Reuben's blog

Posting notes for safety

Near Port Selao

I’ve spent the last 3 hours transcribing my interviews with the Jackal. I can’t risk another raid on my room and unfortunately I have no other place I can confidently stash the tapes. So I’ve been copying everything the man’s said word for word. I’m going to post to a folder online. They should be safe there.

Interview #4 – The Jackal

Near Port Selao

It’s strange to interview a man you know only as the Jackal. In person, he doesn’t really answer to any name. He is forever anonymous when you’re in his presence. And it’s not just in name. We sat in a small café different from our previous meeting place. Near the back, we had enough privacy to conduct an interview without busy eavesdropping.

“How does this happen?”

Near Port Selao

I found this email when I logged in today:

Dear Rueben:
                I live in the United States, and I have to say that I’m shocked to report that very little information about the war ever reaches us. As far as most of us overseas know, the civil war ended when the AU peacekeepers marched into Port Selao, and your stories came as quite a shock. I suppose that we all assumed that the war was over, yet whenever I read your blog, it seems that things are still just as bad as they were before, probably even worse. How can the entire world simply overlook such a bloody conflict, especially after decades of seeing what happens when we overlook them? How does this happen?
Mike,
Phoenix, AZ

Refugees pay for faction abuses

Near Port Selao

Today was the first time I walked the town all morning and saw nothing but mercenaries. They’re patrolling the main street; they lean against cars idly chattering about nothing. Gone are the stranded citizens, those poor and destitute refugees left behind after the massive exodus back in May.

“I have them!”

Near Port Selao

I can’t believe it. I’ve been furiously scribbling notes for the past 2 hours trying desperately to recall every word the Jackal said to me over our last three interviews.

My cassette tapes have been confiscated – the tapes containing the Jackal interviews. All three of my interviews are gone. I have nothing.