Voices of 9.11
Gaza Ghetto
Public Intervention (2014 – present)
There should be a word for it.
Earlier this summer I was sitting in a Berlin cafe with two other Jewish women. We each had a story about the moment when it happened. For me it was taking a language class and meeting a young man from Gaza. For the woman from Frankfurt it was while living in Jerusalem. A gear click-turns and the hazy fantasy of Israel is gone, replaced by something harsh and clear and true.
Question:
Am I living in alignment with my own values?
Gaza Ghetto was originally created in 2014 as a response to Israel's Operation Protective Edge. I wrote the name and age of each person killed in Gaza on my arm, photographed it and posted the image to social media. Israel killed roughly 2200 people that summer, most of them civilians, 548 were children. Since that time hundreds more Palestinians have been killed.
I used to believe that genocide was hard. Now I know that it is easy. An information bubble, an 'other' is all it takes. People line up to take the leap, contorting their beliefs like a pretzel to not confront the obvious.
The Gaza Ghetto project continues.
Please stay informed:
Democracy Now! has been doing exceptional reporting.
The Question of Palestine by Edward Said.
The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappé
The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance 1917-2017 by Rashid Kahlidi
Follow journalists in Gaza:
Hind Khoudary
Motaz Azaiza
Bisan
Please also see Chalk, Voices of 9.11.
Art is whatever lowers barriers and creates real communication across impassable barriers. To use it to create passions to fight for an issue is not art, it is the opposite of it, because it is not lowering or transcending barriers. Art is the only thing that can bridge or transcend or transform in real and lasting ways. And that is what it is. It makes connections with others very different from ourselves – – including our enemies and including hidden neglected unknown parts of ourselves that are wakened and drawn forth. – Maryat Lee, Radical Theater
There is a particular kind of hurt when the reality of our lived experience is denied. We grow twisted, bonsai limbs, trying to shape ourselves to a story that will never fit. Droplets of lead steadily fill each pore, a bit uncomfortable at first, until suddenly we find we can’t move our features at all.
In the immediate aftermath of September 11 there was a hush as we stood stark before the enormity of what had happened. Then a rush of sound; sirens, voices, broadcast newscasters and politicians. People trying to be authoritative even when they didn’t really know what had happened themselves.
Certain kinds of stories found amplification. They told of heroism, American can-do spirit. Those who complicated the narrative were quickly silenced. Voices, that spoke of sadness, confusion and searching questions, were held back until we could no longer hear them and forgot that they existed at all.
Grief requires an expanse. The field is filled with the shards of our exploded lives. It is an arduous process to shape the pieces of your story back into something that can be survived. Some people, good people, hard working people, people who are loved, do not make it.
I made Voices of 9.11 because I knew grief. I wanted to create a place where people could be held while doing the necessary work of crafting their story. Where each person’s contribution is a gift that adds to our collective project of humanity and understanding of the world.
I made Voices of 9.11 because I cherish our imperfect union. As a nation we plunged forward in out dated models of revenge and retaliation, missing an opportunity to learn from the expertise of others who have lived experience with terror both abroad and at home. The cost of that missed conversation is all around us.
I am deeply grateful to all the people who bravely shared their story in 2002-2003. I think of you, wonder about your lives and very much hope that you are well and thriving. Thank you for collaborating to make this people’s archive possible.
My heartfelt thanks to all the people who worked so hard behind the scenes to create and sustain Voices of 9.11.
Each of us is already weaving the threads for what happens next in our story. It is a good fight to dream boldly, refusing the co-optation of our imaginative worlds. Our stories hold a wild freedom. They can bust open possibility, reach around the globe, even touch other generations. They never exist in isolation but always reveal a joyous disorder of threads running out and through the stories of others. Shimmering, waving, we tilt into the light of our collective future.
Ruth Sergel
NYC 2021
Voices of 9.11 has been exhibited at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Théâtre de la Ville (Paris) and the New York Historical Society. The project was the basis for the feature length documentary Memory Box; Echoes of 9/11 directed by Bjørn Johnson + David Belton.
