Nossob Nuus: Theme for 2022 Reparations Walk is ''Not Anymore'' says Ovaherero-Ovambanderu Genocide Foundation

by Kae Matundu-Tjiparuro

    The 15th anniversary of the annual Swakopmund Reparations Walk, scheduled for 25-27 March, 2022, in Swakopmund, comes exactly five (5) days after the country’s 32nd independence anniversary celebrations which, this year, was held in the very same coastal town of Swakopmund.

    It is, however, sad and remarkable to note that no mention was made by the officialdom, during this occasion, of the human remains scattered in the dunes of the Namib desert, just opposite the Vineta Sportsgrounds, where the gathering was held. These, one must add, are the human remains of those valiant warriors who waged a direct war of resistance against German imperialism, right in the heart of mother Namibia. And yes, their blood too, as much as that of other martyrs, waters the freedom that is celebrated on 21 March, every year.

    The Reparations Walk has since 2007 been observed annually on or around 25 March by the descendants of the victims of the genocide committed against the Ovaherero, Ovambanderu, and Nama during the period 1904 to 1908.

    March 25, 2007, was the day the United Nations General Assembly declared as an observance day to mark 200 years since the abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. The Namibian coastline provided an essential route for the shipment of Africans as slaves to the Americas. As such, the Ovaherero-Ovambanderu Genocide Foundation deemed it appropriate to pay homage also to Namibians who had been trafficked and / or never received dignified burials, and whose remains, until this day in an independent Namibia, lie scattered in the dunes of the Namib desert.

    The 32nd independence anniversary celebrations took place in this very Swakopmund which housed one of several concentration camps in which many Ovaherero, Ovambanderu, and Nama were incarcerated under unbearable conditions during imperial Germany’s brutal colonial period. Thousands of these prisoners of war eventually succumbed due to the harsh conditions of their detention and forced labour.

    The Namibian government has been hard at work to convince descendants of the victims of that genocide about the efficacy of the joint declaration between it and the German government, as a requisite restorative justice instrument. But the top echelons of our state were there, a few kilometres away at the Vineta Sportsgrounds, basking in the ''freedom watered by the blood'' of, among others, those whose remains are yet to receive proper burial with appropriate monuments to create a lasting memorialisation for this dark chapter in our history.

    The Namibian state and government have obligations to the victims of this genocide and it is about time it takes concrete steps to recognise the genocide of the Ovaherero, Ovambanderu, and Nama people and come up with appropriate memorialisation steps to honour the victims and help descendants overcome their trans-generational trauma. We need a proper memorial monument at the site of the concentration camp. We need a genocide memorial day declared in Namibia, enough is enough. We need these minimal things from our state and government. Namibia, show your commitment to the fate of the descendants of the victims.

    For 15 years now the descendants of those whose remains are scattered in the dunes of Swakopmund have ceremoniously decided to continue this tradition of paying homage to their ancestors. This, one must add, without any support from our government. It is against this background that one cannot help but question the sincerity of our government when it suddenly wants these very communities to entrust it with the ultimate prosecution and / or negotiation on this sacred matter of restorative justice of a genocide it has so far ignored if not denied.

    It is accordingly imperative this year, as we mark the 15th anniversary of the Reparations Walk, for the descendants of the victims of genocide committed by imperial Germany, to visit this scared place again. Such visits are necessary to ascertain that all is well with our ancestors given previous and continuous attempts to erase this sad but historic epoch. The dunes on the outskirts of Swakopmund have become the unmarked burial site of our ancestors who had died in that concentration and labour camp.

    This very sacred place has also been a game field where the affluent descendants of the heinous crimes perpetrated against our ancestors have turned into a sports field where they have been flaunting their affluent lifestyles by driving their vehicles in the dunes carelessly and unconcerned about the remains of the valiant Namibian heroes and heroines of resistance against imperial Germany.

    Like the Ovaherero, Ovambanderu, and Nama were destined for extinction by the Extermination Order of then imperial Germany’s commander, General Lothar von Trotha, 118 years ago, their remains scattered in the dunes have also time and again been faced with obliteration by so-called town planning and development endeavours of the Swakopmund Town Council.

    The descendants of those whose remains are scattered in the Swakopmund dunes have ever been vigilant not to have their history erased and their holy shrines desecrated in the process. To preempt such insensitive acts of wanton destruction of the holy shrines of the Ovaherero, Ovambanderu, and Nama descendants, and the erasure of their proud history, these descendants have kept the torch burning and the memorialisation, through the annual Reparations Walk, except for 2020 and 2021 which were the peak years of the dreaded Covid-19 pandemic.

    Needless to say, the spirits of the ancestors, among them in the Swakopmund dunes, have been beckoning and calling, hence the pilgrimage to Swakopmund this weekend to rekindle the spirits of the ancestors. More than ever, when the chicaneries and shenanigans of both the Namibian government and its German counterpart have been laid bare through the dreaded Joint Declaration (JD) and / or Reconciliation Agreement, it behoves the descendants of the victims of genocide to expose them. After the JD was debated in the National Assembly (NA) last November, it was in limbo for a while, only to hear lately news of the two technical committees of the Namibian and German governments meeting this month: not anymore.

    ''Not Anymore'' is the theme of the 15th anniversary of the Swakopmund Reparations Walk. The descendants of genocide are intent this weekend in Swakopmund to determine that enough is enough. The Namibian government and its German counterpart cannot be allowed to further continue to act on their behalf while pursuing their own bilateral agenda.

    In this endeavour, the Ovaherero and Ovambanderu traditional leaders are forging an unprecedented unity in purpose, hence most of them are going to Swakopmund to consult on the way forward and solidify their endeavour in their quest that the new government of the Federal Republic of Germany for once take them seriously as the direct descendants of the victims of its genocide but also that the Namibian government forthwith desist from pretending to act on their behalf.

    Issued by the Information and Publicity Department of the Ovaherero and Ovambanderu Genocide Foundation.

Enquiries

Mr. Kae Matundu-Tjiparuro

M: +264 81 254 0950

E: tjiparurokaezembua@gmail.com / ogfnamibia04@gmail.com