Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Responsibilites and Correspondents

I was talking to a documentary filmmaker / teacher today, about foreign correspondents. She was going to give a lecture on the subject, and wanted some useful tips. Foreign correspondents have a somewhat romantic air about them, they are there, in the face of danger, uncovering the truth about massacres, wars and genocides. When I read a newspaper, the words "your correspondent" always makes me want to grab my camera and my notebook and go to Somalia, or Bolivia, or Turkmenistan.

But there is also something troubling about foreign correspondents, as might also be the case with UN-personnel, aid workers and others, in that it is so easy to get numb. With all the mayhem around you, you might become indifferent, insensitive, brutal, or even racist. Not because you are a bad person, but maybe as a kind of survival instinct. Of course not all are afflicted in this way, but it is a possibility.

When you are doing something for to long, there is always the danger of losing the perspective needed, and not only for correspondents, it can happen to anyone. Unfortunately, this is an issue seldom discussed.

When writing my posts, I always feel that I should write about something more important than whether or not I have a cold. I should instead be writing about human rights abuses in Russia (of which there are plenty) or something like that. But that is of course silly, I can write about whatever I want. And I do. But the feeling still lingers on.

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