For decades famine, drought, strife and corruption have been so common in parts of Africa that outsiders could, to an extent, be excused for seeing them as normal. It is well past time on many levels for the comfortable complacency of willful ignorance to give way to a harsh reality; the divide between “them” and “us” has been well and truly breached.… Read the rest
Darwin’s theory of evolution applies as much to humans and technology as it does to animals and Nature. But some things are so rooted in cultures, minds and memories that their passing seems to border on travesty, irrational though that may be. The demise of the BBC radio’s “Focus on Africa” represents that for me.… Read the rest
African leaders playing host to influence-vying luminaries from Moscow and Washington over the past few days might want to bear in mind the Roman poet Virgil’s epic the Aeneid, specifically, the line: “Be wary of Greeks bearing gifts.”… Read the rest
… Read the restAmong the many privileges of being a roving foreign correspondent is encountering stark, and sometimes edifying contradictions in the midst of chaos. Over time, they help build a prism through which to view today’s world.
Since 1973, I’ve reported on wars, civil upheavals, famines, natural disasters, and uncountable non-hazardous news events in nearly 100 countries on six continents.