Basireletsi ba Noka
& The Land of Honey

Before embarking on this edition of Invisible Borders, I wanted to focus on the details of the different landscapes we would encounter, the people who inhabit them, and how they reveal the undercurrents of local histories and experiences. However, I almost always encountered a distance between people I met on this trip and myself due to the cloud of tourism and my socioeconomic privilege. Therefore, I had to interrogate myself and decide how to establish a connection between myself and others to reduce the distance. I tried to be as open and vulnerable as possible about who I am, how I was raised and my family and say what’s on my mind because I know consent requires great vulnerability on the part of the sitter and that it is a great act of generosity.

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During our last full day in Namibia, we encountered a man named Jermaine Ketchi just outside the Kavango River lodge, where a beautiful open landscape of the Kavango river border separates Namibia and Angola. Jermaine has called himself a river protector, and he comes to the river every day to receive blessings from it and to leave the burdens of past days behind where they will wash away. Throughout this journey, I encountered many people trying to protect themselves and the river from different forces. 

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