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Nova 1035
I’ve been thinking that it is time I restarted what turned out to be a rather short-lived blog but, rather than sticking to the format of “This Week I Thought…” where I would upload a post on a Friday evening, I’m going to take the pressure off of myself and change it to a blog I can update ‘as-and-when’ I feel like doing so/have something I think is worth saying.
This morning I got to interview conservationist and author Peter Bridgeford about his new book in which he collects and shares more stories from the early days of Namibian conservation (https://iono.fm/e/1693015). During our discussion Peter mentioned the historical importance of his books, explaining how in his second book he talks to many of the early tourism pioneers in the country and how the people who work at the camps and resorts that they helped establish, like /Ai-/Ais, Waterberg, or even Etosha, need to know the stories behind the places they work at.
I also recently finished reading Maverick by Lauren Beukes in which she tells the condensed history of some of South Africa’s most remarkable women, most of who I had heard about before, but many of whom I learnt a lot more about by reading her book.
This got me thinking about how there have to be just as many remarkable women in Namibia’s history but we know nothing about them. The subjects of Lauren Beukes’ book have had newspaper articles, and some even books, written about them, there are legal documents that detail their (mis)adventures. Many of their stories have even passed into folklore, often embellished and romanticised, truth and myth blending into one.
The important thing though is that their stories have been told but those of Namibia’s extraordinary women, and so many other important players in our history, have not, but need to be.
Peter Bridgeford was right, it is important that people’s stories be told, but even more important that they be recorded, set down in a way that makes them accessible to everyone so that we too can celebrate our Mavericks.
