On the Ground / Brian Stewart

 

R

4 out of 5 stars 

Who has favourite foreign news correspondents? Well, apparently I do/did. Back in the day, when I had a TV, I always was glad when Brian Stewart of the CBC was covering a story. The man seemed to be a font of information, who knew all the background to whatever subject he was discussing and also able to offer accurate analysis. I was sad when he retired from the CBC.

Now I know why Stewart always seemed so prepared. He literally began his quest for a job as a foreign correspondent when he was still in grade school. It's all he ever considered as a career and he spent all his effort honing his knowledge of politics, history, and military strategy from that time forward. In that respect, he reminded me of astronaut Chris Hadfield, who pointed his nose towards the space program and just kept moving. Both men possessed an early single-mindedness that propelled them to success in their choice of career.

Stewart is just enough older than me that he was covering stories that I was just becoming aware of. I was gaining a hazy understanding of larger world events during the 1970s and I vividly remember being scared by the FLQ crisis and the murder of Pierre Laporte. I had no idea how far away Quebec was from my Alberta home, so the news was worrying to me. It was interesting now to see it through Stewart's eyes and get an adult understanding of events.

I was a young adult entering the world of work when Stewart was in Ethiopia during the awful famine. It was his story that got Canadian Prime Minister Mulroney involved in relief efforts. Stewart's video story was played at Geldof's Live Aid concert and it galvanized the Western world. This is the era that the book started with and I cried my way through it. Stewart has never abandoned the Ethiopian people. He returned to that country and tracked down the family that his story had featured. Stewart paid for the children's education and assisted the family in as many ways as he could. They remain in touch.

I was somewhat surprised by Stewart's knowledge of literature (in Russia, he visited a place associated with his favourite poet). He casually mentions friendships with characters like author Mordecai Richler and infamous Conrad Black. As a result of his reporting on conflict and tragedy, it is unsurprising that he experienced flashbacks and nervous system glitches. Some reporters suffer from PTSD, but Stewart was diagnosed with conversion disorder, where the body converts emotional distress into physical symptoms. He seems to have dealt with it and has a calm life now. A well deserved retirement.