Recordings (2002 – 2003)
Created by Ruth Sergel
NYC Director: Pamela Griffiths
Washington DC/Pentagon: Laura Doggett, Vicki Warren, Lara McPherson
Pennsylvania: Andrea Star Reese
Booth Design: Tim Main
Technical Design & Support: Paul Constantine, David Griffiths, Juan Molinari, Steve Robison, Daniel Valdez.
Additional Support: Martha K. Babcock, Maggie Berkvist, Cynthia Dartley, Abigail Feldman, Kerin Ferallo, Karen Jaroneski, Mary Liao, Rosalind Lichter, Brenda English Manes, Jay Manis, Christine McAndrews, Stephanie Schenppe, Deborah Schwartz, Nelly Sidotti, Fernanda Malarazzo Suplicy, Nancy Tongue, Aaron Traub, Mary Traub, Amy Wentz, Mandy Yu.
Thank you to Michael Shulan, Mark Lubell, Charles Traub & all at here is new york: a democracy of photographs.
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Website (2011)
Ruth Sergel, Jude Calder, Laura Doggett, Pamela Griffiths, Nancy Tongue.
Translations: Lana Cheung, Sherry Kane, Peter von Salis
Additional Support: Magnus Pind Bjerre, Juan Molinari, Aaron Traub.
The 2011 project to bring all of Voices of 9.11 online is made possible by the generous support of our donors:
Anonymous, Martha Ann Babcock, John Barnes, Suzanne Pred Bass, Therese Baxter, Mary Berke, Maggie Berkvist, Lou Blumengarten, Christina Campanella, Roy Campolongo, Sybil Cohen, Theresa Curtin, Suzanne Epstein, Kerin Ferallo, Carol Fleming, Jörg Fockele, Nicole Franklin, Lyn Gale, Brian Garrick, Marsha Gildin, Steven Harkness, Carol J. Howard, Rose Imperaton, Gloria Jacobs, Allison Kestenbaum, Peilin Kuo, Marvin Kupfer, LuLu LoLo, Laura Lomer, Jay Manis, Lynne McQuaker, Carla Meyer, James Miller, Susan Patner, Lewis Rothenberg, Deborah Schwartz, Eva J von Schweinitz, Laura Shapiro, Andi Sosin, Mark Tabashnick, Judith Treesberg, Sheryl Woodruff, Ellen Yaroshefsky, Anna Yusim, Lori Zaumseil.
Special thanks!
Tricia Clark
Barbara Vyden
Vicki Warren
Thank you to Steve Brier and the September 11 Digital Archive and Marilyn Kushner and Jennifer Schantz of the New-York Historical Society for their support of this project.
Approximately 550
How many hours of recordings?
Aproximately 120 hours
Where were the recordings made?
Voices of 9.11 was created at here is new york: a democracy of photographs in two locations: a temporary space on 6th Ave + 42nd Street and at 118 Prince Street. Additional recordings were made at the Staten Island Historical Society. A mobile team traveled to Shanksville, PA. The Voices of 9.11 video booth was at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington DC in Fall 2002 and inside the Pentagon in January and February 2003.
What is included in each post?
The date of the recording
The location of the recording
The V# of the recording
What’s a V#?
The V# indicates where the recording was made NYC (V0000-V0327), Staten Island (V0400-V0413), Shanksville, PA (V1001-V1010), Washington DC (V2000-V2092), Pentagon (V3000-3133).
What was the technical set up of the video booth?
Download V911 Tech Schematic
You can search for your testimony on the Voices of 9.11 website by typing your name in the search box on the right.
Can I get a digital copy of my testimony?
Yes! We greatly appreciate all who participated in the project. Please contact me to request a copy of your testimony.
I would like to add a written update to my testimony
Please do! Simply email me the text you would like to have added.
Can I get a copy of someone else’s testimony?
No, we only provide digital copies to the people who participated in the project.
I would like to have my testimony removed from the website.
Please contact us and we will remove your testimony.
If you have other questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
