From editors to presidents, tributes to the remarkable Robert Fisk

The Independent veteran was one of the great journalists whose appeal spanned generations, a man who understood that events did not take place in a historical vacuum. Here, former colleagues and others pay tribute

Robert Fisk, long-serving Middle East correspondent at The Independent, has died aged 74 (EPA)

Robert Fisk had two sterling characteristics: he was brave, and he was knowledgeable. Indeed you cannot be the superb Middle East correspondent that he was without these qualities.

Was there a battle going on?  Robert would be there talking to the commanders in the field. He stood with them in the same trenches gazing out at the fighting, listening to their analysis.  

But when Robert was back in his apartment in Beirut overlooking the Mediterranean, he would soon turn to his history books and biographies.  

He always wanted to understand events ever more deeply. And these two qualities are what attracted readers – vivid reporting and profound discernment.

Andreas Whittam Smith – One of the founders of The Independent, and its first editor, from 1986 to 1993

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Hard to credit that someone with the energy and zeal of Robert Fisk could die on us like that. It was an utter and unmitigated privilege to have been his editor for an extraordinary decade in which he bestrode our trade as a colossus.

Simon Kelner – Editor of The independent, 1998 to 2008 and 2010 to 2011 (via Twitter)

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Robert Fisk was not just a brave and determined reporter in some of the most fraught and dangerous areas of the modern world, but he was also an inspiration to countless younger reporters who, like Fisk, believed that journalism wasn’t just about  describing the world as it is, but also trying to make the world a better place.

Roger Alton – Editor of The Independent, 2008 to 2010

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There was only one Robert Fisk. That was a pity – if only more journalists were like him and exhibited the same tenacity and bravery. It was also, as someone who was his boss, a blessing.

He was a joy to read, to publish. His articles were always vital and often made waves. But oh dear, he was difficult to manage. In Beirut, he did not do usual means of communication for reasons of security, although it sometimes felt like convenience that he did not want London hounding him and interfering. Frequently, it was necessary: a complaint had come in about something he’d written and it required answering. I suspect he knew that, too, which was why he could not be easily reached. Oddly, if he discovered his piece hadn’t received the prominence he felt it merited, he was on the phone immediately.

Fisk’s genius was scenting a story and drilling down. Always, he would be exposing the hypocrisy and disdain of rulers for ordinary people and their lives, the corrupting nexus of money and power, which in the Middle East was endemic.

He would not stop until he secured his prize. Rightly, prizes flowed in his direction for his brilliant, laser-sharp, life-changing and life-affirming copy.

Chris Blackhurst – Editor of The Independent, 2011 to 2013

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Younger readers may struggle to imagine just how influential newspapers were in 1989, when The Independent poached Robert Fisk from The Times. A star signing – and there were very few bigger stars among foreign correspondents – could boost sales. In a landmark achievement, The Independent’s sales briefly overtook those of The Times. Fisk was key to that. Rupert Murdoch’s infamous price war followed.

And yet Fisk’s appeal spanned the generations. At times, he was the one person you had to read on the biggest story of the day. If, to paraphrase Matthew Arnold, genius is the marriage of the man and the moment, Fisk achieved something close to it when, under the visionary editorship of Simon Kelner, The Independent noisily and – thanks to Robert, Patrick Cockburn, Kim Sengupta and other greats – eruditely opposed the Iraq War.

A fair appraisal of his career ought to acknowledge not just the controversies he regularly embraced, but his compassion towards the young, poor, destitute and bombed – and also his immensely complex character. He could be difficult and demanding. The last time I saw him, he’d called my office to say he was resigning, because he refused to deal with a particular desk editor. I asked that he hold on, and we at least talk, preferably in person rather than when he was in Beirut. He said he agreed – and that he was sitting in a cafe five minutes from our Kensington office precisely for that purpose. He had flown back from Beirut (at the paper’s expense) without telling anyone. Robert was like that. I think he was sincere in his resignation, but it wasn’t hard to talk him out of it.

