The story of “dust lady”, the woman in the iconic photo of the attacks of September 11, 2001

This article was originally written in August 2015 and was subsequently edited.

On August 2, Marcy Borders died, remembered as the “dust lady” (lady of dust) whose photograph became one of the most viewed after the attacks on the Twin Towers in 2001.

Marcy Borders disobeyed her boss and escaped from the 81st floor of the North Tower during the attacks of September 11, 2001. (AFP).

The survivor died at the age of 42, a victim of stomach cancer.

LOOK: The story behind the iconic image of the man falling from one of the Twin Towers after the 9/11 attacks

22 years after the attacks, we remember the story behind this emblematic image.

The photograph

On September 11, 2001, borders He had just completed his first month of work at Bank of America, whose offices were on the 81st floor of the North Tower.

“The building began to shake and sway. I lost all control. “I fought my way to get out of that place.”Borders told the newspaper Daily Mail in 2011.

Defying his boss’s instructions to stay, he fled down the stairs and took refuge in the lobby of a nearby building. There his image was captured by photographer Stan Honda.

The author of the snapshot recalled that moment in a Facebook post on the tenth anniversary of the attacks.

In 2002, Marcy Borders posed with the photographer who took her dust-covered image at Ground Zero. (GETTY IMAGES).

“A woman came in completely covered in gray dust. You could tell that she was very well dressed for work and for a second she stopped in the lobby. I was able to get a shot of her before the police officer started directing people toward the stairs,” Honda wrote in 2011.

Borders, born in New Jersey, did not realize she had been photographed until her mother saw the image the next day and contacted Stan Honda.

Complications

In the years after the attacks, Borders suffered from severe depression and drug addiction. She even lost custody of her two children.

“I didn’t work in almost 10 years and in 2011 I was a complete disaster”he told The New York Post back then. “Every time I saw a plane I panicked.”

However, after a stint in rehab, starting in April of that year, she managed to detoxify and regain custody of her children.

In November 2014 it was learned that he had stomach cancer.

The survivors of 9/11 received free psychological care and participate annually in events to remember what happened at the World Trade Center. (Getty Images).

borders He stated that his illness was the result of what he went through in 2001. “I definitely believe it because I haven’t had any illness.”said the American newspaper New JerseyJournal.

“I don’t have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes.”

Thousands of people who were at Ground Zero on 9/11 were diagnosed with cancer, however medical authorities have not confirmed a direct relationship with the attacks.

Death

The news was reported by his family through the social network Facebook in August of last year. Borders left two children.

“I can’t believe my sister is gone,” her brother Michael wrote on Facebook.

In interviews in the years following the attack, She blamed her cancer on the dust and pollutants she inhaled while escaping the World Trade Center.

Borders also suffered from alcoholism and had anxiety attacks for a long time.

Juan Borders, Marcy’s cousin, called her a “heroine” and said that “he succumbed to the diseases he carried in his body since 9/11”.

“In addition to the loss of so many friends, co-workers and colleagues during and after that tragic day, the pains of the past have found a way to resurface,” he added.

Noelle, daughter of Marcy Borders, told the American newspaper New York Post that his mother “fought an incredible battle.”

“She is not only the ‘dust lady‘She is my heroine and will live forever through me.’he concluded.

Source: Elcomercio