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New Hampshire Town Honors James Foley | New Hampshire Town Honors James Foley |
(about 2 hours later) | |
ROCHESTER, N.H. — Residents of this quiet city came together Sunday to remember James W. Foley, the New Hampshire native and freelance journalist who was killed last week by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. | |
“This moment in our lives is international in scope, crossing all boundaries, yet very personal,” Bishop Peter A. Libasci of the Manchester diocese said during a Mass at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. He added that Mr. Foley had gone to Syria “so that we might open our eyes.” | |
Bishop Libasci asked the congregation, which included Mr. Foley’s parents, John and Diane, to pray for peace. The Mass filled the church, with people standing in the back and along both sides. Some began to cry as Mr. Foley’s family filed in near the front. | |
“It’s just beyond belief, I can’t put it into words. It’s just heart-wrenching,” said Donna Hinch of Barrington, who met the Foley family through the church. | |
Mr. Foley, who would have turned 41 in October, was working for GlobalPost, an online publication based in Boston, as well as for Agence France-Presse, when he disappeared in Syria on Nov. 22, 2012. Mr. Foley reappeared last week in a video that showed him being beheaded by an ISIS fighter, who said the killing was payback for the recent United States military operations in Iraq. | |
The video showing Mr. Foley’s death concludes with the fighter threatening to kill Steven Sotloff, another American freelance journalist, who was being held alongside Mr. Foley. Mr. Sotloff is seen kneeling in a position matching Mr. Foley’s, in the same landscape and wearing the same style of orange-colored jumpsuit. | |
“The life of this American citizen, Obama, depends on your next decision,” said a masked ISIS fighter, who spoke English with a British accent. | |
Mr. Foley’s death has drawn condemnation from world leaders, including President Obama, and an outpouring of grief. An online memorial, Remembering Jim, has collected dozens of tribute photographs, and Mr. Foley’s family is collecting donations for a scholarship in his honor. Just before the end of the Mass, Mr. Foley’s parents thanked the congregation of about 1,200, which responded with a standing ovation. The pair later greeted hundreds of guests in a reception room adjacent to the church, where family photo albums and messages of remembrance for James Foley were displayed. The line of well-wishers stretched out of the room, and John Foley worked his way along it, clasping shoulders, hugging mourners and, sometimes, laughing with friends. | |
“It’s world news, but it’s our hometown,” said Adam Dow, a Realtor who attended grade school and high school with Mr. Foley in Wolfeboro. | |
“Jim had a purpose,” Mr. Dow said, adding in reference to the wide geographic range of Mr. Foley’s career, “I live in a resort town — Jim’s out there. Jim was in prison for two years.” | “Jim had a purpose,” Mr. Dow said, adding in reference to the wide geographic range of Mr. Foley’s career, “I live in a resort town — Jim’s out there. Jim was in prison for two years.” |
Some at the Mass, like Sandra Harrington, 68, of Manchester, did not know the Foleys, but came to support the family. | |
“We have been blessed because of James, because he followed his heart in wanting to bring the truth out to people,” said Ms. Harrington, a nursing educator. | “We have been blessed because of James, because he followed his heart in wanting to bring the truth out to people,” said Ms. Harrington, a nursing educator. |
On Saturday night, a vigil in Rochester drew about 200 people, according to New England Cable News, including Mr. Foley’s parents, who briefly addressed the group. | On Saturday night, a vigil in Rochester drew about 200 people, according to New England Cable News, including Mr. Foley’s parents, who briefly addressed the group. |
“I want to thank you for understanding Jim’s heart,” Diane Foley said. “And I pray that we will take up the challenge to love like Jim did, and to really work for peace in this world.” | |
Among those attending were Gov. Maggie Hassan and United States Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Kelly Ayotte. Ms. Hassan directed that flags across New Hampshire be lowered to half-staff on Sunday in honor of Mr. Foley. | |
Some of Mr. Foley’s colleagues also traveled to New Hampshire to pay their respects. | |
“This is the darkest day you can imagine for his family, his colleagues,” said Charles M. Sennott, the co-founder of GlobalPost and the executive director of a nonprofit reporting initiative called The GroundTruth Project. | |
Mr. Sennott recalled how Mr. Foley had brought a human touch to the hardening work of conflict reporting. | |
“He understood that they were people on the other side of the camera,” Mr. Sennott said. “That’s Foley — being there, respect, dignity.” |