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Subscribe to RSSAfter being held captive for five days in Syria, NBC's Richard Engel and his team recount being ambushed and blindfolded before being freed at a checkpoint.
NBC News producer Ghazi Balkiz and several colleagues were kidnapped and held for five days in Syria in December before escaping unharmed. Here is Balkiz's account of his time in captivity.
I heard him enter the room as I lay on the damp mattress on the floor in a cold room. Abu Jaffar paused and cocked his pistol. Then he knelt down and pushed the barrel hard against my head. The metal felt cold against my skin.
Abu Jaffar, whose face I have never seen because he was always wearing a black ski mask when we were not blindfolded, saw that the piece of cloth they used to bind my hands had come loose and thought I was trying to escape.
Now I've had guns put to my head before: once in Iraq in 2003 and another by Abu Jaffar himself just three days earlier. While I did not believe I was going to be shot those other two times, this time I did.
John Brecher / NBC News
Ghazi Balkiz, a London-based producer for NBC News who was held captive for five days in Syria, is seen here on assignment in Rome this week.
It was as if time slowed down and some sort of survival instinct kicked in; there was fear, a lot of it, but this was not the time to deal with it. I told myself that I had to be very careful about what I was going to say in the few seconds to come. This really was a matter of life and death.
I called out to my friend and colleague Ammar, who was kidnapped with us and who was acting as our translator, and through him I urged Abu Jaffar to listen to me before shooting. I explained that the cloth might have come loose because I was scratching my arms because I have psoriasis. I asked permission to sit up and show him, and then rolled up my sleeves and showed him the scars.
He took a look, inquired more about my skin condition and then said "I am sorry" in English and patted my head, which I thought was very condescending. He asked me if a shower would make me feel better.
That's how I ended up taking a shower a day before the rest of the guys kidnapped with me. I joke about this now, saying that this is probably the only time in my life psoriasis led to something good: a shower.
After the shower, I was given new clothes, including a really ugly beige cardigan that I ended up wearing on live television as soon as we crossed the border into Turkey after escaping. I have since received so many comments about this sweater – none of them complimentary.
Our kidnappers asked me to sit down and talk to them, so I -- feeling fresh and clean after the shower -- talked with Abu Jaffar and another kidnapper named Zain. It was the first time I had had a conversation with two of our kidnappers. Once again my colleague and friend Ammar was our translator.
Over a pot of sweet tea and cigarettes, we talked about poetry. Abu Jaffar told us that he writes poetry. We also talked about what kind of music we each preferred; I told them I liked the Lebanese singer Fairouz.
NBC's Richard Engel and his production team made their homecoming late Thursday night. In their first in-depth interview since being freed, Engel and his team, including cameraman John Kooistra, producer Ghazi Balkiz and two other crew members, tell their story about spending five days in captivity in Syria and the trauma they survived. NBC's Savannah Guthrie reports.
"Like the morning coffee, it enters every house," Abu Jaffar said of her music.
This all sounds like some sort of a friends' gathering, hanging out and talking about life, only in this case, Ammar and I were sitting on the floor, still blindfolded and our hands tied.
This was on the fourth night of our kidnapping in Syria and in the second hide-out we were taken to by our kidnappers -- members of the feared and brutal "shabiha" pro-government militia.
During our conversation, Abu Jaffar talked about how beautiful his country was. He described sitting against a tree on a hill watching the sunset. He talked about the fresh and delicious produce from the farms around his village.
He said he never wanted to leave his country, and how if we had met in different circumstances, I would have seen how beautiful Syria really is. He said if there was no war, we might have even met.
We talked about our families. Abu Jaffar and Zain did not say much about theirs, but I told them about mine, about my parents and how worried they must be by now. I told them about my wife and how much she means to me, about my older brother and how honorable he is. I also told him about my late younger brother, the circumstances of his death and how it had devastated my parents.
I hoped my parents would never have to go through the death of another son again, I told Abu Jaffar.
NBC News
People resisting the army of President Bashar al-Assad in northern Syria cope with loss and prepare for fighting.
