Current News in Context
August 26, 2005
Death creeps up on you in Iraq, writes a longtime Baghdad correspondent for Reuters. But in recent months, the deaths have grown more personalized. It's not just random people who die anymore, but people you've met, people you've interviewed, some you know quite well, colleagues you work with everyday, friends even.
By Luke Baker
(August 26, 2005) -- Death creeps up on you in Iraq. The longer you remain amid the country's violence, the more insistent, the more bullying it becomes. Over time, more people you know die, or are left maimed, or have scrapes with death that leave them psychologically scarred.
All along there have been stories about it -- those killed by aerial bombardments, children blown apart by suicide bombs, families caught in crossfire, slain at the hands of insurgents or murdered by criminals. In March of last year, I stood in the street in Kerbala as suicide bombers exploded among crowds of Shi'ite Muslim pilgrims, killing more than 100 people, including dozens standing around me, strangers who became new victims of Iraq's conflict.
But in recent months, the deaths have grown more personalized. It's not just random people who die anymore, but people you've met, people you've interviewed, some you know quite well, colleagues you work with everyday, friends even. Almost every week, someone on the staff at Reuters, just one of a dozen or so news organizations still operating in the country, has a new tale to tell of a relative -- a brother, a mother, a cousin, or a son -- killed in terrible circumstances.
^ Top of page |
 |
Search site
Email Updates Sign Up to Have Posts Emailed to You Recent Posts
Now is the Time to Resist
US Troops / Lack of Reconstruction / Unwinnable
Bombing Attacks / Governors Association / National...
29 Killed in Baghdad / Reconstruction Funds Missin...
Eyes Wide Open: National Governors Association
FCNL: London Bombings - War is Not the answer
Out-of-Iraq Congressional Caucus / Private Militar...
US Lied to Britain over use of napalm in Iraq War
Operation Spear / US Convoys / Kidnappings
Mission Improbable & Withdrawal Resolution
Archives
October 2003
November 2003
December 2003
January 2004
February 2004
June 2004
July 2004
August 2004
September 2004
October 2004
November 2004
December 2004
January 2005
February 2005
March 2005
April 2005
May 2005
June 2005
July 2005
August 2005
September 2005
October 2005
November 2005
December 2005
January 2006
February 2006
March 2006
April 2006
May 2006
June 2006
July 2006
August 2006
September 2006
October 2006
November 2006
December 2006
April 2007
Atom Feed 
|
Email this page