He was very brave, mischievous, proud and – like most foreign correspondents – understandably anxious to know what was really going on at the paper back home. His influence was global, and he earned The Independent huge respect in the Middle East, in particular. He was a pillar of the title, such that it is hard to imagine The Independent without him. To have been able to work with him was a privilege; and to have been able to utter, when the embers of the Arab Spring were flickering, the words “send Fisk” was an unforgettable honour. His prodigious, powerful pen will long outlast him.

Amol Rajan – Editor of The Independent, 2013 to 2016

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‘Fisk’s genius was scenting a story and drilling down’ (Alamy)

It was never easy to keep up with Fisk. Sometimes it was only when the copy came into the office that we learnt he’d been on the road, often heading out by car from his home in Beirut to drive into Syria, or else catching a flight to follow a trail of evidence that ended up in eastern Europe. He didn’t have much time for insurance protocols or risk assessments.

Fisk took nothing at face value. He believed in being there, in seeing for himself, speaking to people, picking bomb fragments out of the dirt. The official explanation of governments was never mistaken by Fisk for indisputable evidence.

After a lifetime of risk and of going wherever the story took him, it seems odd now that, in the end, he died of an illness, like other mortals, not a bullet or IED. But in truth, the impact of his work will outlive its author. It is often said that journalists write the first draft of history, but few have shaped our longstanding knowledge of global affairs in quite such a defining or memorable way as Fisk. He always resisted the easy intro in favour of exploring the swirl of power and connection and conflicting motivations that led the world through so many conflicts.

He leaves behind a remarkable body of work – some highlights of which we will proudly republish in the coming the days. The team working for The Independent across the world today can always take inspiration knowing they stand on the shoulders of a giant. For anyone keen to understand why reporters so often speak of bravery when they reflect on great journalism, I can only recommend they read these dispatches. The courage is not just in the travel itineraries or the refusal to keep a safe distance. The real courage is in telling the world exactly what you learnt, no matter how many powerful enemies that brings.

Christian Broughton – Editor of The Independent, 2016 to 2020

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I was extremely proud to work with Bob during our time at The Independent. Great reporter, great writer, great man. And very funny. As for his critics: anti-Israel, antisemitic? No frigging way. I never heard Bob put down the Israeli people or their religion. He was against the worst Israeli policies, as we all should be. Period.

Some (mostly rival newspapers) accused him of “hyping” or exaggerating stories. My answer to that: 1. There was a lot of jealousy around when Bob did one of his famous “Heinekens” – reached the parts other reporters couldn't reach. And 2. He was more observant than most. He could turn a small story into a moving human story.  He was probably the best-researched correspondent I ever met. And he could write the s**t out of most of us. Rest easy, my dear friend.  The world owes you, big time.

Phil Davison – A former foreign correspondent for The Independent, who covered the Balkan conflict, and later, Latin America

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‘Principled observer extraordinaire’ (Rex Features)

“Ah yes,” people would say when you introduced yourself as a correspondent for The Independent, “Robert Fisk”. Depending on where you were in the world and who you were talking to would depend whether his name was pronounced with a smile or a frown or spitting fury. But it was always recognised.

I am grateful to this day that I never had to compete with Fisk, as we all called him, in the field. Like many foreign correspondents, he was both sociable and a loner; he could be irascible and impatient, but also dogged and driven when he sensed a story, especially one that went against the grain. In his judgements, to my mind, he was far more often right than wrong.

On my first trip to Beirut about 15 years ago I – obviously – contacted Fisk (not the easiest thing to do; security was, understandably, a concern). We had dinner at one of his favoured restaurants on the Corniche, and talked about Lebanon’s phoenix-like recovery from the civil war, his recent book, Ireland, and his mother, Peggy – who had Parkinson’s, as did my husband.

Most of all, though, Fisk wanted to show me the Sabra and Chatila refugee camps, site of the 1982 massacre in which hundreds, perhaps thousands, died. He was waiting at the agreed place on the dot of 8am the next day and led me on a tour such as only Fisk – principled observer extraordinaire – could give.

