Reporter Steven Vincent and his translator put their lives on the line each day in Iraq to uncover the truth about sectarian violence. August 2005 they were kidnapped by the very people they had been reporting on. Vincent was shot dead, becoming the first U.S. journalist murdered in Iraq. On Friday, May 4, NOW's Maria Hinojosa travels to the Middle East to talk to his Iraqi translator, Nour Al Khal, an extraordinary woman who, despite being shot three times, survived. Like two million of her compatriots Nour, who still fears for her life, has fled Iraq and lives in limbo as a refugee in a neighboring country.
Now Vincent's widow, Lisa Ramaci, is doing everything she can to bring Nour to safety in the U.S. "We share Steven. She was his friend. He was my husband. But we both loved him in different ways," Ramaci tells NOW. But she's facing an uphill battle, as the U.S. shuts out thousands of Iraqis like Nour who helped Americans in Iraq. In fact, only 466 Iraqi refugees have been permitted into the U.S. since the war began in 2003. What's next for Nour and millions of other refugees who are overwhelming cities across the Middle East?
The NOW website will provide additional coverage starting Friday, May 4, including an interview with the President of Refugees International on America's response to Iraqis in exile; Maria Hinojosa's reporter's notebook from the Middle East; and links to articles by Steven Vincent.
