This is not just a "just and good" story

On June 18, the Supreme Court of Ontario, Canada sentenced Ali Omar Ader, a Somali who actively participated in the kidnapping and gang rape of the Canadian female journalist Amanda Lindhout (Amanda Lindhout), to 15 years in prison. The Somali nightmare of a Canadian female journalist

Amanda Lindert was born in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada in 1981. Her parents separated since childhood and her family was poor. She has longed for a "great life" since she was a child and read National Geographic magazine all day, hoping to travel the world one day. She once wanted to be a model and a beautician, but she didn't have much success. She also encountered some problems in her studies. She failed to enter the university and had to work as a waitress in a cocktail bar in her hometown.

She firmly believes that this is just the hardship that Yuru Yucheng must go through. At the age of 24, she resigned as a waitress, put up a backpack, declared that she had become a "freelance journalist" and embarked on a "career journey" of true and false ". She declared that she appeared in major hot spots in the world, provided wartime news for mainstream international media such as "France 24", and went to many places such as Iraq and Afghanistan. However, no one has seen her in some places where she claims to have been, and most of the international media that she claims to have been employed have also denied that she has been recruited. France 24 TV even stated that it “does not use Lindet’s feeds much” and rejected her twice. The job requirements (required to be the station’s correspondent in Iraq and Somalia), on the grounds that they were "not professional enough." Of course, there are still many colleagues and compatriots who have seen her in Afghanistan and Iraq, but the only official media that admits to employing her is the Iranian National Television (which has caused her to be criticized by some compatriots). One of her most famous events before the "Somali incident" was the rumor in 2008 that she was rumored by Muqtada al-Sadr, the leader of Iraq’s anti-American forces. Interestingly, earlier this year, the Sadr-led party won She was kidnapped by the Iraqi legislative elections and is expected to become the ruling party. At the time, she was not commenting on it, but after many years she said that she was “not kidnapped.” The other party asked her to find a local acquaintance to protect her and let her leave freely. Go, it takes only 1 hour before and after.

In 2008, she met 37-year-old freelance photojournalist Nigel Brennan (Nigel Brennan), who was born in Brisbane, Australia, in Iraq. They became lovers in some versions of the narrative. In any case, they decided to join forces to "explore the world," and the target is Somalia, the "Horn of Africa" ​​where extremist organizations are rampant and perennial anarchy.

They arrived in Somalia on August 21. Only two days later, they joined the temporary local translator Abdifatah Mohammed Elmi (Abdifatah Mohammed Elmi) and the temporarily borrowed driver Mahad Isse (Mahad Isse). Five people were kidnapped by a group of young gangsters from an unknown extremist organization on the land to the civil war refugee camp. It is reported that the group’s planned kidnapping target was the famous National Geographic reporter Robert Draper. This person and his assistants planned to visit the refugee camp that day, but the reporter was experienced and took careful security precautions. And temporarily changed the return route, the gangsters who were unwilling to "go empty" took Amanda and Janell as scapegoats.

On September 17, footage of the two being kidnapped appeared on Al Jazeera TV. At the time, they were wearing black robes, calling for "Save Us"; on October 13, the kidnappers offered a ransom of 2.5 million US dollars; January 15, 2009 , 3 Somalis who were kidnapped at the same time were released, and then the kidnappers lowered the price to $1 million; on June 10, CTV received a video in which Amanda pleaded for her rescue in tears and briefly described her current tragic situation.

Because the Canadian and Australian governments joined the US government’s alliance of "nothing to do with the kidnappers" and refused to follow the example of other countries (such as Germany) in paying rent to the kidnappers, Genell and Amanda were detained for 460 days. They were finally released on November 25, 2009 after their family members "demolished the house and sold the land" to raise enough US$1 million and paid through a private company specializing in "pimping" the kidnappers.

here 46In 0 days, Amanda became "famous": columnist Tina Brown described how she was gang-raped, abused, and gave birth to a kid in the tabloid "Daily Beast". Attracted countless readers. After regaining her freedom, Tina dismissed these as "nonsense" and firmly denied the rumors that she was pregnant and had children. However, in 2013, she and senior reporter Sara Corbett co-wrote a memoir called "House in the Sky", which included gang rape, abuse, despair, and after seeing a flying bird The sudden desire for life and other vivid plots made her win the CBC Best Non-fiction Award in 2014, and it also completely changed her later life.

Adel fell into the French Open

( subtitle) Somali suspect who participated in the kidnapping and gang rape of a Canadian female journalist was sentenced

Although limited by international consensus, the Canadian Federal Government and the RCMP did not intervene in the rescue of Amanda and others. They are not doing nothing: they found that Adel, who represented the kidnappers and family members and was active throughout the incident, was a key figure. He not only pimped and encouraged Amanda's family to change the property to collect the ransom, but also personally participated in the kidnapping, detention, and Abuse and even gang rape.

