Marcy Borders
| Marcy Borders | |
|---|---|
 Borders on 9/11 | |
| Born |
August 12, 1973 Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died |
August 24, 2015 (aged 42) Paterson, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Stomach Cancer |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Dust Lady |
| Occupation | Bank Clerk |
| Known for | A photo of Borders, covered in dust from the World Trade Center collapse, was widely republished following the attacks. |
Marcy Borders (August 12, 1973 – August 24, 2015) was an American bank clerk, who worked in the World Trade Center and survived its collapse, following al-Qaeda attacks on September 11, 2001.[1] Stan Honda, a photographer for Agence France Presse, captured an image of Borders, completely covered in dust from the building collapse, that subsequently became widely described as "iconic".[2] The image became so well-known and so widely distributed, that Borders became known as "The Dust Lady".
Personal impact
A resident of Bayonne, New Jersey,[3] Borders had been working at the World Trade Center for four weeks prior to the attack.[4] According to the The Routledge Companion to UK Counter-Terrorism, Borders said that she never recovered from the trauma of the attack. A decade-long depression led to a break-up with her partner, the loss of custody of her children, and an addiction to alcohol and drugs. Borders said that a key event in her recovery and return to sobriety was learning of the death of Osama bin Laden. Borders had preserved the outfit she wore in the iconic photo, without removing any of the dust.[5][6]
Cultural impact
The image Honda took of Borders became iconic; she was remembered in many retrospective articles about the attacks of 9/11.[6] The Daily Telegraph chose her as one of the survivors they profiled on the tenth anniversary of the attack. Borders had been invited to spend the tenth anniversary of 9/11 at a memorial event in Germany.
Cancer diagnosis and death
Borders was diagnosed with stomach cancer in August 2014.[7] Borders's cancer had already saddled her with a crippling debt of $190,000—even though she had not yet received surgery and she still needed additional chemotherapy.[7] Borders said she could not even afford to get her prescriptions filled. She believed her cancer was triggered by the toxic dust she was exposed to when the WTC collapsed, having once stated, "I definitely believe it because I haven't had any illnesses. I don't have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes." Borders died from cancer on August 24, 2015.[8][5][9]
In fiction
Borders and Sharbat Gula are the two main characters of Pamela Booker's 2009 play Dust: Murmurs and a Play.[10] Both Borders and Gula first became known to the public through iconic photos. Booker dedicated her play to Borders and Gula.
References
- ↑ J. Freedom du Lac (2015-08-26). "’Dust Lady’ Marcy Borders, featured in haunting Sept. 11 photo, dies of cancer: Before she died, Marcy Borders wondered whether her cancer was related to Sept. 11.". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2015-08-26.
She was 28 at the time, and Honda’s haunting photo of her — distributed worldwide by Agence France-Presse — became one of the most iconic images of that horrifying day.
- ↑ Andrew Card (2015-08-26). "Iconic 911 photos where they now?". USA Today. Retrieved 2015-08-26.
Marcy Borders, the "dust lady" photographed in the aftermath of 9/11, died recently from stomach cancer. USA TODAY Network looks at the current lives of other individuals captured in seminal photos from that time.
- ↑ via Associated Press. "9/11 survivor from N.J. seen in iconic photo covered in dust dies", The Record (Woodland Park, New Jersey), August 26, 2015. Accessed August 29, 2015. "The 42-year-old Bayonne resident was working on the 81st floor inside one of the Twin Towers in the attack, but she managed to escape the building."
- ↑ Andrew Staniforth, Fraser Sampson (2012). The Routledge Companion to UK Counter-Terrorism. Routledge. p. 159. ISBN 9781136254291. Retrieved 2015-08-26.
- 1 2 "Dust Lady Dies: Woman whose image was closely associated with 9/11 attacks has died". U.S. News & World Report. 2015-08-26. Retrieved 2015-08-26.
- 1 2 Philip Sherwell (2011-09-05). "9:11 the people in the pictures". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved 2015-08-26.
Her ghostly image is one of the most enduring from 9/11, though Marcy Borders, then a 28-year-old bank worker, does not even recall it being taken. Around the world, “the dust lady” was seen as the face of survival and escape from the hell of the Twin Towers.
- 1 2 Jonathon Lin (2014-11-27). "911 survivor 'dust lady' faces a new demon: Stomach cancer". The Jersey Journal (Jersey City, New Jersey). Retrieved 2015-08-26.
- ↑ Joel Christie, Jeff Maysh (2015-08-26). "The 'dust lady' of 9/11 dies: Iconic survivor Marcy Borders, 42, succumbs to stomach cancer which she blamed on ash from the Twin Towers attack". Daily Mail (London). Retrieved 2015-08-26.
- ↑ Rose Troup Bucnanan (2015-08-26). "'Dust Lady' of 9/11 Marcy Borders dies from stomach cancer". London: The Independent. Retrieved 2015-08-26.
- ↑ Pamela Booker (2009). Dust: Murmurs and a play. Lulu.com. ISBN 9780615190235. Retrieved 2015-08-26.