John Pomfret
John Pomfret
John Pomfretwas an English poet and clergyman...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionJournalist
CountryUnited States of America
american-scientist china greatest posted summer time
I was posted to China in the summer of 1988, which was the greatest time ever, I think, to have been in China.
bicycles form main move though time
My main form of transportation at that time was a bicycle, because bicycles could move though the crowd.
factions hard indication job periods time
The one indication that I got that I was doing the right job in Bosnia was that at different periods of time all the factions came down very hard on me.
addition best connect fact illustrate reporters shared time trying
I think some of the best reporters are the ones who can really illustrate the differences between societies, at the same time trying to connect the fact that there are a lot of shared values in addition to those differences.
china front grew page regular relations time york
I grew up in New York City in the late '70s, at a time when U.S. - China relations were something that was on the front page of The New York Times on a regular basis.
demands type work
The work is a calling. It demands that type of obsession.
affect beacon broader direct interest interests itself national spin
And when they do spin out of control there are important ramifications that affect America, not just its direct national interest but its broader interests as a nation which has thought of itself as a beacon to other nations, of freedom, liberty, democracy, whatever.
bosnian changed help map question
For me the much more significant question is what did the Americans do, if anything, to help the Croatian army, because they are the ones that changed fundamentally the map of Bosnia, not the Bosnian army.
assignment difference emphasis facts greater overseas
But the difference is that in an overseas assignment there is an emphasis on the facts but there's also a much greater emphasis on interpretation.
american-scientist baggage cultural fact follows
One of the problems that we have as American journalists is that we bring the American cultural baggage with us and we plop it down and it follows us around and that's just a fact of life.
fourteen seized trip
I was fourteen when Kissinger made his secret trip to China, and then there was subsequently Nixon's trip to China, and I was very much seized with an interest in China.
job
When you do a job like this you have to like having cold sweat on your back.
believe best equation somebody stop tear
When I see somebody being mistreated, my eyes tear up and I want to stop it. And I believe that the best thing I can do is to write about it, because if I insert myself into the equation it doesn't really do much good, but if I write about it I think it could do more good.
lives midst normal people though willing
But on the other hand, in the midst of the chaos, you find normal people. You find people who are willing to risk their lives to tell you what they saw, even though they have no dog in the fight.