150 days. Florence Aubenas has been kept for one hundred and fifty days. We do not have any information for over three months. And we never received information about Hussein Hanoun al-Saadi. The French government has changed. As the previous didn’t speak a lot, I’m afraid that things will last because it’s a new one. How much longer is this kidnapping going to go on ?
And we always stay with the same (old) question : why does this kidnapping last such a time when others tourned out well (sometimes badly) in the end in a few days or in a few weeks (Giuliana Sgrena ou Marie Jeanne Ion for example) ? Florence Aubenas holds now a bad record (if we consider Fred Nerac is dead) : she was held prisoner 150 days, the record since March 2003.
Wednesday, April 20. - 4.30 pm - A
fish without wather
It's a difficult practice the one I try every
day: to take a picture of the ephemera not to forget the kidnapped
journalists. At first, all seems to be quite easy. But to these
pictures, I have added the definition of a word relating to ephemera
plus a quotation. And ten days after the first one, it begins
to be a little bit complicated.
Yesterday, I have missed a caterpillar! What can be more accurate
to illustrate ephemera than a caterpillar? But when I saw it,
I didn't react… And today I tried to find another one but
I could not.
I remember that I visited last year an exhibition of a French
pastellist, Denis Rivière, who has drawn every day during
one year, the sky he saw through his window. It's a good exercice!
Because when one is working, when one is travelling or just when
the day is well busy, this exercice is not exactly a rest cure!
Now, even it is not quite easy, I prefer to be here than to be
at the place of Florence Aubenas and others journalists in Iraq.
If we don't have any information, it's easy to think they don't
know more on how it will last. Their kidnapping is not as they
were in jail, and a journalist without a pen and a paper, it looks
like a fish without water… Close to death.
Monday, April 18. - 9.00 pm - Just
to be her life insurance
Today, Florence has been kidnapped for 103 days.
I have drawn, signed, taken photos, demonstrated… and thousands
people have done as I did. But what is the result?
Today, Florence Aubenas is still kept. And we do not have any
information about her guide, Hussein Hanoun al-Saadi. And Romanians
start their 21th day of captivity.
Today, I am worried as I was on January 7. What to do?
Of course, we do not have to forget her. But is it enough?
Of course, we do show our support to her family and friends. Some
people write a post every day on the Liberation's forum. Every
day I try to take a photo about the theme of the ephemera, at
every place I am (http://bref.blogspot.com).
Today, I was near the sea, it was quite simple with the ebb and
flow, even if I tried to write the Florence's name in the sand
but I couldn't because it was too wet. But could I stay well-motivated?
And what is this useful for? Of course, I know that hundreds of
people from more than 40 countries read these lines or see these
photos or pictures; I discovered that quite serious websites have
placed links towards these pages. Jean-Paul Kaufmann (who has
been kidnapped for more than two years) always repeats that nothing
is insignificant. But nevertheless, I have my doubts…
Of course, we have to show to these Iraqi kidnappers that we are
more determined than they are and that Florence's job and life
are more important for us than they are for them… In a way,
her life insurance.
Thursday, April 14.- 11 pm. - Hardly
noticeable
At first, I was afraid when this idea to set
up a petition was born. When I signed it, there were only 200
signatories. Then those I asked to sign still remain silent (only
4 amongst 198 to whom I wrote said to have signed) or wrote to
me they will not sign (I received six answers with that point
of view). So I was afraid about the success of such an idea. Fortunately,
things have rapidly changed! Signs are by now thousands. That's
now a great-looking petition!
I have got an idea for an illustration and I have collected the
signs every 5 minutes during 4 hours on http://www.pourflorenceethussein.org/petition/1/index.shtml
(it's a petition dedicated for the French president Chirac to
show we do not forget Florence Aubenas and her guide after 100
days of detention). When I collected these signs, between 5.35
pm and 9.30 this Thursday, it was almost one sign every minute.
I think there are not many journalists through the world who stood
in the situation of one person per minute to think about them!
