In The Hands Of Taliban By Joanie De Rijke

"I took a risk and it went wrong. But I`m still alive." When, in August 2008, ten French paracommandos are lured into an ambush by a Taliban group and killed, journalist Joanie de Rijke wants to know the story behind the perpetrators. From her very first visit to Afghanistan, De Rijke was fascinated by the Taliban fighters and the ease with which the Western media painted them as monsters. After trying for weeks to make contact with the group, on the first of November 2008 she finally succeeds. However, the meeting turns into a nightmare. The commandant accuses her and her interpreter of spying for the French. For six days she is dragged through the mountains by the group. She lives in constant fear of her life, afraid of ending up as an internet video film. At the same time, strangely enough, she is getting exactly what she came for: a look into the soul of the Taliban. A deeply human story about the bond between hostage takers and hostages, unbridgeable cultural gaps and the vulnerability of all involved.