youth voice.

PHILLIPS: Well, you know how to do it and you did it with the mayor.

And finally, Jasmine, you're doing the same thing. You're highly involved and you're quite the advocate, yes?

BOATWRIGHT: Yes. I'm an youth advocate for Southwest Solutions also. I've recently been hired in as a community organizer for the Harriet Tubman Center. And both of those jobs, pretty much we try to promote leadership in the communities.

PHILLIPS: Love it. Jasmine Boatwright, Latrice McCants, it's good news and it's something that is being done in a really tough time in our economy. Youth Voice is the organization. We salute you both. Great job.

We'll follow-up and see if the mayor listens to you girls.

BOATWRIGHT: Thank you.

MCCANTS: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: I sure would.

Well, Rick Sanchez is in New York today, he's working on the next hour of the "CNN NEWSROOM."

Rick, what you got going there?

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: It was amazing to watch. This morning at 6:00 a.m., the President of the United States gave a speech to a largely Muslim audience and it was transparent and it was honest.

He told Muslims to their faces that the killing of innocents won't be accepted. He talked about the Palestinian plight. He also did something that's very interesting. Because he was honest and transparent, he also copped, in many ways, to what some would consider to be U.S. mistakes in the past.

So, the question really is -- and he's already getting some heat from this. The question really is, is that good? I mean, should a guy whose middle name is Hussein, stand before a Muslim audience and essentially give them, to some degree, their props? Yes, he criticized them. But he also gave them their props for being critical of U.S. policy in the past, which is in large measure what he did.

Was he uniquely qualified to do something like this, so should he have done it? Ed Rollins on the right -- the respected Ed Rollins, is going to be my guest at 3:00. He says, no. He says that what Barack Obama did, representing the United States, was not the right tone or policy. So, we're going to be talking to him.

And then there's a remarkable update on the story that we've been following up at 3:00. We were first to tell it about a man who has a heart condition. He's in the United States. He's never been able to see his family. They wanted to come and see him one last time because he was about to die, Kyra. Something has happened in that story where there's new hope. A real humanity story. Really cool story. I'm proud to bring it to you. And I will, in about 40 minutes.

PHILLIPS: Sounds good. Thanks, Rick.

Hey, ladies, Silvio is now available. He and his girlfriend kind of grew apart after Silvio got busted recording video of her mom naked. Mom was visiting the couple outside Memphis, just got out of the shower and says she noticed a camera's red light flashing from a bedroom closet. So, she looked at the video and hello, there's Silvio, tinkering with the camera. Then mom appears in her birthday suit. Yes, a peeping Silvio, allegedly. He's charged with a misdemeanor and can probably forget about a career as a private eye or a son-in-law.

A dark chapter in China's history. Tiananmen Square, 20 years later. What do you remember about that crackdown? Your comments, via Twitter, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, we asked you for your thoughts about the anniversary of Tiananmen Square and the crackdown there.

Here's what some of you had to say on Twitter.

Veritas said, "I was standing in shock in front of the TV. People were so brave."

Fayefoucault says, "I was in university at the time. I'll never forget that lone guy in his white shirt stepping in front of that tank."

Shorty remembers the same image. He says, "The man in front of the tank. I was astonished at his bravery, his desire for freedom. I was stunned by the events in China."

Sleeplessinvirginia remember that day well. "I was having lunch with my parents and we were watching the coverage on CNN as my folks broke down and cried."

PHILLIPS: Thanks for your feedback. I sure appreciate it. We'll see you back here tomorrow.

Rick Sanchez picks it up from here, out of New York.