The RCMP placed a large picture of this man in their headquarters, brainstorming and racking their brains, hoping to find a way to arrest him. But Adel is in a chaotic and dangerous Somalia, and the Royal Mounted Police whip is too long. What should I do?

After careful research, a smart police officer believes that Adel is pretentious and thinks that he is a "smart man" who is different from other accomplices and can lure him into the bait by tricks. They sent someone to pretend to be the publisher and contact Adel, claiming that they could pay huge royalties in exchange for the "exclusive disclosure" of the other party in the Amanda incident. They collaborated on a best-selling book and coveted the royalties in June 2015. Fly from Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, to Ottawa, Canada. He was immediately prosecuted, and the prosecution demanded a sentence of 15-18 years in prison.

During the trial, Amanda and her family recounted their tragic experience in court and Adel's heinous deeds in it, including deliberately passing Amanda's scream while throating the knife to the victim. mother. Adel pleaded guilty and regretted it in court in March, but blamed it on "inherent human weakness", apologized to the victim, asked for forgiveness, and asked to "go home to take care of his family"; his lawyer, Samir Adam, said He thinks that "12 years is more fair."

Judge Robert Smith believed that the 41-year-old Adel played a “very active role” in the kidnapping and abuse process, and his arguments in court were full of loopholes. What he said was that he was forced to act as a negotiator and The testimony of "translation" cannot be accepted, so it must be severely punished by law.

is more than just "just yet"

but this is not just a "justice" story.

Amanda was forced to recall that unbearable pain during the trial, and sent out a feeling of "I often questioned whether I have been free". The harm she suffered was profound and irreversible, and the punishment for the perpetrator was also This cannot be changed-not to mention that far from being punished for all perpetrators.

The Canadian government and the police have performed well in designing trapping perpetrators. It is admirable. They abide by the principle of "disabling kidnappers", which is intended to prevent more kidnappers from being encouraged by the "wealth effect" and victimize more national citizens. However, it is reasonable for all parties to face the "high standards and strict requirements" of the authorities.

During the kidnapping of Amanda, some media and media people fabricated all kinds of sensational and "unsuitable for children" stories. It was very immoral to consume the suffering of the victim. At that time, Amanda's anger and rights protection were taken for granted.

But what is intriguing is that Amanda herself also joined the ranks of "self-consumption". Some people compared her with the former "difficult friend", another memoir published earlier by Jenell, who now seems to have no connection with each other. It is found that many details of the donkey's lips are not the same as the horse's mouth, which is suspected of "painting" and "adding drama". Because of this, her memoir has received some objections. When this book won the CBC "Non-Fiction Award", someone ridiculed that "it should be given a novel award".

The dispute isWhether it makes sense or not, people have different opinions, but Amanda has transformed from a “novice reporter” to a global philanthropist, social activist, and “famous media person” under the spotlight. She has never accepted a complete high-level. Educated, she has now become an honorary doctor of law from the University of Lethbridge.

I can’t say that she didn’t deserve all this, but as many senior media professionals questioned nearly 10 years ago: Is she a qualified reporter?

She lacks professional quality, and the manuscripts she writes are rarely adopted by the media, and no one is willing to partner with her. No formal media is willing to hire her, provide her with funding, organization and logistics support, and no sponsors are willing to fund her. The family is poor, and the money saved as a hostess is limited, and she has to either become a controversial media, submit a report to an anonymous tabloid (a local Canadian tabloid once received an article from her), or "seeking wealth and wealth" and risking a lot Experienced media professionals are unwilling to try their luck at dangerous hot spots and add "hot spot bonuses" to their unprofessional "products."

She only worked in Somalia for less than 48 hours, but she paid the tragic price of being imprisoned and abused for 460 days. She made her family and many well-wishers pay for it, and even bankrupted her family. Of course, it is right to do good, and there is no need to expect rewards for doing good, but if the person is responsible and professional for himself and others when planning his life, would it be better?

Now is the era of "self-media", the threshold of the media is lower, and the difficulty of "monetization" is correspondingly greater. For the new generation of young people who aspire to join them, I hope they will not just read "the end of good and evil" from Amanda's story. There is a report, the way of heaven is reincarnation", and you should think about what you should do and what you should not do, which is the choice to be responsible to yourself and to everyone.

Figure 1. A large photo of the suspect who has been placed at the headquarters of the RCMP for a long time (Canada News Agency)

Figure 2. Amanda and Jenell (The Peninsula) who fell into the hands of the kidnappers

Figure 3. Becoming a celebrity Amanda (women of influence, second from left) who frequently walks the show afterwards