Giuliana Sgrena
Encyclopedia
Giuliana Sgrena is an Italian journalist who works for the Italian communist newspaper Il Manifesto
and the German weekly Die Zeit
. While working in Iraq
, she was kidnapped by insurgents on February 4, 2005. After her release on March 4, 2005, Sgrena and the two Italian intelligence officers who had helped secure her release came under fire
from U.S. forces
while on their way to Baghdad International Airport
. Nicola Calipari
, a Major General
in the Italian military intelligence service
was killed, and Sgrena and one other officer were wounded in the incident. The event caused an international outcry.
, Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
, a town of fewer than 1000 people that had seen intense fighting
during World War II between Italian partisans
and German soldiers. Her father, Franco Sgrena, was a noted partisan during the war and later became an activist in the communist railway union
.
Sgrena studied in Milan
where she became involved in leftist politics
. She became a professed pacifist
and from 1980 worked for Guerra e Pace, a weekly publication edited by Michelangelo Notarianni.
In 1988, she joined the communist paper Il Manifesto and, as a war correspondent
, has since covered conflicts such as the Algerian Civil War
, the Somalia
n and the Afghanistan
conflicts. During her travels, she reported extensively on topics from the Horn of Africa
, the Maghreb
and the Middle East.
As a campaigner for women's rights
, she has been particularly concerned with the conditions of women under Islam
. About this topic she wrote Alla scuola dei Taleban ("At the Taliban's school"), ISBN 88-7285-266-8.
She opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq
. At the start of the war she went to Baghdad to cover the bombing of that city, for which work she was awarded the title Cavaliere del Lavoro on her return to Italy.
situation in Baghdad and her fear of being kidnapped.
activist Naomi Klein
reported that Sgrena was "fully aware" of but willing to take "tremendous risks" in order to document the war. Sgrena defended her decision to risk kidnapping as a necessary part of working as an unembedded reporter in a warzone. She points to her reporting on such critical incidents as the Second Battle of Fallujah
, where, she argues, only unembedded reporters were able to report the level of destruction in the city and the ferocity of urban warfare, which according to her included the use of napalm
.
She was later shown in a video pleading that the demands of her kidnappers, the withdrawal of Italian troops from Iraq, be fulfilled. Her release was subsequently negotiated and she was freed on March 4, 2005. Italy allegedly paid $6 million dollars in ransom for her release.
artist of Il Manifesto Vauro maintained an uninterrupted focus on Sgrena, independently from any Italian political issues. His drawings typically featured a dove
, symbol
of peace
, that was supposed to bring Sgrena back; some of the drawings were sad, some tried to be more cheerful, depending on the current hopes of retrieving Sgrena alive. In one occasion he wrote an appeal in Arabic
to the kidnappers: "Give us Giuliana back, because I want to go back to mocking Berlusconi!". After one month, the series came to an end with Sgrena's liberation and Calipari's death: the dove, now likely symbolising Calipari, returned mortally wounded.
and another SISMI
agent, Ms Sgrena was being transported by car to Baghdad International Airport
. However, a roadblock, put in place to protect John Negroponte
's car convoy, fired on the vehicle, causing the death of Calipari and the wounding of Sgrena and of the other agent. Sgrena testified that US forces fired on the car without warning, and this incident caused strain in diplomatic relations between Italy and the United States. In actuality, her car was fired on by U.S. soldiers because the Italian SISMI agents attempted to run the roadblock. The driver of the vehicle admitted this at the scene.
Sgrena has contradicted the claims of the US military version of the story and has insisted that no warnings were given before the soldiers shot at their car. Sgrena said that out of 58 bullets fired at the car, 57 were fired at the passenger and only the last bullet was fired at the engine of the car, which shows that the intention was not just to stop the car.
documentary, Fallujah, The Hidden Massacre
, Sgrena declared that the U.S. had used white phosphorus
and napalm
in Fallujah
during Operation Phantom Fury
.
On June 26, 2006, Sgrena offered to meet with Spec. Mario Lozano
, the New York National Guardsman who had shot at her car.http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0627-22.htm
Il Manifesto
il manifesto is an Italian newspaper. While it calls itself communist, it is not connected to any political party. It was founded as a monthly review in 1969 by a collective of left-wing journalists engaged in the wave of critical thought and activity on the Italian left in that period. Prominent...
and the German weekly Die Zeit
Die Zeit
Die Zeit is a German nationwide weekly newspaper that is highly respected for its quality journalism.With a circulation of 488,036 and an estimated readership of slightly above 2 million, it is the most widely read German weekly newspaper...
