By FRANKLIN SMITH Special to the Daily Press
Award winning British journalist Robert Fisk spoke to a packed house at beyond baroque in Venice Beach last Saturday.
Winner of the British “International Journalist of the Year” award seven times, Fisk has been covering the Middle East for more than 25 years. He also covered the Iranian revolution, the Iran-Iraq war, the battles in Lebanon and the Persian Gulf war.
Fisk is well known for championing Arab and Palestinian causes. He talked about the crisis in the Jenin refugee camp where large numbers of fatalities have been reported and relief workers and aid have been denied access. He blamed the American press for poor coverage of the situation and Collin Powell for not visiting Jenin to witness what was going on there as he did at the site of a bus destroyed by a suicide bomber.
Fisk’s coverage of Middle East events almost cost him his life when in Pakistan last year his car broke down. While attempting to push his car to the side of the road a crowd gathered and started pelting him with stones. Badly injured, he was rescued by a Muslim religious leader who escorted him to a police station.
Having recovered from his injuries, he gave a lively presentation to a captivated audience. Fisk’s stories can be read at: http://news.independent.co.uk/middle_east.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 17, 2002. Read the original PDF.