By telling them all this, I was trying to make our kidnappers see us as human beings who have people who love them, who have experienced happiness and grief. I thought this might make it harder for them to execute us.
That prompted Abu Jaffar to talk about destiny and fate. So I told them about Paulo Coelho's "The Alchemist" -- at least what I got out of it -- and about how Coelho wrote that understanding "Maktoob" is worth more than gold.
Muslims believe that everything that happens in this world has already been determined by God. "Maktoob" in Arabic means "Everything is written." My kidnappers said that everything they were going through, this war and all, has already been written.
We continued to talk. Unfortunately, I can't remember everything we talked about. Abu Jaffar and Zain also asked Ammar all kinds of questions. We were interrupted when another one of our kidnappers whose name I never got came back to the house. He was not happy that Ammar and I were in the living room.
Then there was the silence. I cannot really say that it was an awkward moment of silence; after all, the whole situation was awkward.
As we sat there in that silence, Abu Jaffar, Zain and another kidnapper whose name I never knew went and sat further away. They talked among themselves, asking each other questions like "How did it come to this? What happened to us that drove us to kidnap people and hold them against their will?" One of them referring to us asked rhetorically, "Don't they have families that are worried about them?"
Our kidnappers, it seems, had a human side after all.
Throughout our captivity, I did my best to hide my feelings of fear and helplessness from our captors. I kept telling myself that I needed to focus on when we get out and not if. I told myself to stay positive.
The mornings were the worst. Waking up cold in a cold room, body stiff. For the first few seconds I would be disoriented and ask myself, "Where am I?" Then the realization of where I was would sink in, and I'd sigh.
Machine guns operated by motorcycle brakes? Get a glimpse at the rebels fighting against Assad's forces in Syria's mountainous Jabal al-Zawiya area.
Time passed and events happened and during our last car ride with our kidnappers, we were rescued by a rebel group. Abu Jaffar and another one of captors in our vehicle were killed in the firefight that led to our freedom.
I am still alive and doing relatively well. I am reunited with my family and friends. But those five days of my life are going to live with me and my family forever.
When we as journalists go into the field, we know the risks we are taking. But I guess we, or at least I, always thought, "It is not going to happen to us." But this time, it did happen to us. This does not stem from an unrealistic approach to things, events and life, because trust me: What I see in the field is very real. We cover war and conflict zones and in those situations, bad things happen and people die. The way I go about it is to plan for the worst but hope for the best.
Now Abu Jaffar is dead. During our captivity, he put his gun to my head twice, and on our first day he ordered the execution of one of the rebels who were with us; the execution was carried out within seconds. He also was "a first-rate killer" as he once described himself to us.
At the end of the day, I remember what my mother went through when my younger brother passed away, and I cannot help but think that even though Abu Jaffar was not a good man, he also had a mother and I am sure that she is in pain just like every mother who loses a son would be.
/
A look back at the conflict that has overtaken the country.
Related:
From December 2012: A window into war-torn Aleppo
Leave a Comment:
Mr Engel, you should not have been in Syria and traveling with the rebels in the first place.
gm jack
I'm sure it would be comforting to know you were being killed by a culturally refined murderer.
Anything is possible in a Muslim nation going through civil wars like Syria, Pakistan and other places!
If Sunni Islamists like Syrian rebels are involved, then new records will be established!
GM DB and Windancer
That sure would make a difference! LOL, however, the final result of that is....final.
WD
Good, well thought article and I respect your opinion, even though I disagree because: The last time some American people went across borders of a country in war, a Navy SEAL on the rescue team was killed. If people (reporters, etc.) it would be best for them to acknowledge the danger they are placing themselves and others in with their "adventures". Bottom line is "they take the chance, they pay the price".
I am all for the story and information to be told and it was done well during Desert Storm reporting. They had the reporters imbedded with the military, like in WW II. However, when the reporters go unannounced into a war-torn country, they face up to what they took on and not expect rescue.
