WHERE WERE YOU ON SEPTEMBER 11TH?
On Sept. 11 - I was awakened by a phone call from my future brother-in-law. My parents had arrived at 3 a.m. that morning driving in from North Carolina for my sister's wedding that coming weekend and I was in a semi- comatose state. When I turned on the television I was in shock but I soon found myself loading up my still cameras and film readying myself to go down to the scene. One building had collapsed before I left my apartment. I fought for a cab on the streets and went immediately to NBC to check in and get a video camera. Unfortunately, after the second building collapsed I got trapped in the production mechanism at NBC. They needed their best "crashers" to whip up stories for the wall to wall coverage to come. So instead of heading down into the debris I spent the next four days writing, screening and editing pieces for Stone Phillips and Tom Brokaw. If I were to do it over again I would have gone straight to the scene and not checked in at the office for 1 feel I could have made a difference in the field coverage. Though in a way, 1 have to thank my parents for keeping me up so late the night before the tragedy. Otherwise, I probably would have been under or around the towers as they fell.
WHEN DID YOU ARRIVE IN PAKISTAN AND HOW DID YOU GET THE ASSIGNMENT?
I arrived in Pakistan on Oct. 8th, 2001 the day after Allied forces first bombed Afghanistan. I volunteered for the assignment. I was fortunate enough to be chosen from a group of experienced journalists.
WHAT IS THE GENERAL MODE THERE?
The mood is very tense. Pakistan has a military government and holds public opinion and dissent in check by threat of force. But being here gives one the sense of sitting on a powder keg all one needs to do is light a match. I've attended public rallies in Quetta, Pakistan, where a crowd of 10 thousand Afghans and Pakistanis call for America's death, I have been spat at, shoved and struck by passersby but not outright attacked (possibly so because I'm usually accompanied by armed minders.) The army holds this country together. Force of arms keeps tribal feuds and anarchy to a minimum among the populace. All one needs to do is walk out one’s door to walk back in time. It’s almost medieval and there are: more burros and carts than cars, women are accorded second- class citizenship and the average breadwinner brings home the equivalent of $500 a year. This is the third world with nukes.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON?
I'm working on stories involving: the refugee/humanitarian crisis, the bombing and war effort, Pakistani support for the Taliban cause, the fervor of Pakistani fundamentalists set on destroying Pakistan and the American war effort. I worked for three weeks in southern Pakistan covering civil unrest in the town of Quetta. I am currently in Islamabad working on relevant stories before I enter Afghanistan. Tomorrow (Nov. 14), I travel to Peshawar. From there I'll disembark for Kabul once Allied forces liberate it from Taliban control.
WHAT ARE WE NOT SEEING?
DO YOU FEEL SAFE?
What you are not seeing; the utter poverty and desolation of this region. The people have no hope for a better life - no education system (other than the Madrassas which breed extremists) or means of ascent. This war is as much about "the haves vs. the have notes" as it is about Muslim extremists lashing out against American foreign policy. One Pakistani official I spoke with said the poverty stricken people of Afghanistan are the figurative hosts to the parasitic terrorists. He recommends that America remedy the problems of Afghanistan and the parasites will no longer have a base of operation and become vulnerable. He said bombs and the death of Osama won't do it. He attributes the hate as tied to the lack of freedom, the lack of jobs, the loss of personal pride and self-worth. Many Muslims I have spoken with believe that America is holding them back and/or tampering with their society and its progress. The most staggering thing I have seen, aside from the poverty and ignorance, is the utter loss of potential—10,000 screaming zealots at a rally could amount to so much more than a mob. Magnify the same loss of potential on the millions living here. As for being safe let's say so far I have been extremely lucky.
IS THIS THE BIGGEST STORY YOU'VE COVERED, WHAT WOULD YOU COMPARE IT TO OR WHAT WAS A LARGER OR COMPARABLE STORY?
This is the biggest story I’ve ever covered. I've never covered a war before so no means of comparison. OJ, Elian, the Clinton scandal, the Bush/Gore election crisis all seem to pale in significance.
HOW LONG WILL YOU BE THERE?
I will be here for another month or as conditions/events merit. I've been sick (gastrointestinal three times)—some members of my team from Quetta were infected by a bad strain of bacteria that is in their bloodstream and still causing them to lose weight/sickness upon their return to London. One colleague checked into a hospital yesterday in England. I am feeling better but not 100 percent yet. God knows we didn't plan on food and disease hurting us with all the bullets and bombs and fanatics. I hope I am able to follow through with my plan to visit Armenia on my way home.
