QuoteProject
You have two options when you approach a hostile checkpoint in a war zone, and each is a gamble. The first is to stop and identify yourself as a journalist and hope that you are respected as a neutral observer. The second is to blow past the checkpoint and hope the soldiers guarding it don't open fire on you.
Lynsey Addario
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote illustrates the difficult choices faced by journalists in perilous situations, emphasizing the risks involved in seeking truth.

Lynsey Addario's quote conveys the high-stakes decisions that journalists must make in war zones. It highlights the duality of their role as neutral observers and the inherent risk of being misunderstood or targeted, forcing them to gamble between seeking safety through identification and the potential for danger by bypassing the checkpoint. This reflects the courage required to report from the front lines where every choice can lead to vastly different outcomes.

Themes

JournalismDangerWarChoiceRisk

In practice

Example use cases

During a speech about the challenges of reporting from conflict zones, one might reference this quote to illustrate the inherent risks of journalism.

More from Lynsey Addario

It's very hard to turn your back once you're aware of what's going on, and you're aware of the injustices, and you're aware of the civilian casualties. It's much easier if you have no idea and you've never seen it.
Lynsey AddarioRead
I do think my childhood is one of the fundamental reasons that I'm able to do my job. We were raised in this totally nonjudgmental family. We never knew who was going to walk in the front door. And as a journalist and a photographer, you walk into so many different scenes that you have to be open to everything.
Lynsey AddarioRead
As a Western woman in the Middle East, I am often put in a different category. I am sort of like the third sex. I am not treated like a man. I am not treated like a woman. I am just treated like a journalist. That is usually really helpful.
Lynsey AddarioRead
My strength is looking for composition and light, and I think those things come in the quieter times of war or photographing people affected on the margins of war - civilians, refugees; that is where I really excel.
Lynsey AddarioRead
Don't expect things to happen fast. Be empathetic with the people you are photographing. Don't be concerned about money.
Lynsey AddarioRead
If people really saw what was happening in Iraq and Afghanistan, then they might be marching in the streets to end wars. But you know, I think that no one ever sees because we're not allowed to see, and we're not allowed to publish what we do see. So it's quite difficult.
Lynsey AddarioRead

Similar quotes

When life seems hard, the courageous do not lie down and accept defeat; instead, they are all the more determined to struggle for a better future.
Queen Elizabeth IiRead
If you have a secret, and it's embarrassing to you, when you tell that story - you own it. It becomes yours, and no one can use it against you.
Aisha TylerRead
A ship in port is safe, but that's not what ships are built for.
Grace HopperRead
It is necessary to run risks, to follow certain paths and to abandon others. No one can make a choice without feeling fear.
Paulo CoelhoRead
One of the things that's beautiful about New Orleans is how culturally rich we are and how well we have worked together. People call us a gumbo. It's really important that we get focused on the very simple notion that diversity is a strength, it's not a weakness.
Mitch LandrieuRead
I was walking around trying to act cool, like I had no fear at all._x000D_ But I was afraid, afraid that somebody would find out just how scared I was._x000D_ Now I'm finally realizing that fear is the opposite of love.
Stevie Ray VaughanRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.