ARCHIOPERA

Africa

For many, Africa is all about the wildlife and the safaris. There’s a sense of deeper understanding of the world when you see these creatures in the right context. The power and energy I felt is hard to explain in words. It was a special experience that I couldn’t do justice with photography. Sometimes we have to put the cameras away and absorb the world that is happening around us.

I couldn’t help feeling that tourism is an irony. They say, we need to interfere with these animals to protect them from other human interventions. The tour industry helps with the local economy, but the economy is what’s making these people poor. Messed up creatures we are.

Simply going along for a ride through the various landscapes is an amazing experience. From the desert of Namibia to the jungles in Uganda, I’ve felt the enormity of Africa in its variations. Despite the different terrain and the lifestyles, there is a sense of unified Africa wherever I visited. Perhaps, it has to do with the people. Maybe it’s just the way tourism portrays it.

Masai tribe is famously known for being commercialized. Many tour companies no longer include visits to their villages because of this. Himbas are becoming the same. They love to barter for their junk souvenirs and negotiate how much money they can charge for the photo-ops. Shame, they used to be known as the most beautiful tribe, about to be reduced to just another rip-off in global tourism.

As much as I believe tourism is great for cultural exchange and individual realization of the world, we must also understand that it destroys it. Just as the Europeans brought flu to the Americas, we are introducing new diseases to the continent. While children play in PET bottle scattered fields, the natural wonders have become traffic jams of tourists. Great warriors that once battle lions are now selling t-shirts and trading cryptos. Seemed the true spirit of Africa only exists in tales and in our fantasies. I hope I’m wrong.

I honestly don’t know what to make of my time in Africa. Obviously, I enjoyed the travel, but couldn’t help that I as only seeing it through the goggles of tourism. I was part of the product. Unfortunately, it had to be that way because I won’t survive three days there without its protection. It’s a shame because I know Africa has so much more to offer and I’d love another opportunity to find out.