Arjen Westra
Nairobi, Kenya
Is a Dutch freelance journalist who came to Africa with a bag, a laptop and an FM2a in 2002. Since then he contributed to many magazines, newspapers and radio stations from all over the contact with his stories. My writing career started in 1994 when i wrote my first story for the newspaper that i used to deliver. Film is a natural step in my evolution as a storyteller and the most beautiful mediumtype. Cinema gives me the opportunity to tell stories rooted in society in my own way. In a landscape of self censorship is more and more a common practice, film is one of the few ways to tell the necessary stories to keep them for future generation, that’s what I strongly belief. Telling the stories that matter in different ways: as an actor, as a photographer and as a writer.
- Editorial
- Events
- Interior
- Interview
- Landscape
- Military embed
- Reporting
- Wildlife
Market in Mozambique
Arjen Westra
Three days in a row, I went back to this market in #Chimoio, #Mozambique to get to know the #people, to have people get used to me walking around with my camera. Finally on day three, I had what I wanted: the perfect angle of the sun and the woman on the left with the right amount of dust. Until today, it’s one of my favorite pictures.
Miraa trade in Harar - Ethiopia
Arjen Westra
The selling of #khat (#qat, #miraa #kwatt) at the old city of #Harar, #Ethiopia. Trade continues 24/7 as the wealth of the region is built on these leaves. In #Ethiopia places outside the home where people can come to buy and chew khat are called Makamiya Betoch. This is where folks gather in social groups, along with bundles of khat and settle in for an afternoon of chatter, contemplation and watching soccer on TV. Recently, Khat has even been blamed for funding #terrorism. Whatever your opinion is of Khat the drug, the fact is this is a multi-million dollar industry and a cash crop that keeps on giving for many peasants who grow it in the Horn of Africa