No, he shouldn't have. But I'm pretty sure he knows that at this point and probably even knew it then.
Some people are driven by their passions and he and other journalists know the risks.. Glad he made it home, but I'm sure if he goes again he realizes he really might not come back..
Nicely written too...
Blind folded and hands tied together. Sounds a lot like how I met my wife. GM :)
Very interesting tale. I wonder how much of it is true? Why would pro-govt militia take hostages? Especially westerners. In this "story", the author mentions Paulo Coelho's "The Alchemist" . I've also read this book and the story told here sounds very much like many points that Coelho was trying to make in the book; about fate, destiny and a "prewritten" future from which man can not escape or change. I just find it odd that the reporter's story reflects Coelho's work so distinctly.
Frankly, I think this story is BS. Too many holes and it really doesn't jive with what's going on in Syria. But, that's MHO until proven otherwise.
I never believed this story in the first place. This is all BS to make us believe that Syrian rebels are somehow the good guys.
PJ--you misread, the "kidnappers" in this story are pro-government, not the rebels.
PJ & Zapain....
There are usually a couple of conspiracy theorists and haters among this group. Even if it weren't 100% true, I'll bet the closest you've been to a war zone is in your pj's in your mom's basement. You want to prove its true, get on over there and find out for yourself, otherwise let the man tell his story, and save your cynicism for the next election. At least we know politicians are lying when they're talking
How many more good men must die freeing some stupid reporter?
"...even though Abu Jaffar was not a good man, he also had a mother and I am sure that she is in pain just like every mother who loses a son would be."
If ALL OF US would come to this realization -- that everyone has loved ones who will be devastated by their loss -- then perhaps there would be less violence of any kind in this world.
@sleuth - yes let the man tell his story (i.e. propaganda). You do a good job at debating by attacking others rather than using rational arguments. There are reasons why this story is not credible. Why don't you go back and read the original news when suddenly we were told that engle was kidnapped and released!! You believe that BS and live in your lala land.
@Zapain, thank you. I didn't mean to say that rebels kidnapped or didn't. I am saying ... this whole story that we are supposed to believe in is meant to generate sympathy for the rebels who are shown with kids on motorcycle with guns etc. So we are supposed to believe that certain people on certain sides are the good guys and certain the bad guys when in reality what's happening is good old power struggle.
The intro says "escaped." The author says "rescued." NBCLite . . .
Richard Engle is not a real reporter in the sense that he tries to inform people about current events (To explain what's really going on),
Like most U.S. "journalists" Engle constructs written and video PR pieces that compliment U.S. foreign (in this case) policy objectives.
His job in the corporate media is to flesh out and sell various campaigns and U.S. goals to the public.
In the present case the U.S. campaign is collaborating with Al Qaeda in overthrowing one of the last secular governments in the region (not a democracy to be sure) and replacing it with a corrupt, "democratic", Islamic state that will open it's country to corporate and Wall Street exploitation and stop being useful to our future economic rivals China and Russia.
http://www.dropshots.com/GCaplan#date/2012-11-03/19:31:43
This reporter is on some ego trip! Nobody cares about Syria much less any country in the Middle East. Sounds like he is on a suicide mission from God!
Rocko,
Presumptious of you to claim the reporter's motives were ego based. Perhaps so, but from the article I didn't see a blown-up ego.
Also, perhaps where you're tucked away, you and others of like mind do indeed share absolutely no sentiment about Syria or any of the Middle East. Of course, if you're a local in that volatile region of the world, you most likely feel differently. Furthermore, many individuals from all over the globe are pragmatic enough to realize that events in the region carry a lot of weight, and add to how the rest of the world is shaped.
In spite of your short and not so sweet post, I think you're no dummy and in actuality realize the heavy load of transpiring events in the Mid-East.
PJ...
I guess I missed the rationale in your original comment, or am just confused at the rationale you are using in your second. So you don't believe this "story", but you do believe the original "stories" that were reported? Besides, Engle didn't write this piece, so what does his version have to do with the article above? I'm sorry you feel threatend by someone calling you on your BS, but I guess my opinion is about as valid as yours.
