Yukawa and Goto with an unnamed ISIS fighter nicknamed "Jihadi John". Yahoo/Reuters
The two Japanese men held by ISIS and being threatened with murder, were friends. Yahoo/Reuters. Haruna Yukawa was a troubled man who had his life fall apart. He went to Syria to be a journalist and has been accused of being a mercenary. Kenji Goto had met Yukawa in Syria when Yukawa asked him to go with him to Iraq. Goto felt obligated to help and understood that Yukawa was out of his depth. Goto was an experienced war corespondent and had a reputation for caution. When Yukawa disappeared back in August, Goto was distraught, feeling responsible for the man. He returned to Syria in October to help Yukawa but disappeared shortly after heading to the "capitol" of ISIS, Raqqa. Goto, a converted Christian, has three children back in Japan.
My Comment:
This is such an amazing story. I've got mixed feelings about all of it though. On the one hand, Yukawa was out of his depth and put himself, and now Goto as well, at a huge risk. Goto was foolish to go to Raqqa when he knew that ISIS was capturing journalists for ransom and political executions. On the other hand though, Goto showed incredible courage and loyalty to help someone who desperately needed help. Goto knew the risks but he felt responsible for his friend and countryman. He risked everything for a friend. Even if his choice was unwise, it was still an incredible act of friendship to do what he did. Whatever happens to him, he deserves better.
As for the fate of Yukawa and Goto, I'm not that hopeful. The $200 million that ISIS is asking for isn't a genuine offer. There is no way Japan is going to pay that much and even if they did, ISIS might kill them anyways. Their fate was sealed when ISIS released their video. I'm still hoping for some kind of miracle but at this point hopes are dimming. Anything short of a commando raid will probably not be enough to save these men.
As for ISIS, I'm hoping the man in these videos is brought to justice someday. This "Jihadi John", if indeed it is the same person for all the videos, needs to answer for his crimes. Whether it is justice in a courtroom or delivered by an airstrike, he needs to pay for what he has done. By all accounts, all of the people he has killed or threatened to kill, were good people. Most of them were aid workers or journalists covering the suffering in the region, or aid workers helping to alleviate it. Killing innocent people is always evil, but killing innocent people who are actively trying to help or inform people is about as low as you can get.
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