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Local News|
Tuesday, August 19, 2008 - Web posted at 7:53:02 AM GMT War orphans want veterans' benefits CHRISTOF MALETSKYDISCONTENT is brewing among jobless children of parents who died in exile because they have been left out of the registration of war veterans. |
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A group of the young people demonstrated in front of the Ministry of Veterans' Affairs on Tuesday, demanding inclusion in the registration for grants and jobs. "Why should we be excluded from the registration of our parents? Many of us have lost our dear ones whose blood waters our freedom but why are we not getting compensation for it," the young people wrote in a petition to Veterans' Affairs Minister Ngarikutuke Tjiriange. Tjiriange promised to take their concerns to Cabinet. It is not the first time that the young Swapo supporters are demanding that Government provide them with jobs and education opportunities. In 2001, the protesters, of whom the youngest was 18 and the oldest 37 years old, camped in the veld near the party's headquarters in Katutura and demanded to be employed in Government, especially in the Special Field Force. Government has previously said that those who were too young to fight on the frontline in the liberation struggle cannot be considered as ex-fighters and are therefore ineligible for employment schemes targeting former combatants. "We feel we are being treated as second-class citizens who are of no importance," said the chairperson of the 'Children Born in Exile' group, Nghikongelwa Tangeni. He said they were not after money but jobs for a better future. When they apply for jobs, he said, they are being told to "go back to Angola". "We are not going to leave this matter unattended to. Even if the sky comes down rolling, we will struggle for what we believe in," Tangeni said. He said many of them had Grade 10 and 12 certificates but their job applications were rejected and they were now too inexperienced for well-paid jobs. Tangeni said their discontent had been simmering for some time now and had reached a boiling point. "Our fellow comrades appealed to you (Government) for help but it later went on to a demonstration in 2001. Many of them ended up in prison. Unlike them, we are not going to quit. We are going to see this through 100 per cent," Tangeni told Tjiriange when they handed over the petition. He said the group was "not willing to accept peanuts" because too many years had passed without them benefiting from the Independence struggle waged by their parents. "Now, it is our time to act," Tangeni said. The 2001 group camped for more than a month before they went back empty-handed. Tangeni said they gave the Government 14 workdays to come up with jobs for them. They have not specified what action they would take if Government did not meet their demands. |
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