Research point - Us and them

I started by googling wildly and randomly and came across this Morocco poster by an artist called Alex Asfor who I can find very little about. He has produced a large number of travel posters in flat bright colours. Generally they are quite innocuous but I find the Morocco poster quite condescending I think primarily  because of the camels. The message that I take from the poster is that Morocco is pretty and quaint but backward. Although there is a jet plane flying overhead, down on the ground there is no modern technology and the buildings are old. The whole scene is watched by a couple who are clearly tourists, although we only see their silhouettes they are dressed in close-fitting western clothes. Morocco is a Muslim country and although western clothes are acceptable in cities locals tend to wear less revealing clothes and women often wear a headscarf, it is normal to wear a looser long sleeved garment called a Djellaba in many areas.
So what should he have done differently? Cars might help, and fewer camels, maybe even no camels, I don't think that they add anything to the picture, nor does the airplane. I'm not sure how he should have handled the figures in the foreground. They do give a sense of depth to the picture, so maybe they should either be joined by some locals. If not, maybe the locals should be enjoying the view rather than tourists.
A different take on them and us are these posters for Air India which were made in the 1950's and 1960's and feature a cartoon character known as the Maharaja who appears all over the world dressed as himself but taking part in local activities such as joining bowler hatted commuters in the smog or taking part in a tea ceremony in Osaka.  He both joins in with "them" and remains apart. Instantly recognisable, he never stops being himself. The posters were created in Bombay under the direction of J.B Cowasji although I think that they were drawn by a number of different artists. The campaign is lighthearted and engaging, the Mahaja does not appear oppressed by the different situations that he finds himself in and seems to be happy and enjoying himself.  I wouldn't want to change anything about these illustrations.
The sense of them and us in a picture is a projection which in many cases comes from the viewer. I'm afraid that I didn't see Sir Henry Morton Stanley's engraving in the text  as anything more than a quaint historical picture. That might be because I didn't look closely enough or that I lack the education and insight to realise what I am being shown, but maybe if I saw a significant difference between me and those depicted in the picture I would take it as a reinforcement of my prejudices.
I admire the work of George Butler but looking at it objectively I see that his work is about observing "them" and I can't see how he can report on different cultures and situations without being apart from them. I know that he immerses himself in the places that he visits to draw what he sees, but he is a white Englishman observing the war-torn and the dispossessed.  In an equal world these pictures should be made by someone indigenous to the place that they are portraying, but they may not have Butler's skill. Also, sometimes it takes an outsider to see things objectively and the outsider may be better able to make a picture that resonates with the world that he or she comes from. If illustration can spark change it needs to work on those on the outside who may have the resources to facilitate that change, one assumes that those within the situation have tried and failed to make changes and need a different viewpoint to unstick things.