Hostages in Iraq

Five years after its onset, the war in Iraq and its extensive media coverage have almost become a state of normality. Modern wars are fought not only on battlefields but also in media circles. Journalists and reporters go to great lengths to obtain a new piece of information about the ongoing conflicts, often putting their lives at stake.

Being from Romania, a country with a low, but constant degree of involvement in the war (i.e. 5000 soldiers deployed since its beginning), I have been exposed to the events in Iraq exclusively through media sources. The overabundance of information can't make me feel apathetic about those events, even though they are happening thousands of miles away. Quite often, stories about Iraq have made headlines in Romanian newspapers and newscasts. The most eloquent example is the kidnapping of 3 Romanian journalists in March 2005, a case that spurred much more media attention than military casualties or suicide bombings. The hostages were released two months later after the diplomatic intervention of the Romanian president. The person who arranged their voyage to Iraq, a Syrian businessman based in Romania, was arrested under charges of terrorism and complicity in kidnapping.

Shortly after the end of the crisis, there were many voices claiming that the whole operation was a hoax organized by the Romanian president himself, who experienced a significant increase in popularity after the release of the hostages. There where also rumors about a large ransom paid to the hostage takers, but government officials denied any disbursement. There certainly is political bias in this story and I believe that the people behind the kidnapping have strong connections with the Romanian leading party. I think that a large sum of money was spent in this operation, but the president didn’t want to make that public, fearing that other Romanians working or fighting in Iraq may be at risk.

I will share other stories about the way Iraq affected my country in future posts.