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Diary

Paul Wood's diary: From James Foley's memorial to gunfire in the streets

Lebanese life in the shadow of the so-called Islamic State

6 September 2014

9:00 AM

6 September 2014

9:00 AM

 Lebanon

The Beirut press corps gather to remember the murdered journalist Jim Foley. People stand for a minute’s silence, drink in hand. Below the balcony, the nightly Beirut traffic jam sends the sound of car horns floating upward. Before killing him, the so-called Islamic State emailed his family: ‘The scum of your society… are held prisoner by us, THEY DARED TO ENTER THE LION’S DEN AND WHERE [sic] EATEN!’ I always thought of the hardy band of foreign freelancers, of which Jim was a part, as the best of us.

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Paul Wood is a BBC correspondent.

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