Jere Van Dyk

Jere Van Dyk, journalist for CBS News and expert consultant on foreign affairs in Afghanistan and Pakistan, recalls his time in 2007 when he was doing research for a book, secretly traveling on the mountainous border of these two countries heading to a pre-arranged meeting with a Taliban leader to learn about the "war on terror" from their perspective. Minutes before he reached his destination, he was kidnapped and held for six weeks by another group of Taliban jihadists.

Throughout his captivity, he was on an emotional rollercoaster. One moment feeling like he was respected and protected by his captors, at others he faced cold eyes and threats of death. In Pashtunwali (an ancient tribal code which takes precedence over Islam), a guest is to be protected even to the death of the host. This explains why Mullah Omar refused to give up the location of Osama bin Laden, thereby destroying his own government and allowing Afghanistan to be invaded. He was protecting his "guest". Mr. Van Dyk wasn't physically tortured, but he was definitely forced to suffer through mind games on a daily basis, from both his captors and even his fellow prisoners (his interpreter and traveling companions) whom he sometimes felt had betrayed him.

Mr. Van Dyk has a respect for the people of Afghanistan beginning from his first visit in 1973 and again in 1981 (as a journalist) when he spent time and befriended some members of the mujahideen who were at war with the Soviets. He recalls the changes that have taken place since that time, the people changing from being full of pride in their history and their nation and their belief in Islam, to the current state of affairs which include the corruption (of people and even of the way the Muslim beliefs are twisted by some) and fear of oppression caused by the Taliban.

This should be read by everyone to help explain how even some members of the Taliban themselves fear other members, including members of their own families. It is a "brother war". There is not one leader guiding them. There are different tribal leaders involved who handle things their own way. There are some who are quick to kill Americans and those who show an interest in how the West thinks, even though they truly feel that infidels should be avoided and are on the path to hell.

This book also helps explain why there is such a hatred toward the West, especially America. I always thought that if they met average Americans, they would see that we are not "bad" people, even if we are often self-absorbed and even though our government is seen as a bully to the rest of the world. After reading this, however, I think our viewpoints may be so different that we may never find common ground. I feel that no matter what my personal religious beliefs are, I have respect for differing views. I've always thought that our religious backgrounds usually come into being out of where and how we are raised--our comfort zones, if you will. The Muslims Mr. Van Dyk was involved with during his captivity had such a deep and abiding faith in Islam that there was a stubbornness involved in not being able to allow others to have differing beliefs. It was interesting how even they, however, like all people do at times, would sometimes twist their beliefs to benefit themselves--sometimes being very pious and other times breaking the rules because "I am human". I do have to say, I am impressed by their devotion, by the fact that they pray five times a day and have so many rituals they follow throughout the day which would always keep Allah topmost in their minds. It's a shame that people of all faiths (over many hundreds of years) always tend to warp the purity of their respective religions into what is more palatable for their current culture, i.e. how even though the prophet, Muhammad, taught about showing respect toward women, many of the Taliban believe it is appropriate to beat their wives and/or kill their daughters if they elope with someone who is not chosen for them, etc.

This book demonstrates what a complete mess the situation in the Middle East is. Many countries involved. Many tribal areas within these countries involved. All seeming to have different goals. A lot of corruption, lies, thievery. No one knows who they can trust, even among so-called allies working for the same cause. In the end, it is always the innocents, the poor, the women, the children, the aged, who end up paying the largest price.

An end note says that Mr. Van Dyk never fully learned for what purpose he was kidnapped and who all was involved. He said he never learned the true story about his traveling companions and whether or not they were involved in some way. He said he never even learned if a ransom was paid and if so, by whom. I find this hard to believe, but considering the threats he's living under and the possibility of his wanting to protect friends still in Afghani-Pak (I'm making that word up!), I think he may be choosing to keep all of that a mystery. I don't care about the ransom part but I am curious how involved his fellow prisoners were and even what was up with the captor who served as his protector. His interpreter, Daoud, seemed to know a lot more than he let on, especially when he kept insisting it was a conspiracy. These guys suffered from so many mood swings it was very confusing, especially when they seemed to be asking Mr. Van Dyk for help when he was finally released.… (more)

It is very hard to roughly criticize a book by an award-winning New York Times journalist who was kidnapped and held hostage by the Taliban. But the work feels like it needed one--possibly more--pretty heavy edits. This is too bad, because there are probably fewer journalists better poised to write a book about this. Dyk has been traveling to Afghanistan for many years, he speaks Pashtun, and he loves the place--or rather loved it before it devolved into the state it is today.

