CNN foreign correspondent Arwa Damon is profiled by Vogue. Damon, who famously discovered Ambassador Stevens’ journal in the burned-out ruins of the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya, really opens up to author Heidi Mitchell.
The daughter of an American father and a Syrian mother, Damon grew up speaking both English and Arabic. Hr parents settled in Beirut, Lebanon, where Damon also rents an apartment.
“In college, I had a lot of friends who didn’t know anything about the Middle East, who had never met anyone from there,” she explains. “And when 9/11 happened, I saw this East-West divide become even greater, and I got this idea in my head that I was going to be a bridge, to help create cross-cultural understanding through journalism.” Her friends thought she was off her rocker. “They said I should start in a small town, build my way up in the industry. I said no, I’m going to Iraq.”
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“I feel terrible about her work,” confirms her mother, Joumana Barazi-Damon, speaking from her home in Beirut, where she and Arwa’s father settled in 2003. “As much as I am incredibly proud of Arwa and her conviction, I would like her to live her youth.