I spent New Year’s Eve and the first couple of days of January 2014 in Palermo, the capital city of Sicily. I only made one New Year’s resolution (although I had previously dismissed those kind of resolutions as bunk) and that was to earnestly try to make a move into writing and/or journalism in 2014. A career change from time to time keeps life interesting.
As luck would have it, I stumbled right into a scoop during my stay in Palermo. While the world was watching Syria, South Sudan and Iraq, I discovered that the new global troublespot in 2014 will be Palermo. Almost as soon as I had set foot in the city, shooting and fighting erupted. I had spent previous New Years in Beirut, Damascus, Tehran and the West Bank, but I had never witnessed fighting as intense and frightening as this.
But watch for yourself:
Yes, it was dangerous. Yes, it was scary. But somebody had to walk right into the action, make that report and get it back to safety, so that you, my esteemed readers, are fully informed about what’s happening.
If you are CNN or Al-Jazeera, I modestly suggest that you hire me right away.
The Happy Hermit 
Andreas, the Insane Spy…
TAKE COVER! This is a very dangerous situation! You should be wearing a helmet with eye protection and I would hope you are wearing a vest. It’s not just Palermo, I got caught up in a firefight in Milan a few years ago and was hit by an incendiary projectile which luckily didn’t penetrate my vest but did set fire to my duck down puffer jacket. Fortunately apart from singed hair and mild shock I was unharmed.
The hair grew back but I still miss that jacket, whenever I get a whiff of cordite, burnt feathers or singed hair I think of it. Your film brought the memories flooding back. Excellent reporting from the frontline.
Dear Andreas Moser if you really want to experience war on New Year’s Eve you need to go to Naples, the leading city when it comes to illegal fireworks (and of course the leading one in the dead and injured tally). I doubt CNN will hire you, but you could offer your services to Italy’s Tourism Department, most people in this silly country consider New Year’s Eve fireworks a dangerous and uncivilized habit, you could make ’em change their minds so that they will consider it a chance to attract tourists from abroad.
You don’t want to work for BBC or ZDF?
The BBC has a particularly bad reputation, but as a starting job I would of course accept anything. Actually, I like the print media most.
By the way, this is Messina at New Year’s eve:
Oh my gosh, this is even better! I love these explosions, the sound and especially the smell of it. Whenever something explodes, I feel immediately drawn towards it, not away from it like sane people.
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