Columns / Letters From

Yewande Omotoso’s apartment is slowly being taken over by plants, much to her delight.

Ways of belonging. Having travelled to the land of her birth as the coronavirus pandemic began to gather pace, Yewande Omotoso feels the tug of home.

Befriending a namesake leads Yewande Omotoso down paths she hadn’t followed before.

Yewande Omotoso reflects on why no-nonsense Johannesburg is the place that suits her best.

Yewande Omotoso moves through the unknowable city, looking and listening.

Parsa Sanjana Sajid visits a popular shrine and witnesses the everyday mingling of the social and the spiritual.

Her acquaintance with an Urdu poet reveals to Parsa Sanjana Sajid the deep waters of identity and prejudice.

Parsa Sanjana Sajid has been buying her colourful wares for over a decade, but behind the fragile ornaments is a life consumed by work.

What is required to be an authentic person? Parsa Sanjana Sajid ponders the answer from the bright lights of a photo studio.

Parsa Sanjana Sajid shines a light on the stigma faced by single men looking for housing.

A pocket of the city, vibrant with blossoms, is the site where destiny is always taking shape, observes Parsa Sanjana Sajid.

Spending some time away from Marabá, Dan Baron Cohen discovers unexpected solidarity with the Amazon in a country mired in violence and despair.

Joining his neighbours one evening, Dan Baron Cohen finds himself immersed in a spontaneous conversation about culture, justice and sustainability that would be rare inside the halls of academe.

The lines painted on his skin lead to the heartlands of identity, discovers Dan Baron Cohen.

Letter from Marabá: Anxiety, perplexity and indignation over Brazil’s political process as news of former president Lula’s sentencing breaks. Dan Baron Cohen listens to how it goes down in Cabelo Seco.

Violent weather presages human violence. Dan Baron Cohen writes from a community and country on high alert.

Why does ‘accelerated development’ spell disaster in the Brazilian Amazon? Dan Baron Cohen begins his column from the Afro-indigenous community of Cabalo Seco.

In her final column writing from Bolivia, Amy Booth reflects on what Cochabamba has revealed to her – including about herself.

Being on the wrong side of suspicion can have extreme consequences where formal justice systems are not fully functional, realizes Amy Booth on a visit to a prison.

Bolivians have had to get used to doing without postal services. In her Letter From Cochabamba, Amy Booth writes how they manage instead.