Exploring Humanity Beyond Borders: A Conversation with Humphrey Hawksley

20th March

We had the pleasure of hosting a captivating conversation with the esteemed Humphrey Hawksley, an accomplished journalist, author, and foreign correspondent renowned for his insightful commentary on global affairs. With a career spanning decades, Humphrey has reported from some of the world's most challenging and remote locations, providing unparalleled insight into international conflicts, geopolitics, and societal issues.

Moving house after years of memories can be a challenge, however, you seem adept at venturing into the unknown without hesitation. Where do you get your bravery from?

A home isn’t a physical thing. We may make a home out of a physical object, but the reality is the thing that we are attached to are the memories and not the thing itself. Remove the memories and you have an empty shell. Memories fade so we desperately hold on to the physical, but holding on to this isn’t as grounding as we lead ourselves to believe.

The main thing I have found that helps me is having a hearth and home, a place that anchors me and gives me a chance to reset. With that, it doesn’t matter where “home” actually is.

As a former BBC foreign correspondent, I travelled through some pretty unpredictable landscapes. I have moved from Colombo to Sri Lanka. To Delhi, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Beijing and back again…

But throughout that uncertainty, I found venturing into the unknown was less daunting thanks to my upbringing on the wild Suffolk coast. Despite the whirlwind of constant change and short-lived friendships, the memory of home, with its stone churches standing against a backdrop of blooming flowers and lush fields, remains a steadfast beacon of comfort.

Sometimes when travelling, I see some really grim things, and sometimes I’m away for long periods of time. Whether it’s 5 years, or 10, that part of me never goes away.
I could be in an apartment with unfamiliar walls, in a country with unfamiliar people, but knowing I have my anchor makes venturing into these environments less scary. When I go into a strange place, I have at the back of my mind that I know who I am and where I come from.

How do you maintain your wellbeing while immersing yourself in such challenging environments?

During my time at the BBC, it became known that PTSD can develop beyond just military personnel. It can affect anyone in a high-stress environment but had become a concern among journalists covering conflict zones.

The Beijing correspondent at the time, a colleague and friend of mine, took proactive steps to educate and create support systems within the organisation. I actually attended a talk he hosted where I expected to go in and hear about war or other nasty events.

But he instead talked about his own struggles with PTSD and how it stemmed from personal issues like the breakdown of his marriage. Obviously, it affects people differently and it’s a complex topic but it’s eye-opening to see some of its triggers.

Having these open chats has really been a game-changer for me when it comes to looking after my well-being. It's all about being aware of how what we see and experience can affect us, and being able to talk about it openly.

I've been one of the fortunate not to experience lasting effects thanks to this culture, but also thanks to what we now call “hostile environment courses”. It was a suggestion I made early on that we provide individuals, returning from high-stress deployments, a brief period of decompression before returning home.
It’s not healthy to tell these individuals that they've got to go straight back home; You can't go back with all that stuff in your head.

Not only do you need to process some of the grim things you have witnessed, but you’re also dealing with a lot of guilt. You're leaving behind human beings that are still suffering and stuck in these situations.

Can you imagine going straight home to your family and your wife says “God, I'm glad you're back. Can you fix the fridge?”. After seeing all of that, a broken fridge is the last of your worries. Without any re-adjustment period, you hear that and think “No I don’t want to fix the fridge, it’s such a small problem. I want to do more than you fix the fridge.”

What valuable life insights have you gained throughout your career that you would like to share with readers? Any mistakes you wish you could go back and change

Believe it or not, every morning I wake up with a flood of mistakes tumbling into my head, from primary school to my late career. It's a common thing, really. About 70% of our thoughts tend to lean towards the negative. But it’s not healthy to look back.

I have found it’s really important to offload petty logistics in our lives at an early stage so that we can actually live our lives.

That’s where places like Riverstone can help. You no longer have to deal with “Is my gas company ripping me off? How will I get groceries this week?” and you can wind these thoughts and tasks down, then go travelling, or go to the theatre, or paint that great painting you’ve never painted.
Enjoy the little moments a little bit more.

The Key learnings we can take from our conversation with Humphrey Hawksley are:

1. Having a sense of home as an anchor can help when facing uncertainty and challenging environments.
2. Open conversations about mental well-being are crucial for individuals in high-stress environments, with proactive support systems being essential.
3. It is key to offload petty tasks, find a purpose beyond retirement and maintain a sense of responsibility towards oneself and others.