The Pearl Project

After three years of investigating, professors and students from Georgetown University have concluded their project on former Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

Georgetown University Journalism Director Barbara Feinman Todd and former Journal reporter and close friend of Pearl, Asra Nomani, led a group of students to find the truth about Pearl’s capture and murder in Karachi, Pakistan in 2002. 

This research, titled The Pearl Project: The Truth Left Behind, revealed that there were 27 men involved in Pearl’s death.  Of these 27 men, only four have been convicted of the crime, including mastermind Omar Saeed Sheik.  The majority of the others are walking free.

Daniel Pearl’s story opened eyes to the dangers that American journalists face when traveling abroad to report on a story for the well-being of the nation’s citizens.  His death showcases that these journalists will stop at nothing to reveal the truth.

Daniel Pearl was an American journalist covering news in Pakistan.  He was on his way to what he thought was an interview on January 25 when men kidnapped him and held him for ransom.  A few weeks after his kidnapping, his captors murdered him and released the video online.  This shocked American citizens, journalists and the government.

“The goal was to find out who killed Danny- who really killed him- and why they did it,” Asra Nomani said.

The professors and students faced challenging times when trying to chase leads about Pearl’s death.

Nomani faced difficulties because of her Indian roots.  The people in Pakistan did not always want to speak to her because of her nationality.  Barbara Feinman Todd had troubles because she was Jewish.

More difficulties included the time differences in America and Pakistan, the faulty technology and false information.

With all of these difficulties, the group of 32 students and their fearless leaders recognized the importance of continuing with the story.  They would not give up on getting the truth about Daniel Pearl’s unfortunate death.

“For Danny, his memorial is the truth,” Feinman Todd said.

Daniel Pearl’s legacy lives on in many people today.  His story helped others gain better understanding of what was going on in the world, that way something like this would not happen again.  From this, journalists have learned the importance of understanding race, culture and identity.