We landed back in Rome and left the airport quickly after a 24 hour night, anxious to get back to our hotel. We didn’t really stop along the way to chat or notice much, we kept to ourselves and our own thoughts. The bus driver was quiet.
Traffic was crazy that late afternoon and practically stopped near our hotel across from the US Embassy. The pilots had heard chatter on the radio on the way back that the war had started and turned hot. That was a big gulp moment. As we approached our hotel we saw it. Protesters were filling the streets around the Embassy protesting the US attack in the Middle East. You could hear a pin drop on that bus as we all went deep in our thoughts.
Crowds fill the streets of Rome to Protest Iraq War
Thankfully we did not have crew outerwear and no real luggage so we got out a block away and split up and trickled into the hotel discreetly. We were able to just slip back into our rooms and catch up. Our trip coordinator scheduled a debriefing in an hour in our private crew room in the hotel. We were fortunate to have a private meeting space on the first floor to unwind and brief/debrief in privacy. It was just a conference room, but even those can be lovely in a fine Italian hotel.
As we debriefed and discussed the events of the mission, we could all hear the chanting and beat out on the street. My respect for foreign news correspondents grew. How often had I just switched on the TV and watched them stand amidst a crowd of hostile protesters and boldly tell the story to show us what others think?
I would be lying if I told you it wasn’t unnerving to look anger in the eyes, knowing that anger is for you, even if it wasn’t you personally. I don’t remember really even breathing as I brushed against people trying to get back into the hotel. We decided to stay in that night and ate in our briefing room. We ate too well. We may have been over-served. We slept poorly. We were changed on many levels. I knew I had to go back.
Whitefish Dog and Home 