After 30 years working in conflict zones, Londoner writes of people he never forgot

CBC News

· Posted: Apr 19, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

In galore parts of the world, radical unrecorded nether the changeless menace of unit and person to endure governmental systems they can't change.

Jim Freedman ran an planetary consulting steadfast for decades that worked with agencies and governments to trim conflict. Along the way, helium met radical with unthinkable stories who lived done situation and societal chaos, and he's present telling those stories successful his latest book, Carpet of Tears - Resilience successful War Zones.

Freedman joined London Morning Host Andrew Brown to speech astir sharing the stories of radical from places similar the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

The pursuing has been edited for magnitude and clarity.

Andrew Brown: As I'm thumbing done this book, the archetypal happening I'm reasoning is: what a beingness you've lived. You've been each implicit the place. Why did you privation to enactment these stories successful print?

Jim Freedman: There's an affectional mode of knowing the satellite and the changes that person taken place—particularly during my vocation and my lifetime. And I deliberation it's important for radical to recognize not lone however they respond, but what the satellite is similar these days. That's important.

AB: I deliberation truthful too. What benignant of enactment did you bash during your career?

JF: Well, I had a consulting firm. I worked to effort to find economical oregon governmental ways to trim conflict. For example, successful the Congo, we worked connected regulating the mining of invaluable minerals to forestall rebels from accessing them.

I did this benignant of enactment successful a fig of places. It conscionable truthful happened that—fate oregon whatever—I ended up doing it successful areas with a batch of conflict.

JF: Oh, I did. That's portion of wherefore I wrote the book. Some of these people... it was conscionable heart-rending to spot what was happening to them.

The rubric of the book, Carpet of Tears, reflects their resilience. That resilience was rather remarkable. It shows however the satellite is inactive lasting up to the upset it present faces.

AB: And the rubric Carpet of Tears—it's connected to an existent carpet you erstwhile had?

JF: At 1 point, yes. When I was surviving successful Peshawar, Pakistan, I became precise adjacent to a rug seller whom I liked precise much. After we became friends, helium told maine this bonzer communicative astir transporting guns during the warfare of the Mujahideen against the Soviet concern of Afghanistan.

He besides told maine astir an intimate narration helium had with different man—someone who was aboriginal killed portion trying to support him. It's a singular communicative that follows a almighty arc… which I won't spoil.

But it was truthful heart-rending—such an aggravated and moving story. He and I remained friends. Initially, I tried to constitute these arsenic essays, but it conscionable didn't work. So I enactment them successful a drawer. Eventually, I realized I had to constitute them arsenic abbreviated tales, with the emotion they deserved.

LISTEN | Jim Freedman talks astir his latest book, Carpet of Tears:

AB: Through your enactment and travels, what did you larn astir the world?

JF: It's interesting. I benignant of started each this astatine the extremity of the Cold War. At that time, determination was a existent feeling that, present that the Soviets were gone, we were entering a play of peace. But it's been precisely the opposite. Year by year, there's been much conflict, much disorder, and much calamity successful the world.

Everywhere you look now, there's immoderate benignant of struggle oregon war. Many radical don't recognize conscionable however wide it is. That's 1 crushed I wanted to constitute the book—not arsenic journalism oregon nonfiction per se, but arsenic an affectional response.

AB: Where bash you deliberation we are close present successful the world? Do you spot amended days ahead?

JF: I don't know. I truly don't.

I deliberation if you inquire anybody—myself included—there's nary wide consciousness of what's ahead. There are truthful galore factors that could pb to unpleasant situations. Of course, successful Canada, we're precise fortunate.

AB: What did it consciousness similar for you to get these stories retired there?

JF: A release. To yet find a mode to archer them—it was a large relief. And it did instrumentality a while. I'm conscionable thrilled it's retired and that I'm capable to speech astir it.

Carpet of Tears is published by Borealis Press.