4/14/2004: Bay Area-based independent journalist and filmmaker, David Martinez was taken prisoner by the resistance fighters in Fallujah over the weekend, and then was released unharmed. Martinez returned to Falluja to help evacuate civilians and wounded people in the "kill zone". Martinez, along with several other internationals, was held in a resistance safe house while being questioned. He reports being treated respectfully. Once the resistence fighters were convinced the internationals were in Fallujah doing humanitarian work, they were released unharmed. Martinez reports that the fighters in Fallujah were mostly young men, all natives of Fallujah that have lost friends and relatives in the occupation. He characterizes the Fallujah resistance a "grassroots response to the invasion of their town." Martinez estimates the death toll at being close to 1200 in Fallujah so far. Listen to the Flashpoints Audio Interview
This group of internationals has been attempting to use their international status to get the wounded to hospitals in the few ambulances that still exist. While trying to pick up the wounded and dead, the ambulances often get shot up by U.S. snipers, preventing the medical team from doing their work. During the cease-fire, civilians have attempted to evacuate Fallujah, but often the young men get held back. It is feared that once a considerable amount of people are evacuated, the U.S. will level the town.
David Martinez's Reports: April 4 | April 7 | April 15
Photos & Reports from Andrew Stern/Naomi Klein: March 19 | April 6 | April 9