Reporters on the Job

Seek and Ye Shall Find: Finding a woman in Germany to talk about forced marriages (page 7) was not easy, says reporter Andreas Tzortzis, particularly for a male foreigner. "Most stories like this are done by female beat reporters who have built a relationship with caseworkers," says Andreas.

But the Berlin-based reporter doggedly spoke with women's groups, caseworkers, and lawyers trying to find a woman who was willing to discuss her situation. "After three weeks, I had nothing," he says. "The caseworkers wanted to publicize the problem, but their first duty was to protect the identity and safety of the women."

Andreas mentioned his frustration to a German friend, a reporter in Cologne - and struck pay dirt. "Her sister-in-law had been in a forced marriage before marrying her brother. Andreas went to Cologne and met Gülcan Güntemur over dinner at his friend's house. "Afterward, she told me her story. I didn't want to push her too much on such a sensitive topic, but she was very forthcoming."

Between Iraq and a Hard Place: On several occasions, reporter Dan Murphy has passed through the Assassin's Gate, a massive stone arch blocked off with aBradley tank, cement walls, and sandbags, where Sunday's truck bombing occurred (page 4). "It's not a place where you want to linger long," says Dan. For people waiting outside the US "Green Zone," the blast walls threaten to deflect and amplify any explosion in their direction - one of the daily hazards of living in Baghdad.

"The only times I'm ever really afraid here is when I'm in those in-between places - neither blending into the general city life of Baghdad nor safely inside those massive barricades. That noman's land is probably the most dangerous place any of us go to," he says.

David Clark Scott
World editor

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
QR Code to Reporters on the Job
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0121/p06s03-wogn.html
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe