Wednesday, June 27, 2012

The Tuareg, Admirable Moslems, Grant Greater Rights to Women than to Men




Niger. Sahel near Tchin Tabaraden. Noble Iullimiden Tuareg nomads socializing. Contrary to other Moslems, and for belonging to a matriarchal society, the Tuarerg give women greater rights than to men. 
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Niger. Sahel pres de Tchin Tabaraden. Nobles Tuaregs Iullimiden conversant sous la tente de la fille du chef de tribu. Contrairement aux autres Musulmans, et pour appartenir a une societe matriarcale, les Touaregs reconnaissent plus de droits aux femmes qu'aux hommes. Et ce sont les hommes qui se voilent le visage, quoique pas pour raisons religieuses.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

I Was once a Tuareg



To avoid distinguishing myself from my Tuareg friends on a 102-camel salt caravan across the Tenere, one of the Sahara's most dangerous regions, I wrapped my face up like theirs, though not all the way to the eyes. At age 30 I was reporting on the caravan on assignment for National Geographic.
 
A year earlier, over 30 days, I had ridden a camel with the Tuareg from Agadez, Niger, to Tamanrasset, Algeria. My story had made the cover of Venture magazine and led me to the National Geographic assignment. It also ended as a cover story and would be followed by many more adventure stories in that magazine.

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Pour eviter de me distinguer entre mes amis Tuareg au milieu d'une caravane de sel de 102 chameaux qu'a l'age de 30 ans je suivis durant pres d'un mois a travers le Tenere, l'une des regions les plus dangereuses du Sahara, je me suis fait habiller par eux.
 
L'annee precedente j'avais deja voyage a chameau un mois entre Agadez, au Niger, et Tamanrasset, en Algerie. Cela m'avait valu un reportage en couverture dans Venture magazine et un contrat de National Geographic pour cete nouvelle aventure, qui resulta en un nouvel article de couverture et bien d'autres aventures pour ce magazine.


 

Monday, June 25, 2012

Life in the Amazon



Brazil. Rio Negro at Manaus.Canoes bring plantain and bananas to land, where men carry them up to warehouses for sale at markets.
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Sunday, June 24, 2012

Motherhood under a Leather Tent


Niger. Sahel. Tuareg nomad mother and baby boy sitting on the sand of their leather tent.
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Saturday, June 23, 2012

Celebrating the Coronation of a New Zulu King




 On a 1957 Brussels-Cape Town Vespa scooter journey across the length of Africa, I took this picture of the celebration of a new Zulu chief near Durban, South Africa. I was trying to become a photojournalist  but failed in that first intent. One of the reasons was that tiny Belgium was not the right place for such a dream. To live the dream, for which I'll ever be grateful, I emigrated to the United States. 
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Thursday, June 21, 2012

Male Beauty Contest



Niger. Sahel. Standing in a moving row,  Wodaabe nomad men, including these two, are swaying more than dancing the gerewol while showing to a parallel row of women facing them the whiteness of their eyes and teeth. More than anything, the gerewol is a male beauty contest between clans. A few women, selected by the elders for their own beauty, are kneeling between the two rows of opposite genders. They will select the best looking men and take them to the bush. Folded on their heads are the blankets they will use to rest in pairs.
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Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Shared Sadness


Ecuador. Andes Mountains. Otavalo. Otavalo Indian waiting for a bus after buying a piglet at the market.
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