Al, ex-British army and our security advisor, spread a map out on the hood of our vehicle.
‘We’ll take the Amarah road,’ he said. ‘The other road through Nasiriyah is not too good. Bandits are operating on that route.’
He paused. ‘I must make one thing clear. There are no weapons on this convoy. If bandits pull us over, we comply 100%. There must be no threatening gestures.’
Al, ex-British army and our security advisor, spread a map out on the hood of our vehicle.
‘We’ll take the Amarah road,’ he said. ‘The other road through Nasiriyah is not too good. Bandits are operating on that route.’
He paused. ‘I must make one thing clear. There are no weapons on this convoy. If bandits pull us over, we comply 100%. There must be no threatening gestures.’
The Ghostly Memory of Lions in Iraq Read More »
‘I never knew Hemingway was that witty,’ my friend Allan said as we chatted in his apartment in the 5th arrondissement of Paris. I was reading aloud to him from Hemingway’s classic memoir about his early days as a struggling writer: A Moveable Feast.
Memories and thoughts of Hemingway in Paris Read More »
The toxic legacy of a century-old lead mine in Kabwe, Zambia, is still poisoning children. A years-old class action suit on their behalf has moved to the Supreme Court of Appeal. Hamilton Wende went to Kabwe to film a documentary for Al Jazeera and reflects on the legal, moral and humanitarian dilemmas surrounding these children and their ongoing suffering.
The poisoned legacy of the children of Kabwe Read More »
There is something eerie about the beauty of an old bomb crater at 20,000 feet.
Memory and Healing in Cambodia Read More »
Poetry to me has always been a form of travel. I first learned to love poetry at boarding school in the Eastern Cape in South Africa.
A journey of poetry Read More »
I’m no supporter of the Taliban regime at all, but the news that South Africa will play Afghanistan in the World Cup caught my attention. It reminded me of my Afghan translator and fixer in the village of Khuja Bahauddin in northern Afghanistan only weeks after 9/11. I’ve never forgotten him and his love of cricket.
Memories of cricket and war in Afghanistan Read More »
“Today we’re going to look for the ‘Big Five!’” South African guide Eelco Meyjes announces from the front of his safari vehicle – a strange thing to hear on the streets of suburban Johannesburg.
Graffiti treasures in Joburg Read More »
I was commissioned to write a piece about my face years ago and for various reasons it never saw print. I thought it would be interesting to post now.
Thoughts on a mirror and its meaning Read More »
Memory is layered into our lives. Our understanding of what happened in the past grows as we grow. And the southern autumn for me for the last decade or so has always been a time for memories.
Autumn Thoughts on the Eve of Our Elections Hamilton Wende Read More »