UK newspapers left Fleet Street in the 1980s. But on Thursday we returned en masse to our spiritual home, for a memorial service to my friend and former colleague, Kim Sengupta.
Reporters and editors from across British media met at the journalists’ church, St Bride’s, for a service celebrating Kim’s life.
One of the great foreign correspondents of his generation, Kim was comfortable in the company of generals, spies, diplomats, warlords and squaddies. But he felt his mission was to tell the stories of ordinary people, whose lives are upended by conflict.
The church was packed. Readings included Kim’s reflections on the fall ofKabul. In 2021 he witnessed the horrors at the airport during that chaotic evacuation. He tried, in vain, to help a lost eight-year-old girl searching for her mother. Kim told the stories of Afghans abandoned to the Taliban with compassion and searing honesty.
Brilliant and courageous, Kim Sengupta gave voice to those ravaged by war
Read MoreThe choir sang “The Parting Glass”, a toast to Kim’s conviviality and his generosity towards younger colleagues, as well as the local fixers, drivers and journalists who supported his work. The final hymn was “Bread of Heaven”.
We also heard from Kim’s partner, Katherine Rimell – “his UK fixer” – who spoke beautifully of their life together; and from fellow foreign correspondents who worked with Kim in warzones, including Christina Lamb and Lindsey Hilsum.
During 30 years on the road he reported from the Balkans, Sierra Leone, Kosovo, Afghanistan (dozens of trips), Iraq, Syria, Libya, Georgia, Ukraine, Gaza, West Bank, Mali, Sudan, Somalia, Chechnya, Kashmir, Lebanon, Israel, Haiti, Sri Lanka, Waziristan and Yemen.
A brilliant raconteur, he returned from these places with eye-boggling anecdotes. He also spoke frankly about the ethical challenges inherent in war reporting – and all of this is the subject of a feature we will soon publish about Kim’s life.
@olyduff
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Go well, Kim )
Also on site :
- Teenager killed and three injured in Nantes school stabbing
- At least 59 Palestinians killed as Israel escalates Gaza bombardment
- Pope Francis’ funeral to stream on YouTube