. While working in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, she was kidnapped by insurgents on February 4, 2005. After her release on March 4, 2005, Sgrena and the two Italian intelligence officers who had helped secure her release came under fire
Rescue of Giuliana Sgrena
The Rescue of Giuliana Sgrena was a covert operation by the Italian military secret service, SISMI, to rescue Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena from kidnappers in Iraq...
from U.S. forces
Multinational force in Iraq
The Multi-National Force – Iraq was a military command, led by the United States, which was responsible for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Multi-National Force – Iraq replaced the previous force, Combined Joint Task Force 7, on 15 May 2004, and was later itself reorganized into its successor, United...
while on their way to Baghdad International Airport
Baghdad International Airport
Baghdad International Airport, originally Saddam International Airport, , BIAP is Iraq's largest airport, located in a suburb about west of downtown Baghdad in the Baghdad Governorate...
. Nicola Calipari
Nicola Calipari
Nicola Calipari was an Italian SISMI military intelligence officer with the rank of Major General. Calipari was killed by United States soldiers while escorting a recently released Italian hostage, journalist Giuliana Sgrena, to Baghdad International Airport.- Career :Calipari was born in Reggio...
, a Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
in the Italian military intelligence service
SISMI
Servizio per le Informazioni e la Sicurezza Militare was the military intelligence agency of Italy from 1977-2007....
was killed, and Sgrena and one other officer were wounded in the incident. The event caused an international outcry.
Background and career
Giuliana Sgrena was born and raised in MaseraMasera
Masera is a comune in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 130 km northeast of Turin and about 30 km northwest of Verbania...
, Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
Verbano-Cusio-Ossola is the northernmost province in the Italian region of Piedmont. It was created in 1996 through the fusion of three distinct regions which had previously been part of the Province of Novara...
, a town of fewer than 1000 people that had seen intense fighting
Ossola
The Ossola is an area of Italy situated to the north of Lago Maggiore. It lies within the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola. Its principal river is the Toce, and its most important town Domodossola....
during World War II between Italian partisans
Italian resistance movement
The Italian resistance is the umbrella term for the various partisan forces formed by pro-Allied Italians during World War II...
and German soldiers. Her father, Franco Sgrena, was a noted partisan during the war and later became an activist in the communist railway union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
.
Sgrena studied in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
where she became involved in leftist politics
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
. She became a professed pacifist
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
and from 1980 worked for Guerra e Pace, a weekly publication edited by Michelangelo Notarianni.
In 1988, she joined the communist paper Il Manifesto and, as a war correspondent
War correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
, has since covered conflicts such as the Algerian Civil War
Algerian Civil War
The Algerian Civil War was an armed conflict between the Algerian government and various Islamist rebel groups which began in 1991. It is estimated to have cost between 150,000 and 200,000 lives, in a population of about 25,010,000 in 1990 and 31,193,917 in 2000.More than 70 journalists were...
, the Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
n and the Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
conflicts. During her travels, she reported extensively on topics from the Horn of Africa
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa is a peninsula in East Africa that juts hundreds of kilometers into the Arabian Sea and lies along the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. It is the easternmost projection of the African continent...
, the Maghreb
Maghreb
The Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
and the Middle East.
As a campaigner for women's rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
, she has been particularly concerned with the conditions of women under Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. About this topic she wrote Alla scuola dei Taleban ("At the Taliban's school"), ISBN 88-7285-266-8.
She opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
. At the start of the war she went to Baghdad to cover the bombing of that city, for which work she was awarded the title Cavaliere del Lavoro on her return to Italy.
The kidnapping
Sgrena was kidnapped outside Baghdad University by gunmen in February 2005. In an article from March 2003 she had spoken openly about her concern for the securitySecurity
Security is the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime. Security as a form of protection are structures and processes that provide or improve security as a condition. The Institute for Security and Open Methodologies in the OSSTMM 3 defines security as "a form of protection...
situation in Baghdad and her fear of being kidnapped.
Allegations of imprudence
Anti-globalizationGlobalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
activist Naomi Klein
Naomi Klein
Naomi Klein is a Canadian author and social activist known for her political analyses and criticism of corporate globalization.-Family:...
reported that Sgrena was "fully aware" of but willing to take "tremendous risks" in order to document the war. Sgrena defended her decision to risk kidnapping as a necessary part of working as an unembedded reporter in a warzone. She points to her reporting on such critical incidents as the Second Battle of Fallujah
Operation Phantom Fury
The Second Battle of Fallujah was a joint U.S., Iraqi, and British offensive in November and December 2004, considered the highest point of conflict in Fallujah during the Iraq War. It was led by the U.S...
, where, she argues, only unembedded reporters were able to report the level of destruction in the city and the ferocity of urban warfare, which according to her included the use of napalm
Napalm
Napalm is a thickening/gelling agent generally mixed with gasoline or a similar fuel for use in an incendiary device, primarily as an anti-personnel weapon...
.
She was later shown in a video pleading that the demands of her kidnappers, the withdrawal of Italian troops from Iraq, be fulfilled. Her release was subsequently negotiated and she was freed on March 4, 2005. Italy allegedly paid $6 million dollars in ransom for her release.
Vauro's campaign
During the whole month-long captivity, the satiricalSatire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
artist of Il Manifesto Vauro maintained an uninterrupted focus on Sgrena, independently from any Italian political issues. His drawings typically featured a dove
Dove
Pigeons and doves constitute the bird family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes, which include some 300 species of near passerines. In general terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used somewhat interchangeably...
