London - These are the most dangerous times ever to be a war correspondent, according to Times of London journalist Marie Colvin.
She was speaking at a memorial service in London to honour journalists and other media workers who have died in conflict in the first decade of the 21st century, including 12 from Reuters.
"It has never been more dangerous to be a war correspondent, because the journalist in the combat zone has become a prime target," said Colvin, who lost an eye to a shrapnel wound during an attack in Sri Lanka in 2001.
She insisted during her address at the service in St.Bride’s Church – the “journalists’ church” in Fleet Street – that war reporting had to continue despite the dangers. “Our mission is to report these horrors of war with accuracy and without prejudice.
"We always have to ask ourselves whether the level of risk is worth the story. What is bravery, and what is bravado?
"Journalists covering combat shoulder great responsibilities and face difficult choices. Sometimes they pay the ultimate price.”
Colvin recalled recently discussing the dangers of covering Afghanistan with photographer Joao Silva over a coffee in Kandahar. "We talked about the terror one feels and must contain when patrolling on an embed with the armed forces through fields and villages in Afghanistan… putting one foot in front of the other, steeling yourself each step for the blast. The expectation of that blast is the stuff of nightmares. Two days after our meeting Joao stepped on a mine and lost both legs at the knee."
She added: "Today we must also remember how important it is that news organisations continue to invest in sending us out at great cost, both financial and emotional, to cover stories.
"We go to remote war zones to report what is happening. The public have a right to know what our government, and our armed forces, are doing in our name…. Our mission is to speak the truth to power. We send home that first rough draft of history. We can and do make a difference in exposing the horrors of war and especially the atrocities that befall civilians."
She said: "In an age of 24-7 rolling news, blogs and twitters, we are on constant call wherever we are. But war reporting is still essentially the same – someone has to go there and see what is happening.
"You can’t get that information without going to places where people are being shot at, and others are shooting at you. The real difficulty is having enough faith in humanity to believe that enough people - be they government, military or the man on the street - will care when your file reaches the printed page, the website or the TV screen. We do have that faith because we believe we do make a difference.
"And we could not make that difference - or begin to do our job - without the fixers, drivers, and translators, who face the same risks and die in appalling numbers. Today we honour them as much as the front line journalists who have died in pursuit of the truth. They have kept the faith as we who remain must continue to do."
The St.Bride’s service on November 11 was attended by Prince Charles’s wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, a host of news organisation owners, executives, editors and journalists and the families and friends of many of those who have died or been maimed in conflict.
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