In Extremis: The Life and Death of the War Correspondent Marie Colvin

by Lindsey Hilsum

Through the windows of the Palestinian diplomatic vehicle, the cameraman filmed protestors throwing stones at the security forces. It was clear that the Chinese authorities were not going to tolerate the student demonstrators for much longer. Armed guards stopped their car at checkpoints, and they held their breath, waiting for the moment when someone would ask why they were traveling on Palestinian documents and not their own passports. The biggest news story in the world was unfolding around them, but Marie and Anthony were on a different mission. Delirious with exhaustion, they sped to the airport—only to find it surrounded by armed guards and closed to all but diplomats. There was only one answer: Marie, Anthony, the crew, and the bodyguards crawled under a fence and sneaked into the terminal, where they bought tickets with cash. At the gate, they caught sight of a BBC wildlife team that had been filming pandas and was now being deported. Anthony quickly handed over the film his crew had shot so BBC News could air it, and then he and Marie and their team took off again, soaring above Beijing just forty-eight hours before the tanks rolled into Tiananmen Square to quash the student protests.