Sounds like the perfect 'Bond villain',..
@sleuth - you should be sorry as well as ashamed for calling out the patriot card of "go to war zone else you have no right to talk about it". Rationale argument and all is beyond your pay grade anyway. No point going there. Continue selling or supporting selling BS to people.
This man is trying to bring a closer view of what is happening, down to a level that is more concrete and real so others grasp a truer picture. For all of us, who live thousands of miles away, this war is very detached and it is easy to just sit back and wish one side or the other to win, painting everyone one side evil or the other.From the safety of our arm chairs and comfortable homes, not exposed to the realities of daily life. Having to live among the various layers in a society and see where people are coming from, actually seeing the human stories. So, one man decided to go and record what is happening on a more personal level, risking his life because it's his life's work seeking truth. Helping to focus and humanize what is such an ugly, vicious human behavior. By his personal experiences, giving us a tiny window to peer through, and in the process, allowing us to experience a short journey with him. Unveiling and discovering real motives and facts behind part of a huge picture. Which is vital to him, and I believe he thinks others who want to know the facts also. He is right.
Power,corruption, conflicts leading to war always arise with no end in sight.We humans can't seem to ever get our fill of it.Modern weapons simply make it easier to kill each other from farther away. Instead of maturing as a species, giving others their distances.By making killing far too easy, we have no real incentives to make peace more profitable than death's work.But bring the actual face, price, savagery, is something else.
Never has the world seen such incredible numbers killed as beginning of the last century. In the millions as WW1 and WW2, but looked upon as such noble deaths for soldiers. But Vietnam was different, because of the actual films,that the work of journalists brought back home. Which revealed the horror, devastation and terrifying realities of death and destruction. So, keep the journalists in the arena of fighting to remind folks the cost of death and destruction. Else we repeat how easy it is to kill, and forget the real horrors,innocent civilian lives lost, devastation to bodies torn,blasted and best of a generation death number's among its minions slaughtered.
You are a moron for being in Syria in the first place
Thanks for adding to the conversation Mike. The funny thing is you read the story, but then again morons usually open their mouths before they think. Let me guess....republican voter too?
sleuth23===== Why the mindless irrelevancy of introducing politics into this? Seems Mike has a right to his opinion. Regardless of which side wins they will hate and loath us for being non-Muslims.
Exactly...........:-)
I started to read this but then said to self, I could care less about his capture and release. For all I care the mid east can turn into a leveled sandbox.
Sooner the better.
Before ME becomes a clean desert, let Shiites and Sunnis kill each to their hearts liking.
Hope US and allies don't dance or go to wars in Syria as directed by oil rich Sunni rulers, oil companies and their lobbyists just as they did with Iraqi wars and determine the winner!
Then it will be easier to bring ME to what it was before the followers of Islamic cult set their feet in.
I am always with Richard Engels who are assigned or volunteer for tough assignments.
At the same time, I wish media is impartial.
Saudi Arabia ruled by House of Saud with a seventh century bigoted Wahhabi ruler with his 5000 princes and princesses is one of the most oppressed nation on earth.
Democratic rights, religious rights, women rights, right to free speech and all other human rights are denied.
Most of the females and citizens are treated like slaves.
Why is it that media are not writing articles like this on the conditions in Saudi Arabia and rule of House of Saud?
Because they (i.e. Saudi) are the ones who want an unstable middle east with Saudi hegemony on oil. US is in bed with Saudi in this game because A) it helps US sell arms to various parties B) get direct hold on those resources at a much cheaper price.
Now B is why American consumers are paying 3.5 dollars per gallon as opposed to the rest of the world that pays $5.5-6.5 per gallon. Kills other economies' potential to grow fast in an energy starved environment, keeps middle east off balance, makes Saudi rulers happy and rich and fills uncle Sam's coffers also with war profits. So why go and kill the chicken that gives a golden egg?
p.s. - So what if one of those Saudi turns against US (read Osama) or what if some of the Saudi citizens attack world trade centers? Answer - gives us all the more reasons to go and bomb unrelated countries and continue doing what we were doing.
