American Hostages: A Sad Ending
By David MacDougall
The FBI has confirmed what family members feared: remains found in Iraq last week are those of Jonathon Cote, aged 25, from Amherst in upstate New York. He was kidnapped 17 months ago along with four colleagues, while working as a private security contractor. They were apparently ambushed at a fake checkpoint in southern Iraq back in November 2006, by 30 gunmen said to have been dressed in Iraqi police uniforms. The “fake checkpoint” scam has been pulled frequently by various insurgent groups (often, though not exclusively, Shiites).
I talked with Dan Herbeck of the Buffalo News, who has covered this story extensively from the start. He tells me that Jonathon’s family were always gracious, and remained very proactive in keeping the story in the public eye, through their efforts with local media.
Kidnapping Time line
A month after being kidnapped, Jonathon appeared on a videotape released by his captors (it’s online at www.myspace.com/freecote). Talking to the camera, Cote said:
“I’m Jonathon Cote, I’m from Buffalo, New York, I’m being treated well. I can’t be released until the prisoners from the American jails and the British jails are released”
It seems like nothing more was heard about the fate of Jonathon and his colleagues for many months. The wait and lack of news must have been incredibly frustrating and frightening for his family. I know my own family worries if I don’t call while out on an embed; or if they watch TV and hear about bombings, they worry how close I might have been. Cote’s father is quoted as saying the only information the Government had provided was “we have no news, we have activity”. Mr Cote said “it’s very vague”. Keep Reading …
Sadr City Day Trip
By David Mac Dougall
I spent the day yesterday in Sadr City. We were guests of Brigadier General Will Grimsley, Deputy Commanding General of the 4th Infantry Division.
It was my first trip to Sadr City since March last year - although I’ve made forays there every year since 2004 on various embeds. It’s difficult to describe what conditions are like in Sadr City.
It truly is one of the worst slums I’ve ever seen. The General’s convoy made a stop in one of the main markets - but it wasn’t doing a thriving trade. Raw sewage ran down the middle of the street, with construction debris and rubble littering the sidewalk. Most businesses and stores were closed.
A make-shift gas station had sprung up, selling fuel from oil drums (it’s one of the ways militias and criminal gangs make money - illegal fuel). Men huddled in doorways, and seemed to sway between being suspicious and curious about our visit.
Kicking It With the Baghdad Ballet
By Malini Bawa
I visited the Baghdad Ballet School– where a Western art form has survived through five years of war. The school once had 150 students and a dance troupe that performed professionally. But now they’re down to just 15 girls and boys.
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Extremists — both Sunni and Shia — disapprove of Western music and dance, and girls in form-fitting leotards. They’ve scared away many of the students by threatening their families.
I had the chance to report on an extraordinary teacher and students who refused to be intimidated. Here’s a little more behind-the-scenes action.
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Baghdad Ballet Stays on Its Feet
By Malini Bawa
This week, I took a trip to the Baghdad Ballet School– a welcome break from covering the bombings and violence in Iraq.
The ballet school has managed to hang on with just a handful of students through five years of war.
The piece on the school, and the remarkable teacher and her students, is scheduled to be broadcast Friday April 18 on Special Report (barring breaking news.) But this photo essay gives you a sneak peek.
As a former/frustrated ballet dancer, I desperately wanted to cover this story, but Fox cameraman Tom Streithorst got into it just as much as I did!
The instructor allowed me to teach the older girls “something modern from America”– a lyrical jazz dance. It’s a lot different than the classical style they’re used to, but they picked it up quickly. Thanks to my colleague Eric Stewart for these fantastic photos.
Spring in Baghdad; Part 2: Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens
By Malini Bawa
I’m told that my colleagues in the Baghdad have already blogged repeatedly about the flock of stray cats living in our compound.
I saw the first litter a few days ago, in an empty lot (left) nearby.
Around here, springtime means kittens (below).
You wouldn’t think anything could survive in this barren landscape.
But there they are, among the bricks at the base of these concrete barriers.
A cat and her three kittens have made their home! Another litter turned up in an outdoor utility area.
They can’t be more than a couple days old. Their eyes are still closed!
Spring in Baghdad; Part 1: Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens
By Malini Bawa
Back in Baghdad! My fifth rotation here in the last two years. This is the first time I’ve been here in early spring, and the signs of the season can lift your spirits, even in a war zone.
Last week, our gardener (pictured below) began planting bright-colored flowers in the small patch of green inside our compound.
Roses, geraniums and petunias now decorate the base of protective concrete blast walls. Our fixer tells me a small rose bush costs only about a dollar at the nearby nursery.
As the planting started, an unexpected rain shower washed over Baghdad leaving droplets of water clinging to the flowers.
(Photo courtesy of my colleague Eric Stewart)
Gray Skies in Baghdad
By David Mac Dougall
It’s raining today in Baghdad. A full-blown thunder storm, complete with big angry clouds rumbling over the city and giant splodges of rain. Even though it’s still 90 degrees outside, this is my favorite type of weather here.
Iraq’s changing seasons really affect the way we work.
Sandstorms can keep the airport closed for days at a time, filling the air with thick swirls of yellow dust, blotting out the sun and invading every gap in clothing or windows in cars and buildings. During my first sandstorm in Iraq, the sun was so dulled by a blanket of sand that my cameraman was able to point his camera directly at the sun and film as long as he wanted.
My first winter in Baghdad - in 2003 - was cold, wet and very foggy. The nights when fog would envelope the city were the scariest, because insurgent mortar teams would use the anonymity of thick fog cover to fire at the Green Zone, where I was living at the time. They knew that the fog prevented helicopters from being launched to track them down. As each mortar attack started, an alarm sounded, and my room-mate and I would run from our trailer and head for a hardened shelter just across the street.
Watch Iraq's rebuilding efforts through the eyes of our Baghdad Bureau — reporters risking it all to bring you fair and balanced coverage from the Mideast.
