I watched the video. After navigating through Azusa Pacific’s Web filters and struggling to find any footage, I watched a patched-up version of the final minutes of U.S. freelance journalist James Foley’s life – the first American citizen killed by ISIS.
I won’t get too much into the video’s details, but it’s graphic. Foley is shown kneeling in a desert wearing an orange jumpsuit with a masked terrorist in all-black standing next to him. Foley recites an obviously scripted speech to the camera before his masked captor in a British accent addresses viewers and proceeds to execute Foley.
According to The Telegraph, the end of the video has been called staged by some expert forensic analysts. The video fades as the terrorists kill Foley, then the picture reappears by showing his body. These experts suggest that Foley may have actually been killed off-screen with just the end results shown on camera.
While some will nitpick about edited footage and terrorist propaganda, we should instead focus on the one who lost his life in the pursuit of truth. We should celebrate the relentless courage of a man who had very different last words than those he is filmed speaking.
“I call on my friends, family and loved ones to rise up against my real killers, the U.S. government. For what will happen to me is only a result of their complacency and criminality,” Foley says in the video.
Foley shouldn’t be remembered for these forced words that came in a time of terror. Rather, he should be remembered in light of a letter he dictated to a fellow prisoner, who then memorized and relayed the letter back to Foley’s parents. The letter was then posted on freejamesfoley.org and a Facebook page of the same name, both organized by his closest family and friends.
In this “letter,” James (or “Jim,” as he was fondly called) Foley describes fond memories he had with his family, and how he hopes to enjoy his remaining time on earth with them back home. He optimistically describes how he and the 17 other prisoners of ISIS get through each day by talking, laughing and playing games with one another.
Foley said he also got through his captivity by his faith: “I know you are thinking of me and praying for me. And I am so thankful. I feel you all especially when I pray. I pray for you to stay strong and to believe. I really feel I can touch you even in this darkness when I pray.”
This is the real James Foley.
The man of memories, reminiscing about childhood innocence. The man who played chess and Risk with his fellow prisoners during his nearly two-year captivity in Syria to “help the time pass” and “break the tension.” The man speaking out of the abundance of his heart in a cell, not from the fear in his mind in a desert.
This is the real James Foley.
The man who wanted to get margaritas with his grandmother when he returned, and asked for his savings to be transferred to his brothers should he not get a chance to buy those drinks.
This is the real James Foley.
The journalist whose final project before captivity was filming a documentary on Human Rights Watch’s emergency team and its work in highly combative countries. He constantly put his life in danger to make the plight of war-torn countries known. The film is called “E-Team,” and became available on Netflix on Oct. 24. It won the Cinematography Award at the Sundance Film Festival.
Foley had previously been captured in 2011 by Libyan supporters of Muammar Gaddafi and released after 44 days. After his release, Foley did an interview with The Boston Globe, in which he emphasized the necessity of field journalism by saying: “I believe that front-line journalism is important. You know, without these photos and videos and first-hand experience, we can’t really tell the world how bad it might be.”
This is what Foley was about, and this is what journalism is about. Journalism is not tabloids. It is not hiding in celebrities’ bushes hoping to get the day’s candid shot. It is not taking politicians out of context or trying to make leaders look bad.
Journalism is about seeking truth and conveying reality accurately. Jesus said the truth will set us free in John 8:32. Foley was in captivity for the truth that was setting others free. He died pursuing that truth.
Remember James Foley. Not for the ugly videos or the mocking captors. Not for the terrorist threats or scripted speeches. But remember that even as he was kneeling in that dusty desert, it was all in the name of telling the world what was going on in the war-ravaged Middle East. In death he was set free, and set the world free.
This was the real James Foley. This is what truth-seeking looks like.