'You can't rewind the movie'

 

“It's a journalist's job to be a witness to history. We're not there to worry about ourselves. We're there to try and get as near as we can, in an imperfect world, to the truth and get the truth out.” –  Robert Fisk

 

Born in July of 1939 (he died of a stroke in 2020), English writer and journalist Fisk grew up in the rural environs of England but became a reporter of the world.  A longtime Middle East correspondent for various media - but primarily for The Independent - he worked from Beirut, Lebanon, intermittently one of the “hottest” of the Middle East hotspots.

 

His reporting has earned him accolades from world leaders, the public, and his fellow journalists, and he was voted British International Journalist of the Year seven times.   He earned more British and international journalism awards than any other foreign correspondent and published a number of books based on many of the wars and armed conflicts he covered, including the bestseller The Age of the Warrior: Selected Writings. 

 

 Despite his many accolades, Fisk said covering war and people’s suffering took a toll on his own well-being.                            

 

“I'm not sure whether I've been happy,” he said about his career. “After my last book tour, I sat on my balcony with a cup of tea. I thought: 'You can't rewind the movie. I've spent more than half my life in the Middle East. There have been great moments, of course, but also great moments of horror, depression and loneliness.'"