Malawi RPCV Paul Theroux to speak about journey through Africa
Writer to speak about journey through Africa
By Bruce Gerstman
STAFF WRITER
Cattle filled the back of a truck carrying Paul Theroux from Ethiopia to Kenya. It was the only way to cross the border by road, he said.
Bandits on the road started firing gunshots at the truck. A man next to him -- a Kenyan soldier -- told him not to worry. The bandits only wanted Theroux's shoes.
This is how the travel writer decided to celebrate his 60th birthday.
"It's what travel in Africa is all about," he said. "It's not fun, but it's interesting."
And he will discuss this journey, chronicled in one of his latest books, "Dark Star Safari," next week at Oakland's Diesel, A Bookstore.
Theroux has written 38 novels and nonfiction books over the last four decades. "Darkstar" depicts his adventures through a dozen African countries in 2001, and then for a month after Sept. 11.
His trip was more than a birthday present to himself. It was a quest to see how Africa had changed from the time he lived in Malawi as a Peace Corps volunteer and in Uganda as an English professor -- 40 years ago.
He was in Malawi when it first gained independence from England, a time when other African nations were doing the same. When he moved, he saw civil wars, tribal wars and corrupt governments take over many of the countries since that time.
"I wanted to see what independence had done," he said. "I thought the best way to do it was to see."
His method of seeing the country was by land. He said this is how he generally prefers to travel, from buses to hitch-hiking, to immerse himself in other cultures. He told few of the many people he encountered that he was writing a book.
What he saw were crumbled strips of former roads, as well as broken-down classrooms that once served children as good schools. And he returned from his journey saying that more humanitarian aid is not the answer.
He argues that assistance for building roads, harvesting crops and building infrastructure has actually contributed to the hardships. On the occasion that aid gets beyond government thugs to people living in poverty, it fails to put them in a situation where they help themselves, he said.
"My sense of optimism would arise from families who could live self-sufficiently in that situation," he said.
Reach Bruce Gerstman at 510-339-4506 or by e-mail at bgerstman@cctimes.com.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Paul Theroux discusses his book, "Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Cape Town."
WHERE: Diesel, A Bookstore, 5433 College Ave., Oakland
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 5
