Two Dutch journalists, Arnold Karskens and Henk Willem Smits, focus in this book on the Dutch businessman Guus Kouwenhoven (or mr. Gus). What is so special about this man that two journalist have followed this man over a period of many years, have delved into archives, have talked with the man himself and many others? … Continue reading Review OPERATIE LAAT NIETS IN LEVEN
A change in literary form sparks a revival in the writings of retired journalist Jolyon Nuttall
He refound his voice when he spent time in a bookshop in farflung USA, at the university of Harvard. Jolyon started writing again after he had written several books in the past, one on fly fishing. He is interviewed by his son-in-law Achille Mbembe, a philosopher from Cameroon.
‘I was there’: Essays that map a life
Late in his life he decided to write a collection of essays on daily life, maybe a bit like columns on fly fishing. In this interview the journalist Jolyon Nuttall talks with his son-in-law the Cameroonian philosopher Achille Mbembe.
Review of THE TRIAL OF HISSÈNE HABRÉ
A landlocked country (even the shores of the lake are receding) in the midst of the enormous African continent. This country carries the same name as the lake: Chad. From 1982 – 1990 Hissène Habré ruled this country. He was no stranger to power for during previous reigns he had been Prime Minister and Secretary … Continue reading Review of THE TRIAL OF HISSÈNE HABRÉ
Revisiting the Habré trial: Finding hope in a Chadian tragedy
Many dictators of the past managed to leave the country they run and ruined and found asylum in an other country. In this new found land they continued to live with a fair portion of their amassed wealth, leaving their former citizens in poverty and structures of injustice. Not all have the chance to escape … Continue reading Revisiting the Habré trial: Finding hope in a Chadian tragedy
An ode to silence – Kenya’s third national language
We are aware of the multitude of languages on the African continent. Even in one country many languages are being spoken. The East African state of Kenya is such a country. Two national languages: English and (Ki)Swahili. But the journalist and writer Rasna Warah has discovered a third national language. A language that has not … Continue reading An ode to silence – Kenya’s third national language
books touched by Africa 