Oh my God. I’m in utter and complete shock. My hands are trembling as I’m writing this. My very good friend Jill Carroll has been kidnapped while on assignment in Iraq for The Christian Science Monitor!!
She is one of the kindest, most sincere, honest people I have ever met. She is a very motivated journalist who always went out of her way to seek the truth. I’m speechless. My words escape me at this moment. The knot in my stomach is more than I can bear. I pray to God to protect her and bring home safely. She really doesn’t deserve this. She has been working hard for years to report the true side of the story.
I met Jill while working at The Jordan Times three years ago. She has become a dear friend since then. She attended my wedding and was even a supervising usher working hard to make our big day a success. Please, God, return her home safely!
Update 1: According to the Associated Press, the Iraqi police are currently looking for Jill. AP also ran a profile of Jill here.
Update 2: This Iraq-based reporter and blogger is a friend of Jill’s there and has written an emotional post about her. Another blogger who knows her personally is also traumatized by her capture. The Washington Post has also run a story on Jill’s abduction and put Jill on the front page.
Update 3: Jeff and I gathered together links to some of the articles that Jill wrote while working in Iraq, four from CSM and one from American Journalism Review that’s quite revealing. We were so proud to see her byline, we tried to never miss highlighting her stories there:
Natasha and Jeff,
I just learned of the disappearance of your dear friend Jill from LeDhu. This is so tragic for all. Our thoughts and prayers go out to you both.
Love,
Aunt Gayle
Tonite our local Christian Science Church held its weekly testimonial meeting. A few people spoke about Jill’s abjuction. We are all keeping her in our prayers. Our service was concluded with the following hymn:
O dreamer leave thy dreams for joyfulwaking
O captive rise and sing for thou art free;
The Christ is here, all dreams of error breaking,
Unloosing bonds of all captivity
He comes to bless thee on his wings of healing
To banish pain, and wipe all tears away;
He comes a-new, to humble hearts revealing
The mounting foot-steps of the upward way.
He comes to give thee joy for desolation,
Beauty for ashes of the vanished years;
For every tear to bring full compensation,
To give thee confidence for all thy fears.
He comes to call the dumb to joyful singing;
The deaf to hear; the blinded eyes to see;
The glorious tidings of salvation bringing.
O captive, rise, thy saviour comes to thee.
We know that God’s arms are encircling Jill right now and keeping her safe.
Our love and prayers go out to Jill and her family and friends.
I grew up with her in Ann Arbor and still live in the area- everyone here is crazy, they can’t believe it, I don’t even know what to say but I hope her poor mother is surviving this whatever way she can. Hope you come home soon, Jill.
LOL David. That’s Jill for sure. I remember when she first arrived at the JT. I normally heard nary a peep from the newsroom, but on her first day, I heard this clarion American voice speaking so fast. I knew I’d been out of the country for too long when I had to ask her to slow it down just a bit. It was work keeping up with that speedy tongue of hers. I know it’s the last way anyone wants to have to remember these things but it is nice to see her friends and colleagues drawing together in support.
My thoughts are with Jill and her family,
I knew Jill for a short time in Ann Arbor around the end of High School and unfortunately lost touch the following years. I remember meeting her for the first time at a party, she was talking a mile a minute and i was having a hard time trying to keep up. She was very honest, focused, and dedicated back then and i can assure you that that is what has made her the great reporter that she is today.
Like Andy Wood said above “This is so unbelievably awful, and it couldn’t have happened to a nicer person, & this is the last way I wanted to get re-connected”
Julie, thank you for the info. I’m personally breathing a little easier, but it’s still a horribly worrisome situation for anyone involved. I just wish there was more information available through the mainstream media. Not knowing’s the worst part.
Thank you again.
Hi Brad,
To put your mind at ease, I think you are thinking of a different person. Jill is from Ann Arbor, MI. She grew up there through high school. At UMass, she swam and played water polo as well as wrote for the college paper.
hey Jeff, you are completely correct in saying Jill is focused and determined. I’ve never known an individual more focused and determined to do her work well and liver her life. I am also angry to keep reading that word “aggressive” because I think some people are interpreting it incorrectly. I do believe the word “agressive” does describe Jill. I just think some people are taking it our out context by defining it as “reckless”. “Agressive” means she went after her goals. She’s a go-getter… A strong woman. While I had my doubts about her even heading to the Middle East, and believe me, I told her that, I understand her reasoning and her passion. Passion. That’s the word that embodies what Jill is all about. Thank you for caring so much about Jill. She has so many friends all over. Good people too. I’m confident she will be okay. We just have to find her….
As friends of Jill, I hope you can answer a little question that will set my mind to ease.
I grew up with a Jill Carroll in Derry, NH — she would be 28, and would probably have graduated on time from college in 1999. She lived around the corner from me growing up. I never knew her that well — just a background character in my life, but the Jill I knew could write a mean paper back in the day.
News reports indicate that your friend Jill was a Michigan native — any chance she grew up in NH then moved? The photos I’ve found don’t really match what I remember about the Jill I grew up with.
I lost two friends on 9/11 — one of them was just at the WTC for the day and otherwise would have been hundreds of miles away. The last one you’d expect to be in such a place. Kinda like the Jill I knew.
Thanks in advance, and she’s in my prayers.
I’m so sorry to hear that, hopefully she won’t be hurt.
Natasha,sorry to hear your friend was kidnapped.I will be praying for her safe return.I guess the conflict in Iraq doesn’t really hit home til you’re personally impacted by it like this.To be honest,I had not heard anything about it on the news,or perhaps I did but wasn’t paying attention.Hate to say it,but hearing about car bombs and kidnappings on a constant basis tends to desensitize us to a certain extent.
Journalists should definitely not be looked upon as the enemy in a war zone,but apparently the Islamic zealots feel exempt from all rules of civil behavior.
Carmen,your diatribe was ill-timed,and any possibly valid points have been completely overshadowed by your insensitivity.
Sandmonkey,thanks for your honest opinion.I couldn’t agree more.
G.Mayer…let’s not consider blaming the U.S. government for this,as conspiracy THEORIES are just that…