Twisted metal / what remains

Twisted metal roofing was all that remained after the Salvadoran army conquered an impoverished town outside the capital. That, and a young girl. She’s hard to see, both because of the poor quality of the photo and her size against the destruction. But she stands, arms crossed, almost lost in the ruins (detail below).

It was another kind of destruction that struck Manhattan on September 11. Here, a few days after the attack, the skeletons of once-towering buildings smolder, coating everything for miles with the toxic stench of burned plastic and death.

Detail from the El Salvador photo.