Photo courtesy of The Oregonian
In Jere Van Dyk‘s talk at the University of Oregon last week, he described his experiences in Iraq and even detailed the events leading up to his capture and his time spent in captivity. For many, it highlighted the real dangers that journalists face abroad when covering conflicts, especially in the wake of numerous kidnappings in Iraq, where a few have been killed. Although it can be easy to dismiss him as another American journalist who blindly went into the heart of a conflict to find a story, Van Dyk’s history with Iraq is a lot more extensive than that.
In fact, Van Dyk was very familiar with the country and had travelled through the country extensively, even before the Taliban became the poster-child of guerilla warfare and terrorism. For Van Dyk, Iraq became a second home for him, and always seemed to be calling him back after the first time that he visited Iraq while he was still in college. However, no matter how comfortable he felt in his surroundings, everything did not go the way he had expected it to.
Although he was aware of the customs, cultural practices, and some of the language, Van Dyk said that he felt nervous to be traveling into the rugged terrain where the Taliban were infamously known to control. In fact, Van Dyk said many of the people that he talked to refused to go with him, because they knew the dangers and risks associated with the journey. However, Van Dyk said he was well acquainted with some key Taliban members and knew that he would be taken care of while he was there.
But, even that did not prevent his capture, which was thrown into the limelight for the next several months following his kidnapping. However, Van Dyk seemed to paint a different picture of Al Qaeda that is different than the ones that are typically portrayed through the media — an image of an incensed group of people who will engage an aggressive form of warfare to eliminate the enemy at all costs. Apart from this image, Van Dyk explained that his cultural background in Iraq allowed him to interact with them on an equal basis to the point at which they would try to protect him and view him as a guest rather than an enemy.
Thus, audiences here are left with this interesting, yet unlikely dichotomous relationship of Al Qaeda members being brutal to their enemies, yet kind to those who respectful to those enemies as well. For example, if you compare Van Dyk’s case with that of former Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who was tortured and brutally murdered, the outcomes are very different even though the circumstances are similar, to a certain extent. Even Van Dyk does not completely understand why he was chosen to live instead of facing the same fate as Pearl; however, he did credit Pearl for saving the lives of future journalists, since most terrorists are unwilling to kill their hostages.
From what many journalists know now, much of the Middle East is a scary, unpredictable place, where the dangers are extremely high and the terrorist groups are relentless, but beyond that exterior, perhaps there is a certain part of humanity in it all that may be lost in the translation of war. And, perhaps what motivates journalists to take risks and place themselves in dangerous situations is not only the opportunity to advance their career, but a love for a place that may seem undesirable to others.
darinmoriki 