Dec 18 2007
Alive In Baghdad Correspondent Killed
I guess I feel an affinity for the people who put out the Alive in Baghdad vlog because they go through the same steps I do–filming, editing, subtitling, uploading–only they're a lot better at it, and they have to dodge bullets and bombs, and deal with the loss of loved ones far too often. Whenever I watch their vlog, I imagine what it would be like if it were me behind the camera. That's what I think about sometimes when I'm commuting between work and home. In another part of the world right now, there are hundreds of thousands of everyday people living in hell, thanks to our moron of a president.
Ali Shafeya Al-Moussawi, a special correspondent for the Alive In Bagdad video podcast, was killed on December 14th, 2007, two days shy of his 23rd birthday. Read the full story here , and donating a few dollars to his family won't end all the suffering in Iraq, but it might help out one grieving mother a little. For her, I'll brew myself the next few cups of coffee and send her what I save by not visiting Starbucks.
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4 Responses to “Alive In Baghdad Correspondent Killed”
Damn.
This is a lesson in heroism. Happening to be in the World Trade Center when it was hit is unfortunate, but it does not make one a hero. Being drafted into the Army in WWII does not make one a hero.
Knowingly putting your life on the line in an attempt to let the world know the truth about what's going on in your country when you could keep your head down or you could try to get the hell out of there or you could join a militia or a gang. Risking your neck for what's right. That's heroism.
As far as I'm concerned, any Iraqi journalist working in Iraq today is a hero by default, whether he wants to be or not.
Garrett's last blog post..Japan Blogs of the Year 2007 - Voting Open!
This makes me so sad, war what is it good for………
Man has a lot to answer for.
shame the media is fixated on the spice girls or who is gonna be the next england football manager.
RIP Ali Shafeya Al-Moussawi
Darren: I wouldn't expect news like this to show up in the mainstream media. If he were a journalist for a major news network, he'd be canonized of course, but the death of an amateur videographer in Iraq who some of us feel a connection with is the kind of news you'll only find on blogs.
I started paying more attention to the backlog of unwatched Alive in Baghdad episodes on my iPod and man, they are really good. There's something about knowing they're put out by just normal people–without professional voiceovers or flashy graphics–that makes me feel like I'm listening to real people, not just watching some news event happening far away. And I feel guilty for not donating sooner. I'll have to fix that.
People should realize how lucky they are that something as trivial as the Spice Girls, Amy Winehouse's train wreck of a life or football can take up so much of their attention.
totally agree with you guys. a short prayer for his family…
PS. Rich, you called football "football" and not "soccer"! nice work.