Notes on opening paragraphs of Passage to Africa

In these opening paragraphs George Alagiah sets the tone, atmosphere and physical setting of the passage. He combines colloquial phrases with with devices such as three-part lists and short, simple sentences to create images that stick in the reader's minds.A tense atmosphere of trepidation is created as he withholds the full horror of what he saw, allowing room for the reader's imagination to fill in the blanks with their knowledge of Africa from new broadcasts etc. .