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American Morning
Reactions To Bin Laden Tape At Nino's Restaurant in New York
Aired December 14, 2001 - 08:36 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: We have been getting reaction to the bin Laden tapes throughout the morning. Now let's hear from some folks near ground zero.
Michael Okwu is standing by at Nino's restaurant, a place we have visited a lot since September 11th. A restaurant that serves free food to World Trade Center rescue workers, and a place where a lot of people watched this tape for the first time.
Michael good to see you. How are you this morning?
MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Paula, good morning, I'm doing just fine. And so are most of the people here at Nino's. Although yesterday, I have to tell you that, as they were watching the Osama bin Laden tape, there were equal measures of anger as well as shock.
So many people here said that they knew, they believed the U.S. government when the government told them that Osama bin Laden certainly was the man. And yet, when they saw this tape, and saw bin Laden laughing about the attacks and about the plan, so many of them after seeing this actually left the television and had to just move on and resume some of their meals.
I'm joined now by John - right? You were with the New York City Fire Department, and you have spent considerable time at ground zero. And you told me that you didn't see the tape. Why is that?
JOHN: I try to focus on doing my job, and I don't pay too much mind to things that are out of my control.
OKWU: Is it emotional for you in any way, to watch the news?
JOHN: Very emotional.
OKWU: And what do you think when someone says Osama bin Laden? What is your first thought, having spent so much time at ground zero?
JOHN: Well, I would like to see our men, our country's leaders and our military take the appropriate action and do what's necessary to correct this very wrong thing that has been done to our country.
OKWU: A sort of quiet, quiet anger. John, I appreciate your talking to us. There's so many volunteers here, Paula who have spent many, many months -- the past three months -- spending their time here. We understand that there is a waiting list for volunteers waiting to serve soup -- food. Over 8000 people at Nino's have volunteered for their services. And we understand that there is a waiting list almost as long.
One of the volunteers who has spent some here is Nick. And I understand that you saw the bin Laden tape yesterday.
NICK, NINO'S VOLUNTEER: Yeah, I did.
OKWU: What was your reaction?
NICK: I wanted to see it, because we're curious to know what it was about because I'd heard about it all day. And somebody asked me if I was upset, and I wasn't upset at all. Because to me, it was a normal reaction for them to be excited about what they tried to accomplish and what they did accomplish. I mean, I think it was very sick and ...
OKWU: Any one particular segment of that tape that was more poignant to you than any other?
NICK: That they kept saying, "Praise be to Allah", that they kept praising God that they were killing all these people. I think that was the hardest part for me -- that having them relate killing people to God.
OKWU: Nick, a lot of people share your sentiments. I appreciate your talking to us.
I want to show our viewers this food line, because this is really the action center. This is where so many people over the course of the last three months have stopped by to get free meals, and these volunteers here have served more than 400,000 meals since September 11th. Paula, dedication here at Nino's, as well as very, very sad feelings about what they saw yesterday. Back to you.
ZAHN: Sure, but at this hour, that breakfast looks mighty good, Michael. The question, too, remains, I guess, how long they can continue serving food for free.
OKWU: Well, actually, we're told that they are going to continue doing this. In fact the owner of Nino's has filed for a -- for a charitable status, and so all of the food that you see here and all of the drink is coming in purely by -- by donations.
And we understand that he's actually going to make this restaurant something of a museum to the efforts of the volunteers, and in memory of course, in tribute to those people who lost their lives at the World Trade Center.
ZAHN: Great idea, yet another example of how generous New Yorkers are, and how polite we can be from time to time as that survey just showed. Michael Okwu, thanks so much. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
