Post by cjm on Nov 25, 2019 7:55:23 GMT
“I have come to the only continent where I blend in with the crowds around me. If I belong anywhere – if there is one place on earth where I am not alien – it ought to be here, in Africa. And I am hating it” (4180).”I feel more lonely here in Africa than I have ever felt in America. In America, I may feel like an alien, but in Africa, I am an alien … I am ashamed to admit: I am terrified of Africa. I don’t want to be from this place … I am quietly celebrating the passage of my ancestor who made it out” (4209). “[America] is the only place I truly belong. It’s home” (4248). Richburg sluit die inleiding tot sy boek soos volg af: “Most of all I think: Thank God my ancestor got out [of (black) Africa], because, now, I am not one of them. In short, thank God that I am an American” (236).
Aan die einde van sy boek vra hy: “So what future do I see for Africa, this strange and forbidding place?” (4282). “What future is there in a place where the poets are hanged by the soldiers? … All I can see is more darkness” (4287). “I know better than to hope” (4378). “There are more coups, more elections, more riots, and more refugees. That’s how it was when I arrived, and that’s how it’s likely to be years from now. In Africa [“that dark spot on the globe” – 4450] things stay the same until they fall apart” (4394).
Aan die einde van sy boek vra hy: “So what future do I see for Africa, this strange and forbidding place?” (4282). “What future is there in a place where the poets are hanged by the soldiers? … All I can see is more darkness” (4287). “I know better than to hope” (4378). “There are more coups, more elections, more riots, and more refugees. That’s how it was when I arrived, and that’s how it’s likely to be years from now. In Africa [“that dark spot on the globe” – 4450] things stay the same until they fall apart” (4394).