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CNN Live Sunday

Interview With Anthony Shadid

Aired March 31, 2002 - 17:18   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: We would like to follow up on the violence that is taking place in the Middle East. We reported a bit earlier, a "Boston Globe" reporter was shot and injured while reporting on the Middle East crisis from Ramallah, and we have him on the telephone and we'd like to bring him in right now. Anthony Shadid who is 33 years old. Anthony, can you hear me OK?

ANTHONY SHADID, "BOSTON GLOBE": I can hear you, yeah.

WHITFIELD: OK. Well, explain to me, what happened?

SHADID: Well, I was with a colleague and we were leaving Yasser Arafat's compound and heading back to our hotel. We were walking on the street, which, you know, we thought we were pretty well identified. We both had TV written on our flack jackets. We were walking very slowly down the street, and out of nowhere we heard, you know, a shot, and fell to ground. And that was kind of it. We were just a little bit stranded there in the middle of the street, because there was no way for an ambulance to get there, and we finally managed to make our way to Israeli soldiers who gave first aid and then moved me to the hospital here.

WHITFIELD: Now, we reported that you were shot in the shoulder, correct?

SHADID: You know, the bullet went into the left side of my back and then out the right side. Just like -- the doctor said it was kind of a miracle it didn't hit the spinal cord, but they said everything is going to be fine, so.

WHITFIELD: Now, how long have you been reporting from Ramallah?

SHADID: I just got here, you know, I got -- I came to Ramallah right before the Israelis came in. So I guess -- what was that Thursday, three days.

WHITFIELD: So, at any point over the course of the last couple of days, three days, even though you had a flack jacket, were there any concerns about your vulnerabilities to being caught in the crossfire?

SHADID: I mean, it's a really edgy city right now and there is a lot of fear. Israeli military is a huge presence. I mean, they practically reoccupied the city. Usually it seems you can negotiate with soldiers pretty well and get to where you need it go, but I don't know what today was all about. I am kind of at a loss to explain.

WHITFIELD: Well, is there a way in which to kind of explain, you know, the uneasiness that a number of journalists -- you are not alone over there -- there are thousands of foreign journalists that are there reporting on the developments there, feeling the same kind of vulnerabilities as you. Is there a way in which to describe what most of the journalists there are feeling?

SHADID: Well, I think the uneasiness is basically that, you know, that this is -- the offensive, the Israeli offensive is really, you know, it's house to house, building to building, street by street, and with that comes, you know, a lot of tanks, a lot of armored personnel carriers and soldiers. And you know, I think you get the sense that they don't always want you to see everything. I think part of that kind of makes for the edginess going on. There's also obviously a lot of fear in the city. The people are not leaving their houses. There has a curfew been imposed.

So just when you are walking around in Ramallah, it feels -- it feels a little unreal, because it is so quiet, it is so, you know, the only real presence here is the military presence.

WHITFIELD: Did anyone come to your aid right away when it happened, or was it just you and your colleague?

SHADID: That was kind of the scary part, because we were -- I could not stand up at first. I didn't have feeling in my arms or legs, and then that came back in a couple of minutes. And we tried -- because we were stranded on the middle of the street, and we tried to walk toward something, a car or an ambulance or something. We made 50 meters, and then I could not go any further, and then we again kept going, you know, kind of yelling, "we need help, journalists." And eventually we got to kind of a stop where there were a couple of tanks and armored personnel carriers, and Israeli soldiers gave me first aid there, put me up on an IV and tried to stop the bleeding.

And then, a Palestinian hospital sent a stretcher to take me to a hospital. It was kind of nearby.

WHITFIELD: You have to be feeling both unlucky and very lucky, given the parameters of the circumstances there. What are your immediate plans now? Is it your intend to stay in the region and continue reporting, or is it time to move on?

SHADID: I feel like -- unlucky, lucky, I feel tremendously lucky right now, to be honest, and I think no reason to press my luck anymore. So I am going probably go to Jerusalem tomorrow, and then back home to recover.

WHITFIELD: All right. Anthony Shadid, a reporter for "Boston Globe." Thanks very much for joining us, and best of luck to you in your continued work there overseas -- and be safe.

SHADID: OK, thank you.

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