CNN.com - Mariane Pearl: Husband's spirit lives on - February 22, 2002

Daniel Pearl, journalist van de Wall Street Journal wordt op 23 januari 2002 gekidnapped door een groep die aangeeft te strijden voor de bevrijding van Pakistan.

Op 14 februari verklaart Saeed Sheikh, betrokken bij de kidnapping, voor de rechtbank dat Daniel Pearl gedood is.

Het State Department geeft aan Wall Street Journal door dat Pearl dood is.

Het origineel van onderstaand vraaggesprek stond op de website van CNN

Mariane Pearl:

Husband's spirit lives on

February 22, 2002 Posted: 6:20 PM EST (2320 GMT)

"My other hope now -- in my seventh month of pregnancy -- is

that I will be able to tell our son that his father carried

the flag to end terrorism," said Mariane Pearl.

KARACHI, Pakistan (CNN) -- Mariane Pearl, the widow of murdered American

journalist Daniel Pearl, released the following statement Friday:

"From the bottom of my heart, I would like to express my gratitude to all

of the people throughout the world who have given Danny and me support and

encouragement.

"The messages I have received from the five continents have shown me that

a lot of you who don't even know Danny personally have come to understand

him as a man. Not a hero, not a spy, but an ordinary man and great

journalist who has traveled the world to reveal facts and seek the truth

-- a value for him as sacred as freedom itself.

"Danny's principles were steadfast: He never accepted an opinion at face

value nor submitted to those who tried to silence or pressure him,

regardless of their power or nationality. All of this can be seen in the

work he has produced over the last 12 years as a reporter for the Wall

Street Journal. A video has been produced of him forced to read a

statement and then showing him dead and stabbed in the most cruel and

cowardly manner.

"From this act of barbarism, terrorists expect all of us to bow our heads

and retreat as victims forever threatened by their ruthlessness. What

terrorists forget is that they may seize the life of an innocent man or

the lives of many innocent people as they did on September 11, but they

cannot claim the spirit or faith of individual human beings.

"The terrorists who say they killed my husband may have taken his life,

but they did not take his spirit. Danny is my life. They may have taken my

life, but they did not take my spirit.

"I promise you that the terrorists did not defeat my husband no matter

what they did to him, nor did they succeed in seizing his dignity or value

as a human being. As his wife, I feel proud of Danny. I trust that our

struggle will ultimately serve the greater purpose of resisting those evil

people casting a shadow upon our world.

"This responsibility rests with each one of us no matter our age, our

gender, our nationality, our religion. No individual alone will be able to

fight terrorism. No state alone will be able to wage this battle. We need

to overcome cultural and religious differences, motivating our governments

to work hand in hand with each other, perhaps in an unprecedented way.

"I think we are now all aware that terror is not a problem facing one

country alone, not Pakistan, not the United States. It is the worldwide

responsibility of governments and we as journalists, professionals of all

kinds and human beings -- mothers and fathers, daughters and sons. We are

all going to need courage and commitment. Let us inspire each other to

goodness.

"Revenge would be easy, but it is far more valuable in my opinion to

address this problem of terrorism with enough honesty to question our own

responsibility as nations and as individuals for the rise of terrorism.

"My own courage arises from two facts. One is that throughout this ordeal

I have been surrounded by people of amazing value. This helps me trust

that humanism ultimately will prevail. My other hope now -- in my seventh

month of pregnancy -- is that I will be able to tell our son that his

father carried the flag to end terrorism, raising an unprecedented demand

among people from all countries not for revenge but for the values we all

share: love, compassion, friendship and citizenship far transcending the

so-called clash of civilizations."