Mary Dejevsky – A former foreign correspondent for The Independent, with stints in Russia, France and the US

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The great thing about Fisk was his instinctive understanding that things don’t happen in a historical vacuum. Very few journalists I’ve met appreciated that truth to the extent he did. And in the complex Middle East, it was vital to his work.

He was also a brilliant writer. The longer essays he did for the Indy in the last few years of his life were an undiluted joy. He’ll be missed.

Will Gore  – a former executive editor of The Independent

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Robert Fisk got the best stories because he dared to go looking for them, and because he dared to write truthfully about what he found. Those of us who had the privilege of publishing his stories – from Lebanon, Israel, Iraq, Algeria, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Kosovo – are forever in his debt.

His fearless independence made him many enemies and inspired much jealousy, but his huge global following showed how much his reporting was valued by his readers. If you re-read his work, even from many years ago, it’s astonishing how well it has stood the test of time. I can’t think of another journalist who has contributed so much to the first draft of recent history.

Richard Askwith – a former executive editor at The Independent

Outside responses

I have learned with great sadness of the death of Robert Fisk.

With his passing, the world of journalism and informed commentary on the Middle East has lost one of its finest commentators.

I have had the privilege of knowing Robert Fisk since the 1990s, and of meeting him in some of the countries of which he wrote with such great understanding. I met him in Iraq, and last year I had my last meeting with him in Beirut, during my official visit to Lebanon.

I knew that his taking of Irish citizenship meant a great deal to him, and his influence on young practitioners in journalism and political writing was attested by the huge audiences that attended the occasions on which he spoke in Ireland.

Generations, not only of Irish people but all over the world, relied on him for a critical and informed view of what was taking place in the conflict zones of the world and, even more important, the influences that were perhaps the source of the conflict.

To his family and many friends, Sabina and I send our deepest condolences.

Michael D Higgins –President of Ireland

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‘A brilliant man with unparalleled knowledge of the history, politics and people of the Middle East’ (Rex)

Saddened tonight to hear of the death of journalist Robert Fisk. He was fearless & independent in his reporting, with a deeply researched understanding of the complexities of Middle Eastern history and politics.  He helped many people understand those complexities better.

Micheál Martin – Ireland’s Taoiseach

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Robert Fisk was so intense, so well-informed; he was indefatigable in pursuit of a story.

He was a delight to be with in the worst of situations. I drove him down ‘Sniper Alley’ in Sarajevo during the war, bullets pinging off our armoured vehicle, with ‘Fisky’ reciting complex Bosnian politics in the form of mad nursery rhyme! He was a great journalist, a great guy, and I’m so sad to hear of his death.

Kate Adie – Chief news correspondent for BBC News between 1989 and 2003

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I liked and respected Robert. One day in South Lebanon when I arrived from the wars in former Yugoslavia, he sniffed my flak jacket (he wasn’t a fan of body armour) and claimed he smelt slivovitza [a type of fruit brandy]. I retaliated by saying I’d read his reports at school.

Jeremy Bowen – BBC Middle East Editor (via Twitter)

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Very sad to hear of the untimely death of the journalist & author Robert Fisk, whom I’ve known since our days together in Northern Ireland. He’ll be greatly missed.

John Simpson – BBC correspondent (via Twitter)

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So sad to hear of the death of Robert Fisk.

A huge loss of a brilliant man with unparalleled knowledge of history, politics and people of Middle East.

Jeremy Corbyn – former Labour leader (via Twitter)

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With Robert Fisk's passing, we have lost a journalistic eye without which we shall be partially blind, a pen without which our capacity to express the truth is diminished, a soul without which our own empathy for victims of imperialism will be lacking.

Yanis Varoufakis – A former minister of finance in Greece (via Twitter)

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Following the death of Robert Fisk on 30 October 2020, The Independent has reproduced some of his best dispatches from 30 years of reporting