It's a pity that happens in such a situation… And let us
hope all this will be useful to release her (and her guide) and
let us hope it will not only give a higher financial value to
Florence for her kidnappers. On the other hand, the more Florence
get a higher price, the better is for her life!
About thoughts, last week all eyes and thoughts
were turned on the Vatican for the Pope. This has brought an article
from Eric Fottorino in the French daily newspaper Le Monde dated
April 12, "the
April 8 information" about the presidential elections
which occurred in Djibouti April 8 (also here).
Nobody spoke about these elections: AFP did not, but they spoke
about Charles and Camilla who entered the church (those are things
people just don't make up)!
But another AFP's dispatch, dated April 7, the day before the
Pope's funeral, also went unnoticed for all French daily newspapers:
"Indonesia strongly revised the tsunami's death down".
And one learns that "the number of missing people falls down
from 93.458, as it was previously said, to 37.063, said the Coordinating
national agency for disasters".
That means 56.395 missing people… who are not missing! Excuse
me, but I don't understand how such an error is possible. I remember
the wave of solidarity all around the world to send money and
help the refugees which grew up the more the number of deaths
and missing people were growing up… Then couldn't we think
that the Indonesian government voluntarily increase the number
of missing people? How can the Indonesian government explain that?
And why to send a qualifying statement on April 7 when all dispatches
and all medias around the world look towards the 2 million people
who were in Roma for the Pope's funeral?
AFP wrote it was a "hardly noticeable" qualifying statement.
The original number is divided by 2.5. Such a statement is more
than "hardly noticeable"… but it stood in silence.
Sunday, April 10. - 10.35 am
I was very disappointed when I saw that the 35.000
arm-bands manufactured for the competitors of the Marathon of
Paris haven’t been placed on arms. Almost nobody carries
it! And if there had not been one of the candidates, a few minutes
before the departure to show it at the camera, it would not have
been even seen! Even the French TV journalists, those with motor
bike as those in the studio of France-Televisions did not carry
it!
Fortunately, the mayor of Paris pointed out that the marathon
was dedicated to Florence Aubenas and to Hussein Hanoun. Fortunately,
one could see a Colombian competitor posting in a very readable
way the detention of Ingrid Betancourt. And fortunately, on several
occasions, commentators spoke about our hostages in Iraq but also
about Nérac or Kieffer.
How I would have appreciated that people on the official platform
carry this arm-band and as I would have liked that the majority
of the competitors raise it! Why isn't the the case?
Wednesday, April 6. - 9.25 pm
As I wonder why the release of Florence Aubenas
is so long, how long this torture will last and what one can do
to speed it up, as I wonder what a petition intended to French
government could change for her release, what this website is
useful for and why so many people came here from so various countries
(latest are Lebanon and Australia), Tommaso de Francesco, an Italian
journalist of Il Manifesto writes: “On the battle field,
one forgets Iraqis journalists and Eastern reporters, more or
less embedded, which one will describe as a new category: the
one of the abandoned” and he calls our attention to defend
them… (here)
Florence Aubenas has been kidnapped when she wanted to meet refugees
from Falluja, and Giuliana Sgrena had also been kidnapped just
after she met Falluja’s refugees. I’ve already placed
here a
text about “a ruined Falluja grow stronger” from the
US daily New-York Times. Here
is a long and detailed text, translated from the German daily
newspaper Junge Welt, of two Iraqis doctors who were in Fallouja
in November 2004 during the US attack against Falluja’s
insurgents.
It would be better to go into the matter closely, but who will
be the one to go there to do these investigations?
Saturday, April 2. - 9.40 pm
An article
published today by the French daily Le Figaro, about Iraq, ended
with: "There are not less than 40 to 50 terrorist attacks
every day, according to US chief of staff Richard Myers, «and
half of them would be ineffective». The other half aims
in priority the Iraqis."
Nothing might be different by tomorrow for journalists in Iraq!