For 9/11, Bush and his team could locate Iraq and Afghanistan on the map instead of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan!
All it comes down to: money and favors and rest (human rights and so on) are all big shows/hoaxes!
keep wishing.....
Scooter, where the heck ya been? GM I knew one of the rascals was missing!
IA.ScooterTramp: You may be right!
Soon, I have to give way to you!
This is the finest writing I've seen on this site (Balkiz's article, I mean, and not the uniformly dim comments that follow it).
A rose is a rose is a rose. A murderer is a murderer is a murderer. The only good one is a dead one. I have no sympathy for the dreams of a murderer. Any person who has murdered in the name of a regime of murderers cannot claim his humanity by suddenly realizing he has gone too far. It is only a statement observing poor strategy, not immoral behavior.
This part sounds like someone is narrating a scene in a movie.
"I heard him enter the room as I lay on the damp mattress on the floor in a cold room. Abu Jaffar paused and cocked his pistol. Then he knelt down and pushed the barrel hard against my head. The metal felt cold against my skin."
This is why I stopped reading this. If you ever had a gun pointed at you the last thing you will think of is a cold damp mattress and the temperature of the gun metal. Best seller for a book? I think not.
You will find that most Muslims love poetry (since they cannot have music) and love tea. Their religion teaches them to be hospitable to even their enemies -- then cut their heads off! Syria is a dangerous place even when there is not a civil war going on -- but so is every other Muslim country on the planet. No sympathy for the journalists in this case, since they were traveling with the rebels and were breaking Syrian law.
Engel should not have been there in the first place. This sort of reporting is strictly to feed his ego. Now he will attempt to regale us with even greater drama. I don't care. I don't think he is intrepid or daring or brave. I think he is a fool for what he did and how he endangered himself and others.
Next thing you know he will have sold the rights to this story to Hollywood to make some POS movie about it that will no doubt attempt to sweep the Oscars. After the multi-million-dollar book contract and the free plug from Oprah, of course.
Sorry Mr. Engel, I'm not drinkin' the Kool-Aid on your "journalism."
Yeah, but he sure is sweet on the eyes,stay safe Richard.
Regarding most, if not all comments thus far--"Opinions are like @#*holes, everyone has one."
Also, who of (any of you) speaks from personal experience? I'm guessing not any one of you.
hard to tell whow the bad guys are there ! seems we fund them all !
Richard Engel is as full of shiiiit as his friends are , he has been lying from the first day , he is bought and paid for by the Saudis ad Qataris and some body should ask him ? why is he pictured with some of the Alqaida in Libya , Their hands tied and blind folded < but they managed to know that these guys were shooting in the air and not killing his Friend , Richard you are a fing disgrace to all the News people you and CNN Anderson Coop[er and his leis about Syria , I hope you get what you are wishing for < for lying about all these Christians that getting murdered by your friends the fing rebels , Shame on you and every body that buys your story .
These days your enlightening posts are becoming less and less! We need more and more from likes of you.
"...everything that happens in this world has already been determined by God...."
Wow - I suppose that's one way to justify being cruel and not being responsible for one's actions. A lot of people use their religion to justify their cruelty and hatred. The world would be abetter place without religion.
mtnyc ====== Why the gratuitous attack on religion in general when it is one religion in the 21st century that is causing 95% of the religiously inspired violence in the world today. No other religions but Islam are bombing , burning , shooting and decapitating from North America to Europe to Africa to the Middle East. Anyone with a shred of intelligence knows this to be true.
By the way , if Muslims believe everything that happens is the will and desire of God , then he must have wanted : Osama bin Laden to be killed by the USA and Iraq to be invaded and anything Muslims complain about , he wanted to happen. So why would Muslims decry these developments if they are the will of Allah?
Gary - a lot of Christians justify their hatred of homosexuals by picking out obscure verses from the Bible. Many people use their beliefs to justify their hatred / cruelty / prejudice / etc.
