'HE WAS AWARE OF THE DANGERS BUT BELIEVED IN WHAT HE WAS DOING': FOLEY HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN KIDNAPPED IN SYRIA, FRIEND REVEALS
James Foley knew his job carried risks but 'believed in what he was doing' covering the Syrian conflict, a friend said.
The 40-year-old New Englander had been kidnapped before while covering fighting in Libya, but had been eager to get back into action, film-maker Matthew VanDyke told BBC Radio 4's Today.
He said seeing news reports of his friend's death was 'a complete nightmare' and urged other reporters in Syria and Iraq to take care, saying 'if it can happen to him, it can happen to anybody'.
Mr Van Dyke said: 'He was certainly aware of the dangers, he was very professional... He had been through a rough time in Libya when he was captured and even after that he came home a little bit and then he went right back to Libya to continue reporting on that conflict.'
Brave: James Wright Foley has previously been kidnapped in Libya but had been keen to remain a conflict journalist as he 'believed in what he was doing'
Mr Van Dyke said his friend went into Syria knowing that his presence amid the conflict was as dangerous, if not more so, than it had been in Libya.
'[But] he had a love for what he did and he wanted to tell the story of the Syrian people. And nothing was going to stop him from doing that.'
After being captured in Libya, Foley was held by the government alongside a small group of other journalists, but was released and given a one-year suspended sentence on charges of illegally entering the country.
In an interview about that experience, Foley said he 'would love to go back', but recalled the horror of seeing a colleague killed in a firefight. He also spoke of a love of his profession.
'Journalism is journalism,' he said. 'If I had a choice to do Nashua [New Hampshire] zoning meetings or give up journalism, I'll do it. I love writing and reporting.'
In an interview the BBC in a 2012 interview that he was 'drawn to the drama of the conflict and trying to expose untold stories'.
He said: 'There's extreme violence, but there's a will to find who these people really are. And I think that's what's really inspiring about it.'
'Journalism is journalism,' Foley said another time. 'If I had a choice to do Nashua (New Hampshire) zoning meetings or give up journalism, I'll do it. I love writing and reporting.'
His alma-mater, Marquette University said it was 'deeply saddened' by Foley's death. It said he had a heart for social justice and used his talents to tell stories in the hopes they might make a difference.
'We extend our heartfelt prayers and wishes for healing to James' family and friends during this very difficult time,' it said in a statement.
The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned what it called Foley's 'barbaric murder' by the Islamic State, which says his killing was retribution for recent U.S. airstrikes in Iraq.
Background: Prior to a career in conflict journalism, James Wright Foley taught reading and writing skills to convicted felons at Cook County Jail in Chicago
James Wright Foley, has been missing since November 2012, after being taken hostage at gunpoint by militants from the group Jabhat al Nusra while reporting from Taftanaz, northern Syria
Another American journalist, Austin Tice, is also missing after disappearing somewhere outside Damascus, Syria in August 2012. It is not known whether he is a hostage of ISIS.
His parents learned of Foley's death as they were preparing a vigil to commemorate the two year anniversary of his kidnapping.
'The last 635 days, we have had to share a horrible nightmare, which has made us close to the Foley family and our heart goes out to them. We pray eternal rest for James' soul and comfort and peace for his family,' the Tice family said in a statement.
'FRIENDLY, COURAGEOUS AND IMPATIENT': REMEMBERING JAMES WRIGHT FOLEY
The friends of photojournalist James Foley are mourning his loss online, following the 40-year-old's execution by ISIS terrorists.
Foley, from Rochester, New Hampshire, was a seasoned reporter who went missing two years ago while covering the Syrian conflict.
'James Foley was a generous colleague & friend. We had beers in Antakya a week before he was taken. We talked about marriage/kids,' Buzzfeed's Middle East correspondent Sheera Frenkel tweeted.
Following a video posted online showing Foley's graphic beheading, his former employer GlobalPost issued a statement.
'On behalf of John and Diane Foley, and also GlobalPost, we deeply appreciate all of the messages of sympathy and support that have poured in since the news of Jim's possible execution first broke,' Philip Balboni, GlobalPost CEO and co-founder, said.
Remembered: James Foley, reporting from Syria in 2012 before his disappearance
Mother Diane Foley talked about her son in a January 2013 interview with a local television station and said her son was 'passionate about covering the story in Syria, passionate about the people there.'
He is the oldest of five children.
According to a bio on the website Free James Foley, the journalist had traveled extensively in the Middle East and North Africa on assignment and had covered conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya.
Prior to becoming a journalist, Foley helped 'empower disadvantaged individuals as a teacher and mentor, assisting them in improving their lives,' the website says.
He had been previously held captive while covering the uprising in Libya, and was released by Gaddafi's forces after six weeks.
Foley spoke about the 44 days of captivity in a video for the Boston Globe in May 2011.
'You don’t want to be defined as that guy who got captured in 2011,' he said. 'I believe that front-line journalism is important.'
Journalist Clare Morgana Gillis was also held captive with Foley in Libya, and wrote a 2013 essay in which she said captivity was 'the state most violently opposite [Foley's] nature.'
She also described him as gentle, friendly, courageous and impatient with 'anything that slows his forward momentum'.
A May article in Vanity Fair about the dangers for journalists in Syria described Foley as 'affable' and devil-may-care'.
At the time of his disappearance, Foley was working as a freelancer for Agence France-Presse's Global Post, but he previously contributed to Stars and Stripes and other outlets.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2730480/PM-Tony-Abbott-warns-Australians-new-threats-Indonesian-terror-group-Jemaah-Islamiyah-calls-James-Foleys-beheading-truly-sickening.html#ixzz3B1kv2nOB
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