Purpose and Truth

As we age, our perspectives change. We have much greater clarity about what is important in our lives. It is not the material possessions, or the job, or the car we may have once worked for and valued. For me anyway, much that I once held as important has dropped away. What filled that spot is a new reverence and gratitude for every new day, a sense of purpose, independence, quality of life, what I can give back. What I now hold dear are intangibles. 

The joy of knowing my adult children are gentle, caring and kind people. The small but wonderful circle of friends — my tribe. Sun filtering through my east-facing window in the morning. Cuddles with my dogs, so important! Birds at the feeders. The way the light fades into deep shades of purple in the evening. I no longer fear insecurity. While nowhere near wealthy, I have enough and am rich in the things that matter in my life right now. I am grateful every day. This time of year always reminds me what the important things are - peace, gratitude, love, joy, kindness, passion, purpose, truth, and a sense of wonder. The world and circumstances may have dulled some of these things when I was younger, but today they are crystal clear. 

Cristiane Amanpour woman whom I admire greatly for her passion, truth telling, and sense of purpose, a woman who has lived her life fearlessly and through many adversities, continues to do so. She attended the University of Rhode Island when I did. No, I didn’t know her, but we had one honors colloquium together - us and a hundred other students. We were both older than the average students and were inducted into the same honor society. The first piece that drew my attention to her work was the film “Where Have All The Parents Gone?” It is a very moving piece about grandparents raising children in poverty in Kenya, Africa, as AIDS has taken parents. I first noticed this piece shortly after I returned from Africa, and it hit home. I got it. Christian has done amazing work. Her interviews, her truth-telling, her coverage of subjects and places others may not dare to touch on. This woman has shone a light on places that could not remain dark and used her talent to make the world a better place. She is a journalist extraordinaire! In a time when journalism seems to have sunk to an unrecognizable low, Christian shines still. This is her purpose, and she lives it. 

As a side note, Christian is once again battling cancer four years after an initial diagnosis. I share this with the request that you will send her prayers, good juju, healing energy…whatever or however you do it. She is one of the good ones and needs our support.

photo credit: Fulbright Org

 Christiane Maria Heideh Amanpour was born on January 12, 1958, in the West London suburb of Ealing, Middlesex, England. Her mother was British and a Roman Catholic, and her father was a Shia Muslim. She lived in Tehran until she was eleven. 

After completing her education in England, Christiane returned to Iran. In 1979, because of the revolution, her father lost his job with Iran Air, lost his fortune as well, and the family moved to the United States. She studied journalism at the University of Rhode Island, worked at the news department of WBRU-FM in Providence, and was an electronic graphics designer for the NBC affiliate WJAR also in Providence, RI. Christiane graduated summa cum laude in 1983 with a BA in journalism and was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest academic honor society in the U.S. 

In 1983, Christian worked for CNN on the foreign desk in Atlanta, Georgia.This was an entry-level desk assistant position. In 1986 she was a correspondent for CNN’s New York Bureau. Her first major assignment was covering the Iran-Iraq War. A transfer to Eastern Europe followed this to report on the fall of European communism. She reported on the many revolutions that were sweeping Eastern Europe. 

In 1990, Christiane’s reporting on the Persian Gulf War brought her much notice. She reported on the Bosnian war and other conflict zones, of which there were many. In Bosnia, she interviewed Ratko Mladić, the Serb general, who was later convicted of genocide. Some critics questioned her objectivity because of her emotional delivery, claiming that some reports were unjustified and biased toward the Bosnian Muslims. She replied to the criticism by saying: “There are some situations one simply cannot be neutral about, because when you are neutral, you are an accomplice. Objectivity doesn’t mean treating all sides equally. It means giving each side a hearing. I realized that our job is to give all sides an equal hearing, but in cases of genocide, you can’t just be neutral. You can’t just say, ‘Well, this little boy was shot in the head and killed in besieged Sarajevo and that guy over there did it, but maybe he was upset because he argued with his wife.’ No, there is no equality, and we had to tell the truth.”

Christian earned a reputation as a fearless and honest reporter. 

In 1992, the world desperately wanted to ignore Sarajevo. Most journalists reported from safe distances, if at all. Snipers shot at anything that moved. Christiane walked right into the crossfire to report firsthand what the world wanted to ignore. It was the longest siege in modern warfare- 1,425 days of abject terror. This cosmopolitan Olympic city became a killing ground. Mortar shells rained down on markets, hospitals, and schools. She watched children shot simply for existing. She watched breadlines explode under mortar fire. Families were starving while politicians claimed all was well and everything was under control. 

Living between cultures, Christiane had learned how easily politics could erase ordinary people. Fear silenced stories that needed to be heard. Those in power rewrote the narrative to suit their policies. She absolutely refused to remain neutral about genocide. In Bosnia, reality was being rewritten in blood. Western governments were carefully neutral: “This is a civil war. Ancient ethnic hatreds. Both sides are equally guilty.” Christiane knew better. She was there, and she reported it. Her motto was “Be truthful, not neutral.”

The backlash was immediate and strong. Military leaders blocked CNN news crews from Serb-controlled territories. Some governments pressured networks to soften coverage, after-all, war was messy, and taking sides wasn’t journalism.  Christiane didn’t give in or soften anything. 

Her reporting made comfortable distance impossible. She stood beside mass graves demanding that the camera crew show exactly what she was seeing. She confronted officials on live television, challenging claims as bodies piled up behind her. People could not look away from the woman standing in the middle of a war zone, telling them what their governments were allowing to happen. 

In 1994 she challenged President Clinton live on air, speaking truth to power.  Why all the “flip-flops” on Bosnia? Why not stand up to the Serbian war machine? Wasn’t he afraid of setting a dangerous precedent bo allowing genocide in the heart of Europe? Of course, Clinton defended his administration and was visibly angry. She had forced hi to answer for policy failures as those failures had literally surrounded her. She later admitted that she had never planned it as a confrontation. “The President had been speaking about the great job America had done providing humanitarian assistance, and I was finding it hard to stomach. All I could think of was, “never again, never again.”

Christian’s reporting helped shift public opinion. People could not turn away any longer, pretending they didn’t know. Christiane had shown them.When NATO finally intervened in 1995, after the Srebrenica massacre killed over 7,000 men and boys. It took only two weeks of bombing for Serbian forces to surrender."They were brutal," Amanpour said, “but in the end became paper tigers.”

In Rwanda, Christiane reported on the genocide while the international community debated what to call it. In Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan - anywhere people were suffering while the powerful looked away, she reported the truth. She was the journalist who ran toward danger, not for the drama but for the truth. She proved that journalism could save lives by exposing the truth. These gains for humanity were not without a serious personal cost. She developed PTSD from the horror she witnessed. She faced death threats, government intimidation and industry backlash. Christiane Amnapor kept going because she had learned that a clear voice in the middle of chaos can force the world to look, listen and act even though silence would be easier. Her legacy lives on in every correspondent who chooses truth over safety. She proved that journalism isn’t just about reporting what happened; it is about making sure the world can’t pretend not to see. 

Her awards and honors degrees are just too many to list. This is a woman whose passion for truth has inspired so many and saved lives. She is a living legend- a testament to how one can live authentically although it is not always easy. 

Note: Some inspiration came from The Way We Were, Facts That Will Blow Your Mind.