Showing the turmoil of emotions the author felt, unable to pin down the description of the faces in one word, it also evokes at once the curiosity of the reader a well as lays the ground work for the setting: a general picture of death and disease form in one’s mind. This is particularly moving for the reader as it describes in harsh terms a particularly terrible situation which readers can see in their own lives. The reporters and journalists fight their base instincts of helping those whom they see as marks to get the story to us, those who are responsible for helping such people out.

Passage changes focus from the general to the specific, starts in Somalia with 'I saw thousand hungry, lean scared and betrayed faces' and a whole then moves to the village of Gufgaduud, then to families in the village and finally to the one man he will not forget - a man who is smiling even amidst all of this suffering, who he eventually dedicates the passage to. Firstly, a part biography of Mr Alagiah, who moved with his family from Sri Lanka (who fled due to the civil war there - his family are tamil) to Ghana when African was liberating itself from its colonial shackles. However, this book explores the events and influences which occurred before, as well as what went on after the all too brief media interest died down. It is almost as though Alagiah is contrasting the harshness of the incidents with the human empathy that he feels. They took advantage of Africa’s conflicts and took over with the cooperation of local leaders and their advanced weapons.He creates a sense of pity by describing the terrible conditions in Somalia, such as hunger, fear, and poverty.

It follows George as he becomes a reporter for the BBC for Africa, and through this, he takes us through much of the recent history of Africa (which sadly has involved many civil wars, corrupt dicators and famines). Christina Rosetti Comment on society control freak Death death and suffering death of loved ones Death Poem desperate plea Dichotomy of creation didactic poem Do Not Go Gentle Into The Good Night Duffy poems analysis duke of firrara. Alagiah explicitly shows us how uncomfortable he is with what he does, while admitting it’s ‘ like a drug ’. For example, he instructs someone how to get there using time on various 'dirt tracks' (showing the poverty of village) and how there are no real landmarks or signs. Amun, the god who granted kingship was deemed the most important in the Kushite pantheon, however, he was not the only Egyptian god worshipped.He tells the story of a young girl and boy in trying situations and persuades his audience to feel sorry for them. Also expresses the false hope of a 'dying man' who keeps his 'hoe' next to him (a farming tool), as though he still hopes to go and 'till the soil once all this is over'. Semantic field of ghosts and death continues into the next paragraph which starts with 'ghoulish manner'. George recounts his visit to a remote village, one so far removed from the centre that no media person has reached there yet. Uses a rhetorical question to make us think about how we should feel and how we should act in the face of this suffering.

In the paragraph with the old woman, Alagiah uses visceral sensory language about the ‘ smell ’ of ‘ decaying flesh ’ and the ‘ festering wound ’ – the ‘ putrid air ’ of decay. In the ghoulish manner of journalists on the hunt for the most striking pictures, my cameraman … and I tramped from one hut to another. There is contrast between things he shows very vividly in the first half and things which he cannot explain (as they are emotional) in the second half. From a personal perspective, as one living in South Africa these past ten years, it's especially saddening to see that his hope for the future of this beautiful country, put on a positive and inclusive road by Nelson Mandela, has since succumbed to the twin blights of corruption and governmental mismanagement.

In vivid and evocative prose and with a fine eye for detail, Alagiah's viewpoint is spiked with the freshness of the young George on his arrival in Ghana, the wonder with which he recounts his first impressions of Africa, and the affection with which he dresses his stories of his early family life.