There is nothing I would change - to change it I would have had to write a totally different book.
Asne SeierstadI believe the consequences of a war are so harsh that it should be always the last resort.
Asne SeierstadAs a war correspondent, you have to weigh the risk you run against the story you can get.
Asne SeierstadEven in a war, someone has to take care of daily life. Someone has to feed and clothe the children.
Asne SeierstadThere is no journalist without opinions, and there's no real objectivity, but we can strive toward it.
Asne SeierstadI was thinking, there are 5 million people, and I am just one of those 5 million. In the build-up to the war you see children playing in the street, and you think, ah, I'm going to be okay.
Asne SeierstadWhen I decided to stay in Iraq, I decided to take the fear out of my body and put it into a freezer.
Asne SeierstadIf you've lived in a dictatorship for thirty years, you're used to people lying to you.
Asne SeierstadIf I lose, then I have to accept that my way of writing books is not the way society says it's okay to write.
Asne SeierstadBeing a war correspondent, and having covered four wars, I know that wars very seldom solve things.
Asne SeierstadAs a woman, you accept the situation, adapt to it, and do your best, whereas men would choose violence.
Asne SeierstadI will get a loan and pay the money the court asks for. But I will not lay down my writing and I still say this was an important book to write.
Asne SeierstadIf my name had not been cleared, it would have been difficult, perhaps impossible, to continue as a journalist.
Asne SeierstadAs the only woman, I was able to sit with the officers in front, with a glass of vodka in one hand and a cucumber in the other. That's how I went to my first war.
Asne SeierstadThe judgment means a lot. As a journalist being accused of invading someone's privacy, there is always a risk that it will stick to your name.
Asne Seierstad