And if, as I did, you did not believe in the argument of the mass
destruction weapons for president Bush to attack Iraq, you will
be very interested in the rapport
published two days ago by a US independent commission: all was
a pack of lies! Page 45, a paragraph with only one sentence clearly
appears: "These assessments were all wrong."
And a few lines below, one can read: "How could the Intelligence
Community have been so mistaken?"
Not to be so mistaken next time (with Syria, Iran or North Korea
for example), it is recommended to read this document of 618 pages.
They also speak about Iran, Libya and North Korea. And about al-Qa’ida.
One can read, page 267, "The Intelligence Community concluded
that at the time of the commencement of the war in Afghanistan,
al-Qa’ida’s biological weapons program was both more
advanced and more sophisticated than analysts had previously assessed."
One can also read, some pages further: "al-Qa’ida
had acquired several biological agents possibly as early as 1999."
!
The whole study -618 pages, in a PDF file-
can be download here.
Saturday, April 2. - 10.00 am
A few days ago, I have contacted the French daily
newspaper Le Monde because I was anxious regarding the copyright
and the rights I will have to pay, when I saw that Le Monde asked
for very high fees, something as 1.10€ per word.
I received an answer:
"You just have the right to print a quotation. The quotation
is a reprinting of a part of an article. It has necessarily to
be short in order to avoid plagiarism. «Short» has
to be compared with the length of the original article and with
the length of your text. The quotation illustrate the text and
it does not compete with the newspaper it comes from. The name
of the author and of Le Monde have to be mentioned, with a link
towards the website. This link has to open a new window in the
browser."
But this answer does not correspond to the questions I have asked!
I asked about the translations into English, I didn’t get
an answer. I have asked about the articles I will comment, complete
and annotate; no one word about that. And I have asked about all
the articles I have compiled regarding the kidnappings of Florence
Aubenas and Giuliana Sgrena, and for this too, on one word about.
As for the links towards Le Monde’s articles that can be
read only for a few days (as Florence has disappeared for 86 days),
I didn’t get an answer.
The idea of "compete with the newspaper it comes from"
makes me laugh! As a website as this one could compete with the
one of Le Monde!!! By word of mouth is the only way for my site
to be known… And as for the end of the answer I have received,
I wonder if the guy who answered came to visit this website, because
the copyright is printed for each article I have taken, and concerning
the opening of new windows in the browser, it’s the A.B.C.-stage
of internet!
To sum up, I don’t really care for that kind of answer.
It seems to point out all is not free. What a merchant society!
Nevertheless, I will ask again for all the answers I havn’t
got.
Friday, April 1. - 10.25 am
It’s terrible to come to this: Florence
Aubenas has been kept for 86 days. And nobody could know and nobody
(except perhaps -?- the DGSE, the French secret services) does
not know today how long this kidnapping will last...
I had to re-examine the presentation of my blog. I did not think
that I will have to write a so long time! Florence has just passed
her 86th night in Iraq and I already wrote 17.390 words, that
is to say more than 100.000 signs in French, and almost the same
number of words in English ...
I also wonder if I will continue to translate these posts into
English. But as 31 different nationalities visited this website
in March (Algeria, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Domenica,
Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia,
Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Russia, Senegal,
Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, UEA, UK,
USA, – the most astonishing of course are theses 2 Chinese,
two days ago –), I don’t really know how I could remove
English.
Friday, April 1. - 01.20 am
"Florence is alone. " "Florence
is not with Hussein because they are in an Arabic country."
These words are from Serge July, from French daily newspaper Liberation,
at the end of a FR3 television programme concerning the kidnapping
of the two French journalists in Iraq, Christian Chesnot and Georges
Malbrunot, during 124 days at the end of 2004.
Above all, I’ve learnt from this programme that Hussein
Hanoun was one of the first "contact" during the kidnapping
of the two journalists... Then I hope he is still alive this evening.
And I thought again about what Iskander Debbache wrote in February
2005, one month before the video tape showing that Florence Aubenas
was alive (to
read here).
