Real people of East Africa
- 111pages
- 4 heures de lecture
This work focuses on individuals the journalist and photographer Roland Brockmann encountered during four journeys (2016-2017) through Kenya and Tanzania. It features brick-burners, teachers, shopkeepers, coffin-makers, farmers, and fishermen—ordinary people sharing insights into their lives through their statements accompanying the images. Their personal narratives of love, sorrow, hope, separation, and success are central to the book, with their everyday environments serving as the backdrop for the photographs. The author emphasizes encounters at eye level, aiming to present a more nuanced perspective. For over a decade, Brockmann has reported from Africa, primarily for aid organizations and media, often highlighting disasters and crises. This focus reflects a broader Western indifference to the continent's daily realities, which are frequently depicted in terms of misery or exoticism. The book seeks to dismantle this top-down European viewpoint, avoiding a one-dimensional representation of Africa. As noted by ethnologist Alexis Malefakis, it reveals men and women confronting challenges in their lives that resonate with those faced by people in other parts of the world.


