When George Alagiah was five years old, he and his family emigrated from Ceylon (Sra Lanka) to Ghana. It was a journey laced with hope: the Alagiahs were part of the first Tamil diaspora, a family fleeing ethic conflict for a country itself facing a new beginning.
Ghana was revelling in being the first African country to gain independence from the British Empire, and when Accra hosted the 1965 Organisation for African Unity summit, anything seemed possible. But just twelve short months later, a coup d'etat brought this childlike optimism to a close. . .
From these formative childhood years to his time as the BBC's Africa correspondent, 'A Passage To Africa' is George Alagiah's powerful testament to the continent he considers home. With unblinking candour and compelling insight, he chronicles the horror, the hope and the humanity he has borne witness to: from Mobutu to Mugabe, Somalia to South Africa. It is the way George Alagiah mixes political insight with personal testimony that makes this such a truly remarkable book. The result is a powerful, passionate, thought-provoking account.
