Fixer: The Taking of Ajmal Naqshbandi . Democracy Now 8/17/09 (sorry for the late posting yet this is still a shocking story)
NPR reporters don't do all the work you think they do, especially in war zones. The same could be said of reporters for The New York Times, The Washington Post and the TV networks — we rely, and rely heavily, on people called "fixers."
They are locals with good English who drive us around, interpret for us, set up interviews and sometimes even do the interviews. They assume an immense amount of risk in exchange for little recognition, but a decent paycheck.
A new documentary airing Monday night on HBO, Fixer: The Taking of Ajmal Naqshbandi, tells the story of one of these locals in Afghanistan.
'He Will Be Murdered'
Fixer opens with grainy television footage shot by the Taliban. It's spring 2007. An Italian journalist, Daniele Mastrogiacomo, is on screen — a hostage. He's pleading for help from the Italian government. You also notice a voice, off-camera, asking in English, "Do you have any message for your wife and mother?"
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9/14/09
The Fixer
Fixer: The Taking of Ajmal Naqshbandi . Democracy Now 8/17/09 (sorry for the late posting yet this is still a shocking story)
NPR reporters don't do all the work you think they do, especially in war zones. The same could be said of reporters for The New York Times, The Washington Post and the TV networks — we rely, and rely heavily, on people called "fixers."
They are locals with good English who drive us around, interpret for us, set up interviews and sometimes even do the interviews. They assume an immense amount of risk in exchange for little recognition, but a decent paycheck.
A new documentary airing Monday night on HBO, Fixer: The Taking of Ajmal Naqshbandi, tells the story of one of these locals in Afghanistan.
'He Will Be Murdered'
Fixer opens with grainy television footage shot by the Taliban. It's spring 2007. An Italian journalist, Daniele Mastrogiacomo, is on screen — a hostage. He's pleading for help from the Italian government. You also notice a voice, off-camera, asking in English, "Do you have any message for your wife and mother?"
continued
