Out of Africa

'Out of Africa' is a creative non-fiction story arising out of a Congolese life-history project, involving Sagamba Muhira, now an Australian citizen and a former refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Jim Page, an Australian anthropologist and adjunct academic with the University of New England, Australia. Last year (2021) the story garnered public recognition as joint winner in the Banjo Paterson Literary Award. For further information on the award see: http://www.cwl.nsw.gov. au/2021/07/31/banjo-paterson-writing-award-winners-3/

Life-history writing is an established anthropological method, wherein the subject tells his/her story with the assistance of a secondary support writer. A good example of this is the 1978 work “Elota’s Story” (UQ Press), by Elota of Ga’enaafou and Roger Keesing. In life-history writing, the narrative is in the first person, and such work can reasonably be considered a non-traditional research output.

This project is important for a number of reasons. It is important for Australians to understand refugee experience and what this involves. It is important to have more culturally diverse voices in Australia and in Australian literature. Perhaps most of all, it is important for Australians to understand what war is really like. The co-authors are currently working on a book-length narrative, and the project is currently registered with the Australian Cultural Fund, at: https://artists.australianculturalfund.org.au/s/ project/a2E9q0000009ZKNEA2/congolese-lifehistory-project.