Bush of ghosts: life and war in Namibia 1986-90

Title: Bush of ghosts: life and war in Namibia 1986-90

Photographer(s): John Liebenberg

Writer(s): Patricia Hayes

Designer(s): mrdesign

Publisher(s): Umuzi, Cape Town, South Africa

Year: 2010

Print run:

Language(s): English

Pages: 272

Size: 21 x 28 cm

Binding: Softcover

Edition:

Print: Times Offset Sdn Bhd, Malaysia

Nation(s) and year(s) of Protest: Namibia,1984-1992

ISBN: 9781415201008

War can hide many things but not everything, and a camera can see more than is supposed.

The photographs in this title, taken from 1986 to 1990, show the 'Border War' where the chief antagonists were the South African Defence Force and Swapo, the South West Africa People's Organisation. John Liebenberg's camera entered many places where cameras were not allowed, and his photographs show much of what has remained hidden ever since. They show battles fought and life lived on both sides, regardless of the conflict. Then they take us into the tumultuous transition period when international forces entered the theatre of conflict, and finally to the aftermath in Namibia, when a fledgling nation was testing its wings and living with its ghosts.

The photographic narrative is strongly augmented by the contextualising essay by historian Patricia Hayes, by transcripts of conversations between herself and Liebenberg as they worked through his archive, and by Liebenberg's own extended comments about most of the images. The title is material for historians and a valuable resource for photographers. But mostly it is a space of recall for those who were there, and a reminder for those who were not.