Reporting and Supporting: Women in war and peace
From the front line Our lives are punctuated by daily reports from news correspondents risking their lives to show the barbarity of war. The words and images come now from Ukraine, reminiscent of the 1940s and countless other wars, the nightmares of Bosnia, Sudan, Syria and Afghanistan. They are horrible, visceral and powerful. At times we can’t bear to look. Many of the correspondents are women. Lise Doucet, Lindsey Hilsum, Orla Guerin, Alex Crawford and others, following the footsteps of Lee Miller, Martha Gellhorn, Kate Adie and Marie Colvin. Some, like Marie Colvin, died, others have been injured and traumatised. They report back faithfully and they speak with compassion and coherence. Never too emotional, they cut through to the brutality and senselessness of conflict. They are crucial witnesses, unflinching in their reports, urgent, but calm and focused. Doing their job and earning our admiration. Resilience and defiance Today’s haunting images show lines and lines o...