The shadow of the sun, Ryszard Kapuscinski

Résumé du document

Like the young Scottish travelers going from Casablanca to Niamey, I did not know a lot about Africa before reading Ryszard Kapuschinski book. I do read the news, have studied economics of less developed countries, saw Shooting Dogs, and have met African people, but these experiences were nothing compared to the book. ?The shadow of the sun' might not tell us the truth about Africa but at least it makes us understand and visit Africa as if we were travelling with Ryszard Kapuscinski in his backpack. To deal with this book, I have chosen to concentrate on three main subjects that appeared relevant to me while I was reading it.

Extraits

[...] To conclude, I would say that The shadow of the sun helped me to understand better the plagues of Africa, gave me an overview of how can also be an African: faithfull, sharing and happy. If Ryszard Kapuscinski's bet was to relate how is life in Africa, from my point of view he succeeded in. This book reminded me of the African people I met this summer in a Spanish refugee camp who were loving people sharing everything that taught me more than I had ever learnt. Africans do not have a lot of money but they still have a lot to give that money will never be able to buy. [...]

[...] Sharing is one of the most important features of the African way of living. One of the distinctive features of Africa is how time is running. It is a very different conception of time from the one we have in Europe. I would also say that the collective way of living described by Kapuschinski is really different. Here, in Europe, what makes someone live is money and rushing after time but there, the main questions are not : “what time is it? [...]

[...] From school, place of refuge in the shadow of the sun, place of meeting, the tree like the water are decisive in Africa. It helps us to understand that Africa is more than only a harsh place to live but it is also a place of creativity where people find solutions to their own problems. For instance, in the desert, African people do not have maps but they still can find their way using natural features tree, a stone). Another example of the creativity of African people is Simon the bicycle trader that cope with the lack of infrastructures. [...]

[...] Let us study that the book deals with stereotypes of Africa, hope and life of African people and finaly gives as a actual overview of African diversity. First of all, Ryszard Kapuscinski deals with strereotypes I had before reading the book. There are many problems in Africa and insofar he may be giving us a pessimistic point of view. I would rather say that he is explaining how is life in Africa. Indeed, it is a continent of diseases, harsh climate, where nature is feared by people. [...]

[...] Images of hungers, poverty, lack of infrastructures are related in this book. Chapters are dedicated to the massacres in Rwanda, the Sudanese war, Amin's dictatorship in Uganda. Nevertheless, the image of Africa is also the one of women, children, nature and desert. It is also conveyed by the book. For example, the beauty of the church of Lalibela is underlined in a chapter. Another image I had before reading the book, was the one of a continent where journalism is a frustrating job because of the lack of infrastructures. [...]