~By Anu. Today, news that a universally respected, much loved colleague, Alan Johnston, may have been killed by a Palestinian group. This is not confirmed. Nonetheless, all of us are worried and sad. Whenever a journalist or civilian is kidnapped in a conflict zone, nice things are inevitably said about them. The irony with Alan is-- nice things have always been said about him because he is one of the most quietly conscientious people you'll ever meet. He never moans, never criticizes, never showboats or seeks attention-- something that is truly rare in the world of journalism.
Meanwhile, equally upsetting and important... and something we've not shared with you in the past.
Our Iraqi friend, Ahmed*, has been living with us since last year, while he waits for Britain to grant him asylum. Ahmed received a personal death threat from a group affiliated with Al Qaeda in Iraq because he was working for an international media company.
It's important to note that the same group that threatened Ahmed has has now made the claim about Alan. Again, it's too soon to draw conclusions in Alan's case, but what's clear is that journalists are increasingly being used as political bargaining chips.
I was reading that threat letter again last night, as we went through his papers, thinking how chilling it must be to know that someone is watching you and planning to kill you and your family. Read this piece, if you want a sense of how brutally personal Iraq's war is.
As a result of that letter, Ahmed grabbed his wife and three children and immediately left home. He finally took them to Syria, settling them in as best he could, reassuring his wife, his 14-year-old daughter, 11-year-old son and 4-year-old baby girl... and then he returned to Baghdad, sleeping in the fortified compound where he was employed. He tried to get his bosses to move him anywhere outside Iraq, even asking to be sent to cover the war in Lebanon, which was still safer than being under death threat in Baghdad.
When all those efforts failed, Ahmed was forced to claim asylum in London where he'd been sent for training.
Today, he is on his way to Liverpool for a second asylum interview, after a frustrating, harrowing seven months separated from his family. In that time, he has lost half his body weight from stress and worry. Anyone familiar with the asylum system in Britain knows that it is overwhelmed... and terribly cumbersome and inefficient.
But the bigger question is: why aren't Britain and the US taking in more Iraqi refugees? On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR is holding a special meeting to raise awareness about the plight of millions of Iraqi refugees. Most of them are living in Jordan and Syria, but those countries are starting to turn on them.
On Tuesday, Ahmed's wife will have to take the children on a bus to the turbulent, dangerous Iraqi border- a journey that takes six hours. They will have to pay a tout about $100 to take their passports to the Iraqi authorities, while they sleep on the bus, to renew their three month visas for Syria.
Studies show that we human beings can't relate to the collective suffering of millions. So the next time you hear about all those people whose lives have been destroyed in Iraq, just think of Ahmed waking up every morning in a strange foreign country, surrounded by none of his own belongings, thinking of the house he built, but had to leave behind, along with all the photos, furniture, his favorite leather jacket.... and having to content himself with the fact that he is at least alive, unlike dozens and dozens of his childhood friends and family.
*Ahmed's name has been changed to protect his identity.
I am very sorry to hear about your loss. My condolences to you and the family of the Alan Johnston.
On a broader issue, I wonder why journalists are targeted. A journalist, most of the times, is merely trying to bring forth the truth. Many a times I read that those that do not want the truth to be revealed do the killing, and then plant the blame on some usual suspect, a scapegoat.
But then sometimes I wonder if the journalist are telling the truth then why do we not see that truth in our local newspapers or on our local TV? Why is it that while (for example) world renowned professors like Steven Walt (Professor at Harvard) and John Mearsheimer (Professor at Univ of Chicago) have been risking their lives and livelihood by speaking the truth, New York Times, Guardian, Sky TV and Foxnews have very little to say about Walt-Mearsheimer ( you can download their paper from Harvard University http://ksgnotes1.harvard.edu/Research/wpaper.nsf/rwp/RWP06-011/$File/rwp_06_011_walt.pdf ) yet a lot of coverage on Anna Nicole Smith and Sanjaya.
I pray for the family of Alan Johnston and all those who have died due to oppression.
Posted by: Shaan Khan | 16 April 2007 at 03:36 PM