President Barack Obama on Wednesday strongly condemned the gruesome beheading of American journalist James Foley by Islamic militants. In a live address, Obama said the whole world is appalled at ISIS.
Two years ago, Foley visited San Diego State University to share his passion of covering war zones.
One student asked him to describe his experience in one word.
"Can it be a hyphenated word?" Foley asked. "Life-changing."
"I think it’s a passion for telling stories, it’s a passion for using media to tell stories," Foley said. "It’s about a passion for a place, a passion for different kinds of people communicating."
Foley's passion took him to conflict zones across the globe. He told his audience ethical journalism and front-line reporting are essential.
"I feel we’re obliged to release everything to the public," he said. "I feel that’s our job. The military can’t do that, some organizations can’t do that.”
His visit to SDSU came less than a year after being ambushed and held captive in Libya for six weeks. Even after all he’d been through, he said he felt compelled to return to the Middle East.
"I wish I was there, in a strange way," Foley said. "I want to be there, in Syria. And I want to be there in Homs. But really, I think that what I put people through, what I put my family through — they tell me now, ‘Please don’t go to Syria, please don’t go to Syria, please ...”
Foley did go. Nine months after his talk at SDSU, he was kidnapped in Syria and had been missing since November 2012.
Foley is being remembered for his courageous reporting and risking his life to tell the stories of people a world away.
