| Kapuściński was correspondent for the national Polish news agency from the 50’s onward. Mainly, he was sent to African countries but he also had stints in Latin America, the Middle East and India. This was a time when travelling to those places was difficult to arrange for. Contact could only be made via telex in the local post offices if at all. In this book, about 20 reports from various locations and events are compiled. Furthermore, Kapuściński includes short editorials for a potential book he wasn’t to write, containing his personal thoughts on the countries he visits, the people, his relations and his job. Many of these stories take place in African countries shortly after gaining independence. He meets with leaders of state in Ghana, is chased by warring tribes in Nigeria, barely escapes alive from the unrest in Congo. But he’s also the first foreign correspondent to report from the futile soccer war between Honduras and El Salvador.
What makes his accounts stand out for once, is his unique position coming from an Eastern Block country as a ’neutral‘ observer between Western colonialism and third world sensitivities. While naturally opposed to the traditional white position especially towards Africa, at the same time he’s seen as a representative of colonialism by the locals, having to walk a thin line between the poles. At the same time, he objectively sees all the human weaknesses of the people seeking out mostly their personal advantage in the struggle of their suppressed nations for independence or simply gaining dominance over another tribe or the neighbor state. I like his reserved tone. While self-aware, he isn’t as egostistical as notable travel writers like Theroux or Chatwin. More pleasant to read and probably he would have been more pleasant to be around with as well. One of his excursions for the book never written stands out for me. After the period in Congo, he spends some time in the office in Warsaw only to get the feeling of becoming enslaved by his desk. One of those guys who had to leave to feel at home. |
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