Futuro Berg Fredes - Christopher

I initially establish contact with Futuro back in 2019 when he was documenting the journey of thousands of migrants in southern Mexico. Since then we have been in touch and have often shared our views on migration and the world we live in. I have learned so much from interesting conversations we have had. Futuro is originally from Chile but migrated to Europe where after living in a few places  in Europe he finally decided to travel to  Sweden where he currently lives. Back in Mexico he met Christopher from  Cameroon who he became friends with.  

This short account explains the troubles of traveling miles from your home to try and find a new horizon and  opportunities to succeed. 

Christopher by Futuro Berg

I met Christopher, a migrant from Cameroon, in May 2019 while working as an interpreter and

coordinator for a large NGO in Tapachula, Mexico, near the Guatemalan border. In the middle of a bustling migrant area, I saw him struggling to communicate with a shop owner in English and stepped in to translate. That brief encounter turned into a lasting connection. With no support beyond a few Cameroonian friends, Christopher was making the long, dangerous journey toward the U.S. 

We exchanged numbers, and I offered to help with legal guidance and information about the treacherous path ahead. A few days later, we met again for tacos—his first time trying them. When he set off toward Mexicali—a route known for its blistering heat and gang violence—I reached out to my network. My friend Danielle Padilla connected him to a shelter where he could find brief respite. 

By another twist of fate, I was later assigned to Tijuana to help set up an integration program, and we reunited once more. We walked the streets of the city, talking about dreams, fears, and the strength that kept him going. As his turn on the U.S. asylum waiting list approached, he told me, “If you don’t hear from me soon, it means I’ve crossed.”

Then came the silence. For weeks, I feared the worst. Eventually, through Dani’s network, we

discovered Christopher had been detained at the Adelanto Detention Center in California. At that point, our relationship shifted—what began as aid transformed into something much deeper. Over the next seven months, Dani, Christopher, and I formed a kind of long-distance alliance, united across borders by our will to keep hope alive.

Around March or April of 2020, at the start of the pandemic, Christopher was finally released. Dani welcomed him with open arms, and they spent a bittersweet day together by the ocean—bonding through a connection we had nurtured over time and distance. From that moment on, our friendship continued to grow, rooted in trust, care, and shared struggle.

Christopher eventually settled in Washington, D.C., where he became part of a diverse and vibrant community of Cameroonians, other Africans, Latinos, and African Americans. In 2022, three years after our last in-person meeting, I visited him in D.C. and began photographing our time together. This became the DC Rendezvous series—an ongoing project that documents not only our friendship, but also the people and urban spaces I encounter.

In 2024, something truly special happened: for the first time, the three of us—Dani, Christopher, and I—were together in the same place. We reunited in D.C., where many of the photographs in this project were taken. That moment brought full circle the journey we had shared across borders and years.

Thanks to the same NGO that had supported him during his detention, Christopher’s wife, Glory, and their two children were finally able to join him in late 2023. Their reunion marked a new chapter—not only for Christopher and his family, but also for us. In 2024, they welcomed their third child: Danielle Futura, named in honor of the friendship that stood by Christopher’s side throughout his journey to safety. What an honor.

To view more about Futuro Berg’s work please go to Instagram: @futuroberg