Sept. 5, 2014
Paying Respects
Nearly four years after the start of the Arab Spring, many of us are still trying to understand its causes. Some still refer to the series of revolutions that swept over the Middle East and Northern Africa as democracy in progress. Others see a much messier affair with reach beyond borders that are precarious to all.
Mostly, people are simply too busy with their own lives to follow to series of dramatic revolutions and civil wars much less understand them. It is a rare breed of human who is willing give up the safety of routine to follow revolutionary events up close. So it seems right to honor those who do.
In the past month, we lost two brave souls who took up the call to report from the front lines of civil disintegration.
Steven Sotloff and James Foley risked their lives repeatedly over the past year to uncover and explain revolution, revolt and everyday living in the midst of conflict. Extremists may have achieved shock in their violence, but they gained little else. The true valor belongs to Steven Sotloff and James Foley.
The words and wisdom of Foley and Sotloff will always live on, and we can learn a lot from it. Here is a look at some of their work.
"For many of the city’s youngest residents, concerns of money and economic survival are fleeting, especially when compared to the far-reaching goals of the revolution, which most have embraced wholeheartedly.... The tension had been simmering in Benghazi for years, fueled by decades of repression. But the storm exploded when Gaddafi’s troops turned their guns against the protesters." -James Foley in "Surviving tanks, snipers and a broken economy, one Libyan family looks to the future" in the Global Post, 3/30/2011
"The civilians of Aleppo are trapped in a violent stalemate, left to endure a war whose suffering and hardships grow larger with every passing day. Though NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen recently boasted "it's only a question of time"before the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad collapses, people in Aleppo fear they are stage players in a war with no end in sight." -Steven Sotloff in "From Bread Lines to Front Lines" in Foreign Policy, Dec. 24, 2012
"Coups depicted as revolutions, peaceful protesters painted as fanatics, and disgruntled citizens hailed as revolutionaries have transformed Egypt into a circus where the main attraction is the uncertainty of heading into the unknown." -Steven Sotloff in "The Muslim Brotherhood's Legitimate Grievances" in World Affairs
Share on Facebook Twitter Share on Google+
Remembering The Brave