Tuesday, September 28, 2004

Behind the Blast Walls  

(Wedding dancer. Image: Kevin Sites.)

We are living vicariously through our local fixers and crews. The conventional wisdom in Iraq now (at least for highly conspicuous tv news) is, "go out heavy (embed with the military) or don't go out at all."



(Bride and groom dance. Image: Kevin Sites.)

Obviously that can create a bit of a warped perspective. To cover the daily lives of Iraqis when not accompanied by armed-to-the-teeth American forces -- we have to send Iraqi or Arabic speaking staff to do the jobs we used to be able to do. But even they are in danger from the threats of violence and rampant kidnapping that surround us. They can't say they work for western media or they become as vulnerable as we are. We are like infants -- must be spoon fed information to stay alive.




(Cutting cake. Image: Kevin Sites.)
But behind these blast walls meant to protect us, our spirits wither. All of us who cover conflict on a regular basis got into this kind of journalism because we wanted to be immersed up to the eyeballs in our stories.



(Bride and dancer. Image: Kevin Sites.)

To live them -- not just cover them. Most of us have given up the communities, comforts and relationships that are the staples of more "natural" lives. To live and work like this is an anathema to our normal rhythms. So when our interpreter/producer Ashraf brought the video of his wedding to the bureau -- we all crowded around a tiny three-inch mini dv player -- like it was a crystal ball.

We watched us our colleague made the commitment of his lifetime to a stunning, young Iraqi woman -- dressed in a splendid royal blue gown, sprigs of white baby's breath in her hair. The camera moved around the room, allowing us to meet his family and friends -- some of them other Iraqi colleagues we knew -- but had never seen outside of work in this kind of setting, being themselves, full of smiles, the seriousness of newsgathering melted away for a few hours.



(Wedding kiss. Image: Kevin Sites.)

And then they danced. Mostly the women, moving like Bedouin princesses under the desert sky. A tiny glimpse of beauty in a place where it seems to become a bit more rare with each passing day.

Discuss

Kevin 7:25 AM

Monday, September 27, 2004

Blog Smog  

Didn't want this site to be about what I had for breakfast, what books I’m reading, what music I like. I didn't want it to be blog smog -- information haze -- that's little more than a personal masthead for the ship of self.

When the site's producer, Xeni Jardin, coaxed me into the blogosphere while I was covering the invasion of Iraq for CNN, I thought it would be a great way to share, with anyone interested, what I'm seeing and experiencing in conflict zones around the world.

Obviously, it's the prism of my own sensibilities -- but hopefully, a few filters less, a bit more direct. News stories without the middle-man. Plus I wanted it to be much more about people—somehow providing evidence of the connections we have to each other regardless of how geographically, linguistically or culturally removed. Finally, I wanted it to be about the small things-- observations and conversations that might pass without fanfare that are actually divining rods to quiet truths.

I've tied to accomplish this by being counterblogintuitive; going with long pieces rather than short posts, allowing digestive time with long lags between new entries (generally, driving Xeni crazy by my inability to grasp the obvious strength of the medium -- which is its immediacy).

My approach also created a choppiness in the narrative, tended to sacrifice stories and characters for the textures and colors of packaging. I realize that there are so many people you'd probably like to meet, details you'd want to see, conversations you need to hear—small things that provide greater understanding of our world. So rather than trying to collect them all and relay them back according to my timeline -- I will try to share them in a much more timely and frequent manner, through shorter and more frequent posts -- or even just an image a day to help you maintain some connection to the story that I'm currently covering. Let me know what you think. And, as always, I appreciate your interest and concern for my personal well-being and for those I write about.

Discuss

Kevin 7:15 AM