Tony Rossi,
Director of Communications,
The Christophers
When Diane Foley’s son, journalist James Foley, was covering the Arab Spring in Syria in 2012, he was taken hostage by ISIS. The Catholic mother retired early from her job as a nurse practitioner to work with the U.S. government to secure Jim’s release. However, there was no dedicated person or office to handle hostage situations, and Diane felt that the government largely gave her the runaround.
In 2014, a video of Jim’s beheading was widely shared on social media and became international news. Diane felt grief-stricken, but prayed for the grace to move forward. During a “Christopher Closeup” interview about her memoir “American Mother,” she said, “I felt the Lord wanted me to somehow use the horror of all this for the good of others because I know that’s what Jim would’ve wanted…But it was a challenge, and it required a lot of faith, a lot of the goodness of others. When bad things happen, we need God with skin on. We need people who care. That’s been my experience. We received buckets of mail for a full year after Jim was murdered, and it was through a lot of that goodness and some of those donations, we were able to start the Foley Foundation.”
The James Foley Legacy Foundation advocates for the safety of journalists in conflict zones and has helped bring home more than 140 innocent U.S. nationals. Its work also resulted in establishing a government point person to handle hostage situations.
Years later, two of Jim’s murderers were captured and extradited to the U.S. One of them, Alexanda Kotey, plead guilty and offered to meet with victims. It was not an easy decision for Diane, but she felt it was something Jim would have done. Her co-author, Colum McCann, came along and documented what occurred.
Diane credits God with giving her the peace to get through this unusual exchange. ”One of Jim’s gifts was as a listener,” Diane said, “and I wanted to be able to see Alexanda Kotey. I wanted to hear him as Jim would’ve heard him…But I also, as a mom, wanted him to know who Jim was because I knew that a lot of the jihadists objectified the prisoners and just saw them as images of anything bad our country’s ever done, and not as people. But thanks be to God, I was able to hear him, and I felt he heard me. He ended up writing me three letters after our encounter…He won’t probably ever see his family or home country again, which is important. Accountability needs to happen when people commit horrific crimes. But by the same token, there was a humanity.”
Would Diane say she has forgiven Kotey? “It’s grace, it’s mercy. He never asked me to forgive him. He did express remorse…Certainly I’m willing to forgive…Hatred is sad. When we choose to hate one another, everybody’s hurt. Everybody. And when we dare with God’s grace to try to love, there’s hope for everyone.”
In co-writing “American Mother,” Diane hopes that Jim’s story offers future generations hope and courage in pursuing truth. The book is also a testament to the strength and guidance we can all draw from faith. She concluded, “The challenge is for all of us to use whatever happens in our life, gifts or tragedy, to try to find God in it because then God meets us and gives us the strength to do what we can, to do what He intends with whatever is there. So, God is my strength.”
For free copies of the Christopher News Note GOD IS MY STRENGTH, write: The Christophers, 264 West 40th Street, Room 603, New York, NY 10018;.
Comments