Pearl sees 'cycle of violence'; Widow of slain journalist discusses beheading of civilian
Telegraph - Herald · May 13, 2004
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
MILWAUKEE (AP) - The widow of slain journalist Daniel Pearl says the "horrendous" death by beheading of a civilian contractor in Iraq reflects a cycle of violence that shows no sign of ending.
"It's a horrendous murder similar to the one Danny went through - and proof that violence leads to violence," Mariane Pearl told a Milwaukee audience Tuesday night. "This cycle of violence is not likely to end."
Video images of contractor Nick Berg, 26, from Philadelphia, were broadcast internationally Tuesday, with news programs leaving out the actual slaying. Berg's family last heard from him April 9.
An al-Qaida-affiliated group said in the video that the killing was to avenge the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers.
Daniel Pearl, 38, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, was abducted in Pakistan in 2002 and slain in the same way as Berg. The death also was videotaped, and the tape was later released to the public.
Mariane Pearl, speaking as part of a "From the Heart" lecture series, said that when her husband failed to return home from a scheduled meeting and was out of cell phone range, she knew something was terribly wrong.
"We knew it was al-Qaida. We knew it was the people who sent planes into the World Trade Center. We knew they were people who did not have pity," she said.
She said she stayed calm because she knew her husband was calm throughout the ordeal and she didn't want the assailants to break her spirit, just as they couldn't break his spirit.
"I was so determined to not let them win even if they were going to take our lives," she said.
Despite the horror of the deaths of her husband and Berg, the urge to take revenge must be resisted, she said.
"Those who killed Danny and those who killed Nicholas Berg are despicable people, but violence doesn't end violence," she said.
In photos released by her husband's kidnappers, Pearl said she could see him smiling and giving the "V for victory" sign.
"You can take somebody's life, but you can't take their strong spirit - and that's what the terrorists want, to take our strong spirit," she said.
Mariane Pearl, 36, published a book in September about her ordeal, "A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of My Husband." She was a French freelance journalist when she married her husband in 1999. Two days before the kidnapping, they learned she was carrying a baby. Three months after Daniel Pearl was killed, she gave birth to their son, Adam.