I simply could not finish this book; Dyk repeated himself so many times that I wondered where his agent and editor were. I also wonder what kind of folly propelled him to journey into the Afghanistan-Pakistan borderland where everyone in the book guaranteed that the Taliban would snatch him. Since this is what happened, I wish he'd taken a little more time to write a book that wasn't so tedious.… (more)

"I'm alive."

As much incantation as statement of fact, that simple phrase had plenty of meaning for American journalist Jere Van Dyk when he was taken captive by the Taliban in February 2008 and held for 45 days. In Captive: My Time as a Prisoner of the Taliban, it represents affirmation, a touch of surprise and hope.

Van Dyk was no stranger to Afghanistan. He first went there driving a Volkswagen in 1973. He returned in the 1980s, spending time with the mujahideen who battled against the Soviet Union following its invasion of the country in late 1979. Not only did he win their trust, he wrote some Pulitzer Prize-nominated articles about them for The New York Times' Sunday magazine and a book and also became director of a nonprofit organization which pushed for U.S. support for the mujahideen.

Van Dyk returned to Afghanistan in 2007, hoping his prior contacts and experience would help gain him access to places other Western journalists hadn't been, particularly the remote tribal areas between Pakistan and Afghanistan. His goal was to "find out what the Taliban were really like," to "learn what they thought and what their goals were" and to "explain the Taliban to the outside world." As part of the effort, he attempted to disguise himself as a Pashtun and assimilate himself into their Pashtun culture. The Pashtun are the largest ethic group in the region and predominate the areas he wanted to go. Particuarly by making contact with his old mujahedin friends, he hoped Pashtunwali, the ancient unwritten code of the Pashtuns, would help protect him.

When Van Dyk finally manages to sneak across the border into Pakistan to meet up with a Taliban group he thinks will take him to Taliban strongholds in the tribal areas, he is captured by another Taliban group. He and his three companions would be held in a 12 foot by 12 foot room in the mountains of Pakistan. Among the more compelling parts of his tale is when his captors use his video recorder to document what he believes is going to be his execution. Van Dyk's mind races, careening between fear and a desire to appear calm, all the while wondering if he will be shot or if the captor who just put his hand in his pocket will be pulling out a knife to slit his throat.

Written in a diary format using an unvarnished journalistic style, Captive is insightful from both a political and a human standpoint. It shows perhaps as much as any book about Afghanistan and Pakistan the muddled alliances and alignments. There is conflict and competition between Taliban groups. There is conflict between Pashtunwali and principles of Sharia law or the Islam preached by some of the Talilban. According to his captors, the Pakistan government, or at least portions of it, are supporting and working with the Taliban as much, if not more, than the United States. All in all, it reveals the labyrinthine dilemma the governments and peoples of these countries face.

On the personal side, Van Dyk's story reveals an aspect of the fear and stress of his situation by showing the mercurial nature of his relationships with his captors and fellow captives. While Van Dyk may occasionally feel a kinship with or affinity for the others, it takes a single sentence or look to immediately make him suspicious or to view them, albeit not conspicuously, as an enemy. Similarly, for example, when he hears sounds outside where he is held captive, he can't decide if someone is chopping wood or building a gallows from which to hang him.

Also intriguing is Van Dyk's dealings with religion. Raised in a devout Christian family, Van Dyk had lost his faith over the years. Even before his capture, Van Dyk expresses an interest in learning more about Islam (although it does raise the question of why he didn't do so while with the mujahideen some 20 years before). That interest becomes more acute when his captors tell him the only way he will survive is by converting to Islam. The innate compulsion to survive by converting collides with him almost naturally falling back on his religious upbringing for solace and comfort, presenting another struggle for Van Dyk.

The true purpose of taking Van Dyk captive is never clear or explained to him. At points he is told he is being held to exchange him for prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. At other points, his captors talk of ransom and, in fact, have him write letters to friends to raise $1.5 million ransom. There are also suggestions that once he converts to Islam and is sufficiently familiar with it, they want him to return to America to spread the religion and the tenets advocated by the Taliban. The circumstances surrounding Van Dyk's are likewise unclear. In an endnote, he observes that he's never received any definitive answers about who or what brought about his release or even whether any ransom was paid.

Sadly, there seems to be a growing genre of nonfiction dealing with journalists and others being held captive by warring or hostile political factions. Perhaps more than other such works, Captive sheds some light on the deep-rooted dilemma that is Afghanistan and Pakistan. Thanks to his note-taking during his captivity and his willingness to discuss and reveal even his internal struggles, Van Dyk also immerses us in the human aspect of his experience.

(Originally published at A Progressive on the Prairie.… (more)