Last year, the World Press Photo 06 exhibit, Contemporary Issues First Prize story introduced us to Kingsley, a young Cameroonian whose journey we follow as he travels into Europe, as a clandestine immigrant ... looking for his perception of that better life. Olivier Jobard is the photographer.
Only 6 images from Olivier's documentary, Kingley's Crossing were shown, however it was a series that engaged viewers, especially students.
A few weeks after the exhibit came down, I was at the Great White North Workshop and Geo Perdis handed me his video ipod and said to go somewhere quiet and view/listen. It was the full documentary podcast of Kingley's Crossing.
It was my introduction to photo podcasts and I found it to be incredibly moving. Oliver's photographs and Kingsley's own voice and words tell a powerful and engaging story that is not easily forgotten. The story offers a powerful insight into what is experienced around the world by far too many Kingsleys each year.
Kingley's Crossing should be required viewing in every Politics / World Issues classroom in the country.
The podcast is hosted on MediaStorm and may be viewed free. It is about 22 minutes and promise it will be worth your time.
Kingsley is a 23-year-old lifeguard from the West African coastal town of Limbe, Cameroon. Though he longed to be a professional footballer, French soldiers trained him to become a lifeguard, and Kingsley soon found himself working at an upscale hotel giving swimming lessons to visiting Europeans. He earned just 50 euros a month, enough to pay for food and the rented two-room house he shared with his parents and seven siblings.
"Most families in my country want their children to go to Europe," Kingsley says. It is in Europe—the new El Dorado—that African immigrants can vastly increase their incomes while also providing for their families back home. So, in May of 2004, Kingsley left Cameroon on what he calls "his mission." What followed was an excruciating six-month journey across half of Africa.
Kingsley's Crossing is the story of one man's willingness to abandon everything—his family, his country, and his friends—in the hopes of finding a better life abroad. Award-winning French photojournalist Olivier Jobard documents the passage.
