For those of us who follow reporting on international human rights, the name of David Rohde is one we've learned to appreciate. His articles exposing the slaughter of 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica was outstanding. He wrote a celebrated book about it. His reporting on Afghanistan and Iraq and Guantanamo Bay has been sharp and informed.
I hadn't noticed, to be honest, that I hadn't seen his byline in the New York Times for a while. The personnel there is always in flux. Charlie Savage shows up, then perhaps David Rohde leaves. Those of us not in the field don't pay that much attention.
Well, it turns out that he was still on the payroll. He was, in fact, kidnapped by the Taliban in Afghanistan.
And, last night, he escaped.
Rohde's story reads like a screenplay. One of the lines that will be in that movie's trailer will be this one, spoken by his wife, Kristen Mulvihill:
"We’ve been married nine months, and seven of those, David has been in captivity."
Rohde and the local reporter with whom he was kidnapped on November 10, Tahir Ludin, escaped by climbing over the wall of the compound in North Waziristan, Pakistan, where they were being held. (Their driver, Asadullah Mangal, was not part of their escape.)
The New York Times gets a lot of grief on this site, much of it deserved, but this event gives us a peek behind the scenes at how this organization deals with the everpresent prospect of violence against its journalists. Their operation and values in these matters are impressive, as recounted by Times Executive Editor Bill Keller:
"From the early days of this ordeal, the prevailing view among David’s family, experts in kidnapping cases, officials of several government and others we consulted was that going public could increase the danger to David and the other hostages. The kidnappers initially said as much. We decided to respect that advice, as we have in other kidnapping cases, and a number of other news organizations that learned of David’s plight have done the same. We are enormously grateful for their support.
Other than denying that the Times paid a ransom, Keller noted:
Kidnapping, tragically, is a flourishing industry in much of the world. As other victims have told us, discussing your strategy just offers guidance for future kidnappers.
This is heartening. We're all fortunate the Rohde escaped, but also that the Times is aware of how best to respond to these tragedies.
We're so used to hearing about how our military troops are heroes that I think we sometimes forget how heroic our war correspondents are. They share many of the danger of our troops, but will often venture out with much less protection and institutional support. Yet the benefit that one single journalist offers us -- at least the ones, like Rohde, who take their job seriously -- is probably greater than any one individual U.S. fighter. Without them, we don't have the information we need to make independent decisions about policies. Without them, we are at the mercy of PR flaks for the government.
The Times has, perhaps smartly, not listed Rohde's e-mail address (not where I can find it, anyway) to protect him from barrages of welcoming messages whipped up by people like me, but another option for honoring him does exist.
The International News Safety Institute describes itself thusly:
The International News Safety Institute (INSI) is a unique coalition of news organisations, journalist support groups and individuals exclusively dedicated to the safety of news media staff working in dangerous environments.
It is a not-for-profit charity, supported entirely by membership contributions which are channeled back into safety work.
INSI’s purpose is to create a global safety network of advice and assistance to journalists and other news gatherers who may face danger covering the news on international assignment or in their own countries.
It raises funds to provide safety training free of charge to journalists in need around the world who are unable to afford their own. It promotes measures to improve safety understanding among news organisations, militaries, governments and international bodies.
INSI is managed by journalists and overseen by an Advisory Board representing major news organisations, unions and journalist support groups who are committed to safety in news coverage.
More than 1,000 journalists and critical news gathering support staff – translators, fixers, drivers and the like – have died covering stories over the past 10 years. Many died on international battlefields or on assignment to natural disasters. Most fell in their home countries as they covered corruption, crime, unrest and other dangerous stories.
The majority were murdered by elements that feared exposure of illegal activities. The free flow of information, on which enlightened societies depend for efficient government, business and public education, is constricted whenever journalists are killed, beaten, threatened and forced to work in fear of their safety and that of their families.
Reporting dangerous stories can never be completely safe. But INSI believes it can be made safer.
Put simply, we aim to help journalists survive the story.
It also offers an action item:
INSI raises money from international donors to provide safety training free of charge where it is most needed by journalists who have neither the resources nor the knowledge to secure their own. It is the only organisation doing this work in a focused and sustained way.
If you choose to donate, be sure to tack on $.01 at the end to show that it comes from the netroots, and send them a comment to let them know that you give in honor of David Rohde, whom many of us have missed without realizing it.