Mariane Pearl’s appeal
Mariane Pearl, wife of Daniel Pearl, was contacted she told in an interview that what she had been undergoing in the tormenting days since the January 23 kidnapping of her husband. This is Mariane’s first interview with the local press.
“Over the last 13 days, since my husband has disappeared, I have been trying to address the people holding him. The first thing I want to explain to them is that by holding Danny they are preventing a man from writing about their concerns and accomplishing his chief work: to create a bridge between cultures so we can start finding true solutions to the conflicts that are causing so much suffering in the world. This includes issues that they have highlighted in their e-mails. When I say suffering I want to emphasize that, to me, an innocent person who suffers ceases to be an Afghan, U.S. or Pakistani national. Instead, the person is another victim of a cycle of misunderstanding, and like all people who are suffering, deserves the world’s attention.
Danny and I have made the pledge to each other to do whatever we can to contribute to a process of healing by using our pens to write about all societies. We truly wish to create a better world, and we have worked to do so by traveling to other countries, sharing life with people, and communicating with others so that new bonds can be formed between different cultures.
This is why we have come to Pakistan and this is why we have lived in Pakistan, sharing the life of people, drinking the chai they have always offered us and trying as much as we can to establish communications with people throughout society. I am now six months pregnant and throughout this difficult ordeal I have received much loving care from my many Pakistani friends.
Danny first met the people holding him with this same open heart. And what keeps me strong today is the same reason why he did not fear to meet them: We have nothing to hide. Danny is not a spy. He is not working for any government. He is an independent journalist who for 12 years has written for The Wall Street Journal, an international newspaper that is serious and highly respected. I love my husband for everything he stands for. I request that the people holding him release him in the name of the same justice they are looking for. My husband has done nothing wrong. This is an innocent man, with an innocent wife and an unborn son. I am hopeful that the people who have my husband will release him. My husband can’t change foreign policy, but he can give voice to people – he can express the views of the people who hold him to the world.”
Source: The Nation
Date:2/6/2002
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