After Micah Garen '94 was kidnapped with his translator, Amir, from a market in southern Iraq on Aug. 13, 2004, it was largely the work of his now-fiancée Marie-Helene Carlton and the grassroots efforts she led across the world that led to his release 10 days later.

"We tried to humanize them so Micah and Amir weren't seen as symbols of the war … but as fathers and husbands," Carlton said, while speaking with Garen at the Alice H. Cook House on Sept. 14.

The two journalists, documentary filmmakers and co-authors of "American Hostage: A Memoir of a Journalist Kidnapped in Iraq and the Remarkable Battle to Win His Release" (2005), spoke about the kidnapping and their other experiences in the Middle East; they also presented photographs and video footage.

In a time and place with so much conflict, there are ways to resolve situations without the use of bombs, Garen explained. "It's a story of inspiration," he said.

Rather than rely on the authorities to get Garen released, Carlton decided to use her network of several hundred contacts worldwide and her experience in Iraq and friendships with local people to win Garen's freedom.

Iraqis are quite good at separating their contempt of American foreign policy from American people in general, according to Garen. He reported hearing many Iraqis state that they "don't have a problem with American people but a problem with American foreign policy."

"That's why we wanted to humanize them [Micah and Amir] rather than politicize them," Carlton said.

Another well-received tactic Carlton employed was having Garen's sister make a statement on Arab television pleading to Shiite kidnappers for mercy.

"It's all about compassion, whereas a male member of the family makes it more confrontational," said Carlton, who became engaged to Garen shortly after his release.

Although Garen's and Carlton's story may be one of inspiration, they see the story of Iraq as a very pessimistic one.

"People are dying left and right, and the value of life is really plummeting there," said Garen, who predicted that the violence would continue for years. "Where you go from here, I don't think anyone has an answer. … It's going to take a long time to figure out," Garen said.

Garen and Carlton recalled the kidnapping with both the vividness of yesterday but also with a distance, as if from a third-person perspective. But the sobering experience has not diminished their lives or careers. They recently returned from Beirut and still travel regularly to the Middle East to report for The New York Times and develop documentaries for PBS, along with their own productions.

Graduate student Sara Ball is a writer intern for the Cornell Chronicle.