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CNN Live Saturday

Two American Women on Trial in Afghanistan Face Possibility of Death

Aired September 22, 2001 - 13:53   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.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Lost in the tragedy of the last 11 days: Two young American women on trial in Afghanistan and facing the possibility of death at the hands of the Taliban.

CNN correspondent Larry Woods went to Tennessee to talk to one of the women's families.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY WOODS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tilden Curry, apprehensive and understandably worried, devours every bit of information he can about the fate of his 29-year-old daughter, Dayna.

Along with seven other Western relief workers, she has been accused of preaching Christianity in Afghanistan and faces a possible death penalty.

TILDEN CURRY, FATHER: I don't think she ever felt that she was doing anything inappropriate. You know, she's not that type of person. You know, she [UNINTELLIGIBLE] she loved Afghan people, and she was there to help them. But surely, they would not do that for such a minor offense.

WOODS: Curry and his second wife, Sue, along with Dayna's mother, Nancy Castle, who is in Pakistan, are clinging to State Department assurances they are doing all they can to free the group.

CURRY: I heard that their trial had been reconvened. So they're hopeful they will go ahead and finish that and release them soon after.

SUE FULLER, STEPMOTHER: You know, people ask all the time how we're doing, and they say, OK, but there's no way to say how we're doing.

WOODS: A quiet introspective man who tries to shield his emotions, Curry admits he fears he may never see his daughter again.

So he and the family wait and hope.

(on camera): Tilden Curry's daughter is being held in a Taliban jail cell. But 12 years ago, this was part of her everyday life, the life of a smiling, friendly teenager in an upscale Nashville suburban high school.

(voice-over): In 1989, the pretty, devoutly religious senior graduated from Brentwood High School. Friends and teachers remember her as an average student who blended in with the crowd.

STEVE CZIRR, FORMER CLASSMATE: Do you want to sit up in my fire engine?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Yes.

CZIRR: Come on over here, I'll set you up in here.

WOODS: Steve Czirr, a local fireman who first met Dayna in the ninth grade, recalls her as sort of the girl next door, and said her sights after graduation seemed set on helping others.

CZIRR: Hopefully, she knew the risks she was taking when she went over there. It's not an easy thing to do. I do feel for her, and I hope she gets back. I mean, I hope they get her back, definitely. You know, we're here to save lives ourselves, and we don't ever want to see anybody perish.

CLAY CURRY, BROTHER: She always kind of knew in the back of her mind, there was an imminent danger, but I don't -- I mean, she never wanted that to deter her, because she believed in what she was doing and so, I mean, I think she always knew the risk, but I think she felt the reward outweighed the risk.

WOODS: What she was doing before her arrest last month was helping feed and educate the poor in war-ravaged Afghanistan through the efforts of Shelter Now International.

Before the bombing of the World Trade Center, the Currys received word Dayna was all right.

T. CURRY: As far as being in what you call prison, she thought the conditions were pretty good. You know, they had a small room that they could all lie down and had a courtyard, which they could go out and exercise each day. So she thought the food was good and they were being treated fairly well.

FULLER: I think emotionally, she is probably afraid a lot, because we're always afraid of the unknown. But I know that she has this inner strength that comes from her faith.

WOODS: And if Tilden Curry could get a message to his daughter or those holding her, what would he say?

T. CURRY: Well, of course, we would tell her that we love her and we miss her, and we want her home.

WOODS: Larry Woods, CNN, Brentwood, Tennessee.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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