In a world controlled by a merciless dictator, where the chaos of war is a daily reality, Australian journalist Gina Wilkinson’s life is a surreal mix of domesticity, danger and deadlines.
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sky is a revealing account of the perils and pitfalls of life during Saddam Hussein’s final year in power, the US-led occupation and the demands of juggling domesticity, danger and deadlines in a war zone. It is sometimes frightening – with constant surveillance from the dreaded mukhabarat secret police; sometimes devastating – the loss of a close friend in the bombing of the UN’s Baghdad headquarters; and at times darkly humorous.
During this incredible journey Gina finds nothing is what it seems and there's no black and white when you’re stuck between the devil and the deep blue sky of Iraq.
About the Author
Gina Wilkinson grew up in a series of small towns in Western Australia before her nomadic callings took her to the Americas, Asia, and the Middle East. For the past 15 years she’s worked as a reporter, correspondent and radio documentary maker for organizations such as the ABC and SBS in Australia, the British Broadcasting Corporation, Agence France Presse, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Radio Television Hong Kong, Deutsche Welle and ARD in Germany, and National Public Radio in the US.
In 2002, Gina put her journalism career on hold to move to Saddam Hussein’s Baghdad with her husband, an aid worker with the UN Children’s Fund. With foreign reporters forbidden to reside in Iraq, Gina gained a unique opportunity to experience the final year of Saddam’s tyrannical rule from the inside. After the fall of Baghdad she was appointed as the ABC’s correspondent in Iraq.
In early 2004 Gina was based in Sri Lanka where she continued to work as a freelance journalist. She played a key role in covering the devastation of the Asian tsunami for the BBC, ABC, and many other international media outlets. Gina currently lives in New York.
