In just one year in Bosnia, thirty of my colleagues died. There is a little Somme waiting for all innocent journalists.
There is nothing so satisfying as to be shot at without effect.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the irony of facing danger without any real consequence, suggesting that true satisfaction comes from being resilient in the face of adversity.
Robert Fisk's quote reflects the paradox of experiencing threats that do not lead to harm, indicating a unique kind of satisfaction derived from having survived a potentially dangerous situation. It suggests that there is a profound appreciation in overcoming challenges without being affected negatively, as it allows individuals to confront fears while feeling a sense of achievement and security.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about resilience, one might refer to this quote to illustrate how challenges can lead to personal growth.
More from Robert Fisk
All quotes βThe [Israelis] believed - they were possessed of an absolute certainty and conviction - that 'terrorists' were in Chatila. How could I explain to them that the terrorists had left, that the terrorists had worn Israeli uniforms, that the terrorists had been sent into Chatila by Israeli officers, that the victims of the terrorists were not Israelis but Palestinians and Lebanese?
War is primarily not about victory or defeat but about death and the infliction of death. It represents the total failure of the human spirit.
U.S. journalists I don't think are very courageous. They tend to go along with the government's policy domestically and internationally. To question is seen as being unpatriotic, or potentially subversive.
The biggest problem I have in journalism is being quoted or misquoted and then being asked to defend something I haven't said.
After the allied victory of 1918, at the end of my father's war, the victors divided up the lands of their former enemies. In the space of just seventeen months, they created the borders of Northern Ireland, Yugoslavia and most of the Middle East. And I have spent my entire career β in Belfast and Sarajevo, in Beirut and Baghdad β watching the people within those borders burn.
Similar quotes
Now I come to 75 years of age, I think what's most important in life is your conscience. If you told a lie and made other people suffer, I think that's very difficult when you reach this age.
Let nobody bribe you away from being yourself.
Everything comes to us that belongs to us if we create the capacity to receive it.
No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar.
I never knew an early-rising, hard-working, prudent man, careful of his earnings and strictly honest, who complained of hard luck. A good character, good habits and iron industry are impregnable to the assaults of all ill-luck that fools ever dreamed.
People of genius do not excel in any profession because they work in it, they work in it because they excel.