Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Saturday Morning News

Interview With Marian Fontana

Aired November 10, 2001 - 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The families and widows of the World Trade Center terror attacks are banding together. While many of us have returned to our day-to-day existence, it is these folks who will be consoling each other for the rest of their lives.

Marian Fontana heads the Widows and Victim Family Association. She joins us this morning to talk about it.

Good to see you, Marian.

MARIAN FONTANA, WIDOWS & VICTIMS FAMILY ASSOCIATION: Thank you. Thanks for having us.

PHILLIPS: Well it's terrific to have you. And as I was reading about this organization, I also learned the reason why you have so much passion, of course, for this organization is because of your husband. Will you tell us about Dave?

FONTANA: Sure. He was a firefighter at squad one in Brooklyn, New York. And he was one of 12 members who were killed on that day and are among the missing. And he was a wonderful man; a great father, a wonderful husband. We were together 17 years. And it's been a really difficult loss.

PHILLIPS: I've noticed the ring around your neck. That's his wedding band, right?

FONTANA: Yes. Luckily, firefighters tend not to wear their wedding bands on the job -- they could get caught on things during a fire. So we consider ourselves lucky to be able to have our jewelry, unlike civilians and other people, other victims. We are lucky to have this memento.

PHILLIPS: Marian, you -- they have not been able to recover Dave's body, is that right?

FONTANA: No; no. There's been a lot of controversy down at the site and really, the impetus for this organization was that myself, widows, victims' families -- not just firefighter families, but all the victims, feel there's been a lack of communication about what's really happening down at the site.

We feel that we need more information. We need to be part of the decision process happening down there; it is our loved ones buried under the rubble. And when they made the cutbacks with the firefighters, we felt that we weren't being informed, we weren't being given accurate information, correct information. So myself and some women from Staten Island -- some widows in Staten Island and civilians, have joined together, really, in a grassroots way to try to inform each other, to come together, because we're really the only people who really understand what's going on and what we feel about our loss.

PHILLIPS: Marian, take me inside a gathering, when all of you come together and you have your meeting. Sort of tell me -- take me there, as if I were with you in a meeting. What do you talk about? What are the feelings that you share? How are you helping each other heal?

FONTANA: Well, this is really very recent. We really have only had one meeting. What I've been doing is fielding phone calls -- phone calls from all over -- civilians, firefighters, emergency workers, people who want to get involved, who want information about what's happening down at Ground Zero, who want to be a part of the decision-making process to make sure that our loved ones are recovered in a dignified way.

There's been a lot of rumor and misinformation. And so really, I've been on the phone more than anything else, trying to gather information from victims' families, firefighters, workers down at the site. And last night we had a meeting with the mayor, the commissioner and the deputy commissioner to get information. And that was really helpful.

PHILLIPS: Well you mentioned -- I mean, remember the scuffle between the firefighters and the police, when firefighters were wanting to go in there and still recover bodies. What was your reaction to all of that? Was that a big impetus in trying to get this going?

FONTANA: Yes, it was. I think everybody was really upset about what happened. I think it was misrepresented. Basically, the firefighters and some of the widows went down there as a peaceful protest, just to say that we weren't happy about them cutting back firefighters.

It's important for us to have them there, not just the firefighters' families, but all the victims, because this is what they do. They are trained in disaster relief. They know how to work there. They know how to retrieve bodies in a dignified manner. And taking them off the site was really one of the worst things that could have happened to a lot of us there.

And I don't know if the politicians really understand the tradition in the fire department that they have about retrieving, not just their fallen brothers, but all civilians. And they really don't leave until every last body is recovered; and that's incredibly important to them, it's important to us. And we want to make sure that they're down there doing what they are meant to do.

PHILLIPS: Absolutely, for honor and dignity. FONTANA: Absolutely.

PHILLIPS: Well, I know this is going to be a tough holiday, and I must say I really am inspired by your strength, Marian. Thanks so much for joining us this morning.

FONTANA: Thank you. Thank you for having us.

PHILLIPS: You bet. Take care.

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