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@thebrightcontinent

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Writer. Correspondent. Going places, questioning my Eurocentric blinkers. @daafborren
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Cruisin’ with the cool kids in Ramin 🛹

From the NADR series by @mariam.khanlou by @thebrightcontinent

In Cachoeira, the ‘Festival of the Waters’ flows through song, memory, and devotion 🤍

A procession of women carries offerings to the Paraguaçu River, bound for Pedra da Baleia, which is a sacred place where (it is said) Yemanjá arrived in the form of a whale, answering the cries of enslaved Africans and choosing to remain with them.

Rooted in the traditions of Candomblé, this ritual carries the living memory of Afro-Brazilian history. Of people forcibly brought across the Atlantic who preserved their beliefs, reshaped them, and transformed pain into culture and faith.

To witness it is to feel history made present.

📸 @__raphadutra by @thebrightcontinent

Dogon heritage in Mali 🇲🇱. Tap the #linkinbio to subscribe to @thebrightcontinent’s travelogues 💡

📸 mijlof by @thebrightcontinent

For children growing up in Laft, an ancient port city on Qeshm Island in the Hormozgan province of Iran, summer is, in better times, defined by the sea.

Photographer @aminrahimizadeh shared with me that when the hot season begins, the kids surrender themselves to the sea, seemingly with no intention of leaving the water until summer comes to an end:

‘Sometimes, I find myself thinking that during this season, everyone seems to have gills, spending more time in the water than on land. Perhaps for my generation summer is defined by the heat. But for them, summer equals water. The sea becomes part of their lives, not just a place to spend their time.’

According to Amin, the relationship between children in coastal towns and the sea is as though their home extends from the land into the water.

‘They live together in harmony, protect the endless leap of water and collect their food and livelihood from it. But there’s more. The sea brings these kids some life lessons. About tranquility, patience and consistency.’

Photos by @aminrahimizadeh by @thebrightcontinent

It has been a while…

..and it’s great to see you’re still here. After some time away, I’ve finally taken a step back to rethink what The Bright Continent is all about and how to share the road ahead with you.

Somehow, over the years I got caught up in a more facilitating role, which ended up consuming most of my time and drawing me away from what The Bright Continent initially meant to be.

So, I’m returning to this platform’s roots and will bring back the meaningful stories you are used to: more dispatches from the field, more lengthy analyses, photo essays, short documentaries and interviews (at times co-created with you and other voices from across the globe).

For The Bright Continent, I will look at the world as an apprentice and collect ‘knowledge from below’ through cultural frameworks, geopolitical trends and regional philosophies. A more clearly defined route will be announced at a later stage, so stay tuned.

For now, you can follow along here, and on Substack (link in bio). If you have any ideas, proposals or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you via my website (also link in bio).

Daaf @daafborren by @thebrightcontinent

Photographer @rafaelabmaia recently visited the Yartung Festival and kindly reported back to us on this celebration of community:

“Villages across Upper Mustang come together for the Yartung Festival, a centuries old celebration marking the end of the harvest season.”

“For several days, communities gather for traditional horse races, riding competitions, music, dancing and feasting. It is a time for locals to come together, celebrate the season’s harvest and enjoy a rare moment of rest before the next cycle begins.”

#uppermustang #onfilm 🎞️ by @thebrightcontinent

Libyan-American photographer (🎞️) @annissadurar likes to trace the beauty of nature back to the land and the people who tend it:

‘From Morocco and Egypt to Oman and Tunisia; flowers and fruits are where it starts for me, the colors and the scents pull me in first.’

‘But what keeps me coming back is what’s behind that beauty, where it grows and the communities that sustain it, and their ties to the land. Beauty always starts where it blooms, and that’s really the whole theme for me, tracing something beautiful back to the place and people who grow it.’

‘Across all four, Morocco, Egypt, Oman and Tunisia, I noticed the same rhythm: a community coming together, a history tied to the land, and a knowledge passed down through generations, work that relies almost entirely on women’s hands.’ by @thebrightcontinent

“I have always thought of myself first as a human being and then as a woman.” - Ismat Chugati

Although largely confined to rural areas, a custom called ‘ghoonghat’, which can also be found in other parts of northern India, is particularly common in Rajasthan. Women cover their faces in front of elders, in-laws, or in certain public settings as a mark of modesty and social custom.

Change is happening in the state, however. Young women from the countryside often abandon the veil when they arrive at college. Many women in urban areas have discarded the custom.

Beautifully captured by photographer @sujanyaaa_ by @thebrightcontinent

In just three months, this has become the largest Ebola outbreak that the DRC has ever known. The figures are alarming, and the virus is spreading at lightning speed.

But beyond the headlines are lives and stories: men and women fighting every day to save lives and families torn apart by the death of their loved ones. It is a journey from hope to sorrow.

By now, the virus has claimed more than 3,000 lives. Let’s not allow silence to accompany its path.

Dispatches and photos from Ituri 🇨🇩, by @juuldewa for @doctorswithoutborders by @thebrightcontinent

After the catastrophic 2010 floods, countless spiders sought refuge by climbing up into the trees to avoid the rising water. Because the floodwaters lingered for so long, the trees ended up wrapped in massive sheets of spider silk, transforming parts of Sindh, Pakistan into a strange and confronting sight.

Beautiful images by @russellphoto
via @timetobehave by @thebrightcontinent

Gao 💛, a city in northern Mali that looks like an organic part of the desert, remains at the crossroads of violence and terror fuelled by a range of (non-)state armed groups. As recently as last week, residents were shaken by fresh attacks.

An excerpt from my book:

While embedded as a correspondent on patrol with UN peacekeepers, we made our way through the neighbourhoods, where the ruins of houses destroyed in the recent violence were still fresh.

But daily life went on too, with pleasant scenes that would never make it to a European copy desk. Further down the road there were soldiers helping a boy push his scooter out of the loose sand. Children were playing, a youth centre filled up again following midday prayers, teenagers were running after a ball like a rampaging herd and at the banks of the Niger, an antique loudspeaker poking out of the boot of a taxi was producing crackling jazz melodies.

Gao may have been at the heart of violence and terror for years now, but it is also one of the friendliest places I’ve ever visited. It keeps reminding me that in the darkest depths of our planet, you can somehow find the very best of humanity as well. by @thebrightcontinent

Okê Caboclo! 💚

The Caboclos de Lança emerged in the late 19th century, in the sugarcane mills of Pernambuco’s Zona da Mata. They are the central figures of Maracatu Rural, a folk tradition of music, dance, procession, and ritual rooted in the rural communities of Pernambuco.

It embodies the resilience and cultural syncretism of rural workers, weaving together local, African and European traditions.

They wear heavy, hand-embroidered costumes, crafted slowly and with extraordinary care. Their wooden lance, adorned with ribbons and fabric, is a symbol of protection and defense. The flower, or carnation, held between the lips is believed to close the body, ward off evil, and preserve strength and resolve.

Words and pictures by @brunnokawagoe

#brasil by @thebrightcontinent