The Foreign Service Journal, September 2004

W hile Americans were struggling to cope with the trauma of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, people from more than 160 countries were reacting to their own shock, and sending messages of outrage, comfort, hope and encouragement to American embassies and consulates. Many wrote messages in black-bound formal condo- lence binders, while others brought flowers, candles, flags, souvenirs of U.S. visits, photographs, clothing, art- work, letters, poems, essays, CDs, videos, stuffed animals, newspapers — indeed, almost every form of individual expression imaginable. Over the months, boxes of messages arrived at our missions from students, church groups, business employees, rescue workers and community mem- bers, and were sent back to the State Department, filled with the outpoured sympathies of countless individuals. Together the messages symbolized a giant hug from the world’s people for a stunned and grieving America. Many in the United States did not know about these messages. Regrettably, Americans were caught up in fear and uncertainty, not realizing that beyond our borders, people were reaching out to them. One way to communicate the heartfelt hope from other lands was to create an exhibition of the many items sent, together con- veying that healing and resiliency would prevail after a great national trauma. The United States Diplomacy Center partnered with the Museum of the City of New York and the design firm of Whirlwind, Inc. to capture the feelings through an exhibition, “After 9/11: Messages from the World and Images of Ground Zero,” that opened in 2002. This was the first traveling exhibition of the United States Diplomacy Center, combining 108 messages with 32 images taken by Joel Meyerowitz (the only pho- tographer granted artistic freedom at the World Trade site). The Meyerowitz pho- tos had already traveled to over 100 U.S. embassies through the State Depart- ment’s Bureau of Edu- cational and Cultural Affairs. Many offices and individuals throughout the State Department assisted the United States Diplomacy Center to make the exhibit possible, including the Office of Protocol, the Office of Records, the Historian’s Office, the mail rooms, and the Office of Language Services. Additional photos of 150 artifacts appear in flip books and, together with the displays, 120 countries are repre- sented in the exhibit. To symbolize the fact that all the artifacts were originally sent to U.S. embassies and con- sulates, whether electronically, by post or by hand, the display cases are pre- sented as packing crates. Each crate/case comprises a different theme: • “Getting the Message” displays the media people used to convey their thoughts, and presents a video of the events of Sept. 11, 2001. • “Innocence from Abroad” voices the friendship and fears of children. • “The Power of the Word” commu- nicates messages in diverse lan- guages. • “Symbols and Icons” shows how flags, hearts, hands and peace cranes become replacements for words. • “From the Heart” communicates the emotions that people shared. • “What Is Your Message?” enables visitors to write a message about 9/11 on a long roll of butcher-block paper, which the museum can then keep as a remembrance of the traveling exhibi- tion. There is no cost to the museums that host “After 9/11.” The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Mich., was the first facility to request the exhibition, and it opened there in September 2002 to commem- orate the first anniversary of the attacks. So popular was its appear- ance that a record was broken for visi- tors in a single day, and attendance tripled over the course of its stay. The 84 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 4 After 9/11: Messages from the World By Priscilla Rachun Linn