JOIN ME IN SUPPORT OF NOUR AL-KHAL

Learn about Nour al-Khal, Steven Vincent's translator.

Posted February 23 (Hyperlink dated to remain at the top for a month.)

The murder of journalist Steven Vincent was two and a half years ago. And Nour al-Khal, his translator who survived their horrible ordeal, is stuck in Iraq, hiding for safety, unable to get permission to come to America, despite continuing efforts on the part of Vincent's widow, Lisa Ramaci-Vincent.

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Readers are invited to read my posts about what happened to Steven Vincent. I ask in advance that you excuse whatever anger may show through my writing. I know that rage and frustration are counterproductive to a calm and reasonable remedy for any problem. Do your own homework and decide what action, if any, will be appropriate for you. Email spamming comes to mind, but I hate spam as much as anyone. Constructive suggestions are welcome.

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Thank you for reading.

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Hoots

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February 27:

Lisa Ramaci-Vincent has left an MP3 link in the comments to an interview by Dick Gordon of American Public Media with Nour, who is hiding for safety. He speaks with both Lisa and Nour in detail about what happened at the time of the kidnapping and what has happened since. It is the first thirty-eight minutes of a fifty-minute radio program trvealing a vivid portrait of the people involved. There are hopeful toward the end of the narrative, but the story is ongoing.

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Dick Gordon: There has been a change. Just in the last few weeks people in Washington say they are now turning their attention to Iraqis who are in danger for having worked with Americans. Nour al-Khal has been told she should expect she'll be interviewed by State Department officials.

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I have sent emails to a few key people from my blogroll but the response has been tepid. In the interview Nour tells how after the incident that took the life of Steven Vincent and left her wounded she stood bleeding in the street where they had been dumped, trying in vain for some time to get someone to stop and give assistance. The story is yet another first-person account of the indifference of most people to what has been termed the "banality of evil." In some way the same indifference continues at the official/quasi-public level.

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I take away from this interview that Lisa Ramaci-Vincent's efforts are at the moment yielding some results. I hesitate to do anything that might rock the boat. The best that anyone can do at this point seems to be to become informed, spread awareness of this "case" and put in a good word where ever possible.

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Readers are urged to download this piece and give it a listen. No one can come away from this interview unaffected. Well, I say "no one" carelessly, knowing there are some individuals immune even to the most compelling situations. I should say "no one with whom I care to be associated."

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Update, June 29

Thanks to the tireless efforts of Lisa, Nour is now in New York.