Journalist Held Captive in Libya To Meet With McAuliffe Students

Journalist James Foley will visit the on Friday, June 17 to meet with students and discuss his arrest and imprisonment in Libya. Foley was invited to the school, after McAuliffe eighth graders engaged in a “writing for change” project in response to Foley’s and other journalists’ imprisonment in Libya.

Foley, a reporter for Boston-based GlobalPost, had been in Libya since mid-March reporting on the uprisings against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. On April 5, Foley, American reporter Clare Gillis, Spanish photographer Manu Brabo and South African photographer Anton Hammerl were shot at by pro-Gadhafi troops.

After a physical confrontation, Foley, along with Gillis and Brabo were handcuffed and taken to Tripoli, where they were held captive for more than six weeks. Hammerl was shot and killed during the attack.

The three journalists, as well as British freelancer Nigel Chandler, were released on May 18 after being convicted of entering Libya without a visa and fined approximately $150. Foley arrived in the United States and was reunited with his family on Saturday, May 21.

McAuliffe eighth graders learned about Foley’s six-week imprisonment in Libya during a “writing for change” project in their English language arts classes.

After learning about the situation in Libya, students wrote letters to politicians, opinion pieces, as well as fictional short stories with a goal of “writing for social change.”

While McAuliffe students were polishing their writing, they learned of Foley’s release and return to New Hampshire.

McAuliffe English teacher, Amy Beckhusen, promptly invited Foley to Skype with her students.

Excited by McAuliffe students’ writing project and the exploratory charter school in Framingham, Foley opted to spend some time at McAuliffe instead.