Stop with the Muslim bashing scape goading - talk about a lack of intelligence and bigotry.
mtnyc======== So you compare those who merely oppose homosexuality with those who blow up planes , trains , weddings , restaurants and all other manner of locations murdering innocents in cold blood? That's a mindbogglingly flawed equation. You can do better head work.
Frankly , I don't care what people think. I care what they do. You have a right to think what you want and urge others to agree but you don't have a right to use violence against others to force them to adopt your views. That's the difference. Muslims are committed to the use of violence to get their way, other religions aren't and the evidence is overwhelming to support this analysis. It isn't scape goating Muslims to speak the truth about their behavior. Tell the only religion you admire and defend to stop murdering those with which they disagree.
Telling the truth is always appropriate. Seems like under your flawed definitions , you're evincing bigotry in regard to those whose views you oppose.
If you are going to sneak around warzones, its best to learn how not to get caught.
I am glad that there are courageous reporters that put their lives on the line for morons like some posters can get information about war torn places.
Really ? Corageous ? More like stupid and egotistical to me.
Jack from Jax was right. This engel moron should not have snuck around Syria. There is a travel ban going on. How he got around that should be investigated.
Finally, There are HUNDREDS of non american journalists in Syria ALL reporting basically the same thing and for the most part, the truth. TO INSINUATE that they are all lying and we just needed engel to go in there and "uncover the truth" is CHILDISH at best and decietful in reality.
This engel moron is 100% pro israel and a zionist. If that weren't true, we wouldn't be reading about how GRANDIOSE his kidnaping was .... I actually harly believe any of it myself. The reference to FIRST RATE KILLER is absolutely hilarious ....
It did not take long before someone injected "zionist" on a story about American journalists being kidnapped in Syria (not Israel). It turns out that Engel is not the only moron here.
I am glad that there are courageous reporters that put their lives on the line so morons like some posters can get some information about what is happening in war torn places.
well, when you go and take a dump in someone else's back yard.... what do you expect?
This is his job...We may not like it...But being journies this what they do...They put themsleves in harm ways all the time...We need to know what is going over there and yes, it is wrong for them to be kidnapped and all they all went though, but the troops that we send oversea's to fight for what we feel that middle east should look like us to us...We know there belives aren't the same as ours and never will be....But we have be everywhere ...These countries started math and science of the world and world regious too....
For terrorist to kidnap a reporter, a lawyer, a politician, an eco nut , etc you will find that the general public has had enough of caring about these empty headed spreaders of left wing lies and just don't care.
The fact that this reporter was in a war zone and got caught isn't news or even shocking to anyone but the press that think they can go where ever they want and their reporter badges will protect them from harm is proof that the news media folks have a disconnect with the real world and really should never be allowed firearms, to reproduce or share their mentally ill view of events.
Hey Terrorist next time you take these people hostage please keep them and post their view on you tube,then wait as the Great Dollybama does nothing !
Better that they kidnap empty headed spreaders of right wing lies? Glenn Beck and Rush (is that short for Rushtafa?) Limbaugh should be the first taken. Sad that you wouldn't want them saved either. IF you had actually read the story, you might have noticed that we didn't send anyone to save them. But that doesn't fit in with your need to raise or create irrelevant points about non-existent issues.
Old, very old story. Watch for it soon folks at your book stores and theaters. New anchor men headed our way. Now Geraldo would have milked this one even more.
Well, so why is this a problem? we took 6 British citizen journalists to Guantanamo for 3 years (part of the "we gotem" roundup), and we had to pay 2 million Dollars a piece to them for that harassment--how come that never makes the news when we do the same as above?
Did anyone notice RICHARD ENGEL did not write this piece???
wtp412:
They can't read!!
He's no different than Engel. I don't respect him or his "journalism" either. Another narcissistic reporter/procucer/grandstander looking to turn a stupid idea into drama.
Let me ask one question. If it has all been written does that mean there is no free will, or,--- it has all been written because there is free will?