Thomas Goltz: A man larger than life Brief appreciation by Orkhan Amashov

Thomas Goltz, a celebrated war reporter, passed away on 29 July. Orkhan Amashov, Caliber.Az Analyst, had the fortune to know him for years. In his brief note of condolence, he attempts to elucidate on the great man’s character and pay his last tribute to his decency and ingenuity.

It was sad to hear the news of the passing of Thomas Goltz. Alas, more than indisposed for the past few years, death had long been in the offing. Longevity was not his primary objective; his drive was to enjoy the concentration of vitality within a warped time dimension.

Thomas Goltz was a man of intellectual prowess and integrity. Writing with a flair and analytical pensiveness, constantly elevating nitty-gritty vitalities into riveting pivots, in the 90s, he established himself as an iconic crisis reporter covering the Caucasus. Much has been said about the critically-acclaimed ‘Azerbaijan Diary’ and his other works. Anything I could say would be superfluous.

He was a great friend of Azerbaijan, but not a pleaser. Obsequiousness was anathema to his soul. Eccentric and prodigious bon vivant, he was not the acme of political correctness. Goltz was exceptionally good at enjoying himself and delighting and bewildering his audience in an idiosyncratic manner.

We last met in July 2017, when he was in London to attend the European premiere of the documentary film “On Aggregate”, an extraordinary account of the success of Qarabağ FK, which had played “away from home” for 24 years, directed, written by and featuring his good self, who also belied an amusing bewilderment with ‘British Soccer’, if to resort to his American vocabulary militating against my English sensibilities.

That day now feels dizzyingly distant. Karabakh was still under occupation; however, Thomas was able to walk freely, talk with ease and imbibe too, with the illness, however, preying on his mind and affecting his demeanour.

Later, despite rapidly deteriorating health, he visited Azerbaijan after the liberation of Karabakh. He was content and wanted to see more. Alas, that was not to be, and his hourglass sadly reached its final grain of sand.

May his soul rest in peace.

Orkhan Amashov and Thomas Goltz at Stamford Bridge Football Ground, London, July 2017