, symbol
Symbol
A symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for...
of peace
Peace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
, that was supposed to bring Sgrena back; some of the drawings were sad, some tried to be more cheerful, depending on the current hopes of retrieving Sgrena alive. In one occasion he wrote an appeal in Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
to the kidnappers: "Give us Giuliana back, because I want to go back to mocking Berlusconi!". After one month, the series came to an end with Sgrena's liberation and Calipari's death: the dove, now likely symbolising Calipari, returned mortally wounded.
Rescue by Italian agents and shooting by US soldiers
After being rescued by Nicola CalipariNicola Calipari
Nicola Calipari was an Italian SISMI military intelligence officer with the rank of Major General. Calipari was killed by United States soldiers while escorting a recently released Italian hostage, journalist Giuliana Sgrena, to Baghdad International Airport.- Career :Calipari was born in Reggio...
and another SISMI
SISMI
Servizio per le Informazioni e la Sicurezza Militare was the military intelligence agency of Italy from 1977-2007....
agent, Ms Sgrena was being transported by car to Baghdad International Airport
Baghdad International Airport
Baghdad International Airport, originally Saddam International Airport, , BIAP is Iraq's largest airport, located in a suburb about west of downtown Baghdad in the Baghdad Governorate...
. However, a roadblock, put in place to protect John Negroponte
John Negroponte
John Dimitri Negroponte is an American diplomat. He is currently a research fellow and lecturer in international affairs at Yale University's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs...
's car convoy, fired on the vehicle, causing the death of Calipari and the wounding of Sgrena and of the other agent. Sgrena testified that US forces fired on the car without warning, and this incident caused strain in diplomatic relations between Italy and the United States. In actuality, her car was fired on by U.S. soldiers because the Italian SISMI agents attempted to run the roadblock. The driver of the vehicle admitted this at the scene.
Sgrena has contradicted the claims of the US military version of the story and has insisted that no warnings were given before the soldiers shot at their car. Sgrena said that out of 58 bullets fired at the car, 57 were fired at the passenger and only the last bullet was fired at the engine of the car, which shows that the intention was not just to stop the car.
Aftermath
In a November 2005 RAIRAI
RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
documentary, Fallujah, The Hidden Massacre
Fallujah, The Hidden Massacre
-War crimes:The primary theme of the film is its assertion of a case for war crimes committed by the United States in its military offensive against Fallujah in Iraq...
, Sgrena declared that the U.S. had used white phosphorus
White phosphorus (weapon)
White phosphorus is a material made from a common allotrope of the chemical element phosphorus that is used in smoke, tracer, illumination and incendiary munitions. Other common names include WP, and the slang term "Willie Pete," which is dated from its use in Vietnam, and is still sometimes used...
and napalm
Mark 77 bomb
The Mark 77 bomb is a US 750-lb air-dropped incendiary bomb carrying of a fuel gel mix which is the direct successor to napalm.The MK-77 is the primary incendiary weapon currently in use by the United States military...
in Fallujah
Fallujah
Fallujah is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, located roughly west of Baghdad on the Euphrates. Fallujah dates from Babylonian times and was host to important Jewish academies for many centuries....
during Operation Phantom Fury
Operation Phantom Fury
The Second Battle of Fallujah was a joint U.S., Iraqi, and British offensive in November and December 2004, considered the highest point of conflict in Fallujah during the Iraq War. It was led by the U.S...
.
On June 26, 2006, Sgrena offered to meet with Spec. Mario Lozano
Mario Lozano
Mario Lozano is a member of the U.S. Army holding the rank of specialist , who was once indicted by an Italian court for his role in the death of Italian Secret Service officer Nicola Calipari in an incident on Route Irish, immediately following the Rescue of Giuliana Sgrena...
, the New York National Guardsman who had shot at her car.http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0627-22.htm
External links
- Italian Hostage, Released in Iraq, Is Shot and Wounded by G.I.'s (NY Times March 5, 2005, registration needed)
- Photos taken by Giuliana Sgrena (Il Manifesto)
- Giuliana Sgrena profile (BBC)
- CNN Guardian Giuliana Sgrena's statement after her release
- Jeremy Scahill, AlterNet, March 28, 2005, "No Checkpoint, No Self-Defense"
- CBS 60 Minutes Interview, April 13, 2005, "Italian Journalist: U.S. Lied"
- Interview with Giuliana Sgrena Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...
, April 27, 2005, "Giuliana Sgrena Blasts U.S. Cover Up, Calls for U.S. and Italy to Leave Iraq" - US military report on the incident including uncovered redacted portions
- U.S. military checkpoints in Iraq lack basic safety measures, say Human Rights Watch and CPJ – IFEXInternational Freedom of Expression ExchangeThe International Freedom of Expression eXchange , founded in 1992, is a global network of around 90 non-governmental organisations that promotes and defends the right to freedom of expression....