If you were listening earlier today (Friday), you'll know that
Gail Harris was again sitting in for me. I'm busy stuffing power
bars and power cables in bags for a trip to Baghdad. WBUR has
gone to some considerable length in fundraising, and a number
of our donors have made specific pledges to help us pull together
a trip. If it works out, we'll be hosting The Connection from
Baghdad next week. It is a place I've visited before, and I'm
anxious to see it again. In my previous visits to Iraq (once to
Baghdad prior to the first Gulf War in January 1991, and again
ten years later, I
have been strictly watched and told who I can talk to and who
I can't.
Things will be very different this time, and while I have no illusions
about being welcomed with flowers and sweets, there are many people
there who have not had the freedom to say what they think for
a long time. And I want to give them a chance to tell - and give
you a chance to hear - their stories. I'll try to stay in touch
with you through our web site theconnection.org. I'll call it
a journal. Sara Field calls it a blog. I like "journal"
better.
If the Baghdad trip works as well as we hope it might, we may
stop in Cairo on the way home to try and pull together a few broadcasts
from there. This will give us a real chance to hear from people
living in the city that many consider to be the intellectual capital
of the Arab world. We'll know more about that this time next week.
One thing at a time, my mother always told me, and next week Baghdad
is a
big "one" thing. So we're concentrating our energy on
that. Wish us luck, hope for open borders and reliable satellite
connections.
Hey folks, Tara Murphy here. Dick is off tonight for Amman and
then onto Baghdad. If all goes well we plan to have him on the
air and taking your calls live from Baghdad as early as Tuesday.
Fingers crossed everyone...
Cheers,
Dick
FIELD REPORTS
;)
