We are not held accountable for how the economy ravages Congo. Governments aren't held accountable for foreign policies that they exercise there. There are no institutional structures to render justice. The press is very limited. There's very little transparency. You… — Anjan Sundaram Copy Share Image
The endeavor of being a foreign correspondent means that you will never be their equal. And that has its pros and cons. Were you to be an insider in a particular society, then you would be one of them, and the way you would write about that society would be very different. When you're brought up in a certain way,… — Anjan Sundaram Copy Share
In abstract mathematics or abstract art, the purpose is to describe inner states of our mind, and to explore the limits of our own imagination and our capacity for creativity. While this has some applications in the world, I think it leads to a distance from the world. Going to Congo was for me an act of seeking proximity, of… — Anjan Sundaram Copy Share
Living somewhere permanently, you have a stake in society. I had no stake. It did not matter to my life which way the war… — Anjan Sundaram Copy Share Image
The first victim in journalism today is proximity. I know I've used that word a lot. Because of foreign budgets, newspapers have consolidated, and journalists now cover dozens of countries at a time. It is physically not possible for one person to understand and live the unique sets of experiences in all these places in honest and meaningful ways. Outlets… — Anjan Sundaram Copy Share
My purpose at that time was to expand my experience of the world and to immerse myself as deeply as I could in powerful… — Anjan Sundaram Copy Share Image
I certainly think that many of the themes, and many of the ways that I wrote about Congo, will continue to live on in… — Anjan Sundaram Copy Share Image
I chose Congo in order to become close to a place that we had turned away from. It isn't present in our imaginations, in… — Anjan Sundaram Copy Share Image
We are not held accountable for how the economy ravages Congo. Governments aren't held accountable for foreign policies that they exercise there. There are… — Anjan Sundaram Copy Share Image
What I really intend to achieve is to be that fly on the wall, and to try and observe as much as I can… — Anjan Sundaram Copy Share Image
My own chief curiosity is to go into the world and explore as richly as I can, and as deeply as I can, and… — Anjan Sundaram Copy Share Image
When people know what you want, they can then manipulate that to achieve the end that they seek. It's far more interesting and valuable… — Anjan Sundaram Copy Share Image
