– Sometimes you have to be in no man’s land to find yourself. Aleksandra Ørbeck-Nilssen is on a short visit home in Norway for a modeling assignment when news meets her. She has worked as a model since she was 14 years old. When she was 15, she moved out of the country. Three years later she went on holiday in Namibia in Africa. A holiday that turned into a permanent stay. MODEL AND ACTIVIST: Aleksandra moved to Namibia as an 18-year-old. She still takes modeling assignments but mostly works to preserve nature, animals and indigenous people. After living in big cities such as New York and Paris, it was still where she felt at home for the first time. “The last guardians of nature” For 12 years, she has worked closely with the San people in Namibia. They are the oldest ethnic group in southern Africa. The colonization here almost led to a war of extermination and they were driven from their areas. The people are hunters and gatherers and consider themselves the last guardians of nature. When Aleksandra moved here, she started getting involved in nature projects and has herself started the organization Nanofasa Conservation Trust, where the purpose is to preserve nature, animals and indigenous people. She has also learned fluent Khoisan, which is a clique language spoken in the country. – The big and the little hungry However, the commitment to work took its toll on Aleksandra’s health. At one point her body was attacked by parasites and she was dying of blood poisoning. She then realized that she had to take some action to be able to get better. A comment from his friend Cui was to be the trigger. – We sit around a fire where he tells me that there is nothing more in my eyes. They start talking about what it is that gives meaning in life. – You have two hungers in life. The big one and the little one. The small one is the stomach, which is easy to do something about. The big one is the meaning of life and a kind of belonging, she says. HIKING FRIENDS: On the walk, Aleksandra took Cui and Kamache with her. She refers to them as her San brothers. Together, she and her friends Cui and Kamache decide to embark on a walk across Namibia. 1,490 kilometers without food and money where they have to gather and catch their own food. NAMIBIA: The 1,490 kilometer walk went from the east edge of the country to the west coast. They get a small film crew to accompany them on the 30-day walk. And the result has become the documentary “The long journey”. SPECTACULAR NATURE: The walk of about 150 miles went from east to west in Namibia. The road and the goal The three friends had a common goal for the journey: They were to search for what could give their lives meaning. – Cui was looking for new stories to tell people back home in the village. Because as a nomad who is no longer allowed to be nomadic, he did not have the tool that could bring the people together. Kamache wanted to be able to experience and learn more about the culture of the San people. The younger generation does not have the same affinity with their own cultural heritage. SURVIVAL: They slept every night out in nature and ate food they gathered and caught themselves or got from people they met on the road. Photo: POKIESER And for Aleksandra, it was about finding the next step. – I gained an insight that creativity can save the world, and I believe that there are no problems in the world that cannot be solved by us sitting down and finding creative solutions together. – I don’t think that saving the world should be a fight or a war, it should be our greatest work of art. That is why she refers to herself today as a creative nature activist rather than an angry activist. HELPS ANIMALS: Among other things, Aleksandra has worked to help animals since she moved to Namibia. “When my heart is well” – I now know what it really feels like to be well. The San people have an expression that says “when my heart is good”. I now know what that means, and I didn’t know what that meant until I went on that walk across Namibia. – The biggest lesson I am left with after crossing Namibia is the importance of belonging. We need to feel that we belong to something. THE LONG JOURNEY: The documentary has been very successful in France and will now be broadcast on news. The documentary “The long journey” can be seen on NRK1 tonight at 2120 and on news TV.
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Model Aleksandra Ørbeck-Nilssen made a film about crossing Namibia on foot – news Culture and entertainment
