About the Author: Ryszard Kapuscinski was born in 1932 in a multinational market town in Pinsk, near the eastern borderlands which is now Belarus. He grew up witnessing the horrors of war and of displacement. He kept the same child's eye for injustice when he became a correspondent in Africa for the Polish Press Agency (PAP). There was scarcely a revolution that he did not witness in the 1960's and 70's as he reported on the decolonisation of the Africa. He lived through dozens of coups. To each he brought the eye of a commoner; he carried his own water flagons and waited for hours at overcrowded bus stations. In part, his point of view was forced him by the economic stringencies of his new agency.About the Book; He himself writes; 'I lived in Africa for several years. I first went there in 1957. Then, over the next forty years, I returned whenever the opportunity arose. I traveled extensively , avoiding official routes, palaces, important personages, and high level politics. Instead, i opted to hitch rides onpassing trucks, wander with nomads through the desert, be the guest of peasants of the tropical savannah. Their life is endless toil, a tormenet they endure with astonishing patience and good humor(sic).
This is therefore not a book about Africa, but rather about some people from there - about encounters with them, and time spent together. The continent is too large to describe. It is a veritable ocean, a separate planet, a varied, immensely, rich cosmos. Only with the greatest of simplification, for the sake of convenience, can we say "Africa". In reality, except as a geographical appellation, Africa does not exist.'
The Review; Generally this book was very well received. It had many of us searching the internet for historical evidence and supplementary reading. Kapuscinski's writing shows a deep affection and respect for a continent that has such deep seated and complicated traditional values that it continues to destroy any apparent progress in peace or economic development. Indeed he goes on to say that there is no such continent as Africa, due to the complex constituents of its parts. Through his determination and the purposeful resurrection of old contacts he was one of the very few journalists to enter Zanzibar during the revolution. After a perilous flight he was then taken hostage and only narrowly managed to escape by boat. He talks about Rwanda and gives a very insightful and detailed description into the tribalism that led to the horrific civil war. He describes the end of European colonialism and you can see an almost identical repeat of corruption as each country develops independently. He explains the rise of Amin and generally paints a pretty grim picture of the way in which the politics of these countries was manipulated by the old colonial powers trying to maintain some control You can see why he is often described as a war journalist as he gives amazingly lurid accounts in his despatches from the civil war zones in particular Liberia.
As a result of living with the people he describes the customs and religion with wonderful feeling and vivid description, the reader is transported to heat, the smells and the danger of some of the circumstances in which he finds himself.
Some of the stories of cobra's under the bed, the never to be repaired hole in the road, the Arab salt traders, the witchcraft, the values and the subsequent behaviours that were observed were often chellenging for some members to comprehend - but also came as a welcome light relief from the more typical topics of Trbalisms, Genocide, Drought, Starvation, War Lords and Child Soldiers.
The book wasn't without it's critics, one of the group dismissed it out of hand as 'a pure work of fiction'. Others felt that there was very little if any redemptive spirit in the book and there was no sense that anything was likely to improve. You could say that as a journalist he can and should only tell us what he sees.
The next book: Sarah's Key : Tatiana de Rosthnay
Thanks to Mary for hosting this meeting.
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