1 of 8

Write now Article Tools

Page 2 of 3

Other media as far away as mainland China ran with the story as did a number of websites. The thread, itself, exploded - eventually getting over 3200 posts and close to a half-million views. There were posts from America, Canada, China, Sweden, Germany, Norway, France, Australia, and even Iran - just to name a few of the countries responding. (The thread is still visible - some quick googling will bring you to it, but be prepared to spend to spend a day or two if you want to read it all.)

The thread ranged in atmosphere from the very heavy (when BEYFlyer or I reported on people being killed nearby) to the light-hearted - almost a sort of gallows humor. At one point I mentioned, "I was a very heavy smoker for about 40 years. A couple of months ago I cut back to between 3 to 5 cigarettes a day.

"Since the shooting began on Wednesday, I have been smoking as much - if not more - than ever. The positive part of this, of course, is that if there is enough shooting I won't have to worry about the long-term effects of smoking on my health."

Some days later, when the shooting knocked out all the electricity in my area, I reported, "I am currently sitting on my floor, with my ThinkPad connected through Dial Up network and my room illuminated by candlelight and a kersosine lamp.

"I am, in other words, getting on the Internet just like Abraham Lincoln used to do in his log cabin.

"Hopefully, I will get power back in the reasonable future. If not, I have my mobile phone and the telephone numbers of several posters so I can let you know if I have been killed or not."

There were, not surprisingly, a few sick pranksters who tried to join in (one, with a slight change of spelling of my user name impersonated me, saying that I was under very heavy attack and the end was near). These, fortunately rare, posts were also taken down.

BEYFlyer and I had exchanged a few messages in the past, chiefly expressing the hope that as frequent flyers we would someday be able to travel to each other's country and meet in person, but we had never been close friends. The war changed that for both of us. We obviously had different views of the fighting and we both remained loyal to our own countries, but we got to know each other very well and what had been a mere cyber-acquaintance grew into deep concern about each other's safety and welfare.

This concern was shared by others. If BEYFlyer or I did not post for several hours, people immediately asked if we were still alright. We had both met many of

• << previous page
• 1
• 2
• 3
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Testimonies: How the Internet can bring friendship across hostile borders?
We want to hear your view. Write now!