Sri Lanka

What a joy to read the exchange between Feizal Samath and Brian Williams. It’s a reminder of the great bond of friendship and respect that existed - and one hopes still exists - between locally hired Reuters journalists and the colleagues who would travel in to join them in pursuit of the story. That bond always made Reuters a very special place to work. The resident local correspondents had and undoubtedly still have the tougher time in balancing the demands of the job against the obligations to family, and in facing despicable harassment and worse from various government goons, censors and thugs. Reuters could never be Reuters without people like Feizal and so many others who cover their countries for the world. May their integrity, dedication and sacrifice never be undervalued.

As an aside, I too had the distinct pleasure of staying at the Galle Face during a visit to Colombo in 2004 before the place got spruced up. The bacon and egg breakfasts were something else, as was my room, a suite so expansive that it exceeded the square footage of my Manhattan apartment. Not that anything in the room worked, or had done for the better part of half a century. That's what made it such a charming place, along with the view. ■