"The tradition of Russian literature is also an eastern tradition of learning poetry and prose by hea..." — Ryszard Kapuscinski

The Cold War was waged in a particularly brutal and cynical way in Africa, and Africa seemed powerless to do anything to stop it.

My writing is a combination of three elements. The first is travel: not travel like a tourist, but travel as exploration. The second is reading literature on the subject. The third is reflection.

I remember that during the period leading up to independence in Angola in 1975, I was the only correspondent there at all for three months.

The official independence celebration was going to be held over four or five days, and a group of journalists from all over the world was allowed to fly in, because Angola was closed otherwise.