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Acclaimed Journalist & New York Native Marie Colvin Killed In Syria
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Feb 22, 2012
Modified Feb 22, 2012
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Feb 22, 2012
Modified Feb 22, 2012
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Two Western journalists were among the more than 80 people killed during a bombardment in the city of Homs earlier today, one of which was the acclaimed combat journalist and Long Island native Marie Colvin. In one of her last dispatches to CNN anchor Anderson Cooper last night, Colvin describes the death of a baby who had died at the hands of the government forces, led by the dictator Bashir al-Assad, and the ruthlessness with which he kills his own people. "It's a complete and utter lie they’re only going after terrorists. The Syrian Army is simply shelling a city of cold, starving civilians.”
Colvin and the other killed journalist, French photographer Remi Ochlik, were in a "makeshift media center" when the building was struck with shells. "We don't know if the building was deliberately targeted... we urge Syrian authorities to stop bombing Homs," the Middle East director of Reporters Without Borders tells Reuters.
The Times reports that Rupert Murdoch, who owns the The Sunday Times, the paper Colvin was working for, announced her death via email today, and noted, “Our photographer, Paul Conroy, was with her and is believed to have been injured. We are doing all we can in the face of shelling and sniper fire to get him to safety and to recover Marie’s body.”
"She took it to another level," colleague Richard Sisk of The War Report tells Newsday. "She wore her heart on her sleeve, but it was one hell of a heart. I can hear her saying now, 'Hey, [expletive] it's a hell of a sleeve, too . . .' It just [expletive] her off that someone somewhere was getting kicked around." Colvin was a veteran of covering war zones, including Chechnya and Sri Lanka, where she lost an eye in 2001. Even after losing her eye, she filed a 3,000 word report on the incident.
Colvin went to Oyster Bay High School before attending Yale, and went on to win the British equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. Colvin's mother Rosemary told the outlet that she often told her daughter to be safe, but, "To argue with Marie, that would have just been a waste of words."
The editor of The New Yorker, David Remnick, calls Colvin "a very great and experienced reporter" who notes that foreign correspondents "all spoke of her as someone of genuine honesty, intelligence, and bravery." He points to a speech she gave at a distinguished dinner in 2010 in which she said, "We always have to ask ourselves whether the level of risk is worth the story. What is bravery, and what is bravado?"
A total of six journalists have been killed doing their jobs in Syria since November. Anthony Shadid also died last week while covering Syria, but of natural causes. This is Colvin's very last dispatch before she was killed hours later:
Tagged
death
global conflicts
journalism
long island
marie colvin
oyster bay high school
syria
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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