From the Ground
Writing that begins with being there.
Pieces rooted in direct observation, lived experience, remembered places, conversations or first-hand encounters.
First-hand experience can reveal texture and context, but it is not the same thing as representative evidence.
From the Ground archive
Only pieces with a clear first-hand or place-based foundation are collected here.
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How War Erodes Humanity and Takes Us Years Back: The Situation in Belo and the English-Speaking Part of Cameroon
Read piece →: How War Erodes Humanity and Takes Us Years Back: The Situation in Belo and the English-Speaking Part of CameroonI arrived Belo at about 3:05 p.m. The sun was bright. People of every age filled Three Corners, moving in all directions as trade pulled them along. It was Friday, Belo market day, and the place was alive. Music of every kind…
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Ten at the Tapping Trees
Read piece →: Ten at the Tapping TreesI grew up in a small CDC camp called Kompina Camp II in the Littoral region of Cameroon where electricity and portable water weren’t things we even dreamed of. My father was a CDC rubber plantation worker, and had farming and hunting…
For essays and commentary beyond first-hand work, browse Writing →
