Saturday, July 2, 2005
The casualties of warHere's a loving tribute to Yasser Salihee, an Iraqi journalist and doctor who was killed by US troops on his day off last week: 10:36:37 AM | Yasser's demanding job as a reporter inevitably meant less time with his wife, a doctor named Raghad, and their adorable, blue-eyed daughter, 2-year-old Danya. He raved about his family, brought them to staff dinners and posted photos of them in the office. I went to offer my condolences to Raghad this week, but instead of my pretty friend I found a shell of a woman with sunken eyes and layers of black mourning clothes.
Yasser's widow showed me photos of their wedding day, a huge celebration with white lace and a tall cake. Raghad managed a small laugh as she recounted how this fearless doctor had fainted in the hospital when she gave birth to their daughter.
For that daughter, Raghad is saving Yasser's newspaper articles, his notebooks, even the blood-soaked press card retrieved from the scene of his death. She made us promise to continue covering Iraq and said she wished her English were better so that she could take his place in the bureau.
Yasser had hoped to travel to London soon on a journalism fellowship. He showed me a copy of the essay he'd written for the application. He described the dangers that journalists in Iraq face, writing that the obstacles were enough to make anyone want to quit. Then he added:
"But for me, I decided to carry on as a doctor and a foreign reporter at the same time because I found it very important to tell the people outside about what's really going on.
War is at its heart violence against civilians. We may choose not to
count the dead, we may hide from their deaths. But neither shields us from our responsibility. 
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Last update: 8/3/05; 12:28:13 AM .
