Remembering Namibia’s Heroes
EACH year we commemorate and celebrate national heroes in their different capacities and better still, in their own rights. Some we celebrate in high public profile, some in their traditional localities while some we remember somewhat emotionally, in their family settings. We do not seem to have found a set formula for recognising our heroes, all our heroes and celebrating their lives and their contributions in their diverse magnitudes.
Witness Heroes’ Day at Vaalgras, Otshandi, Okahandja, Okeseta, Otjunda, Windhoek, Ngwezi, Gibeon; Rundu and you will find at least two distinguishing features. One that the importance of the day will be different from locality to locality as dictated by the interests of the particular traditional or political community. Two the composition of the head table on the day of the celebrations will speak volumes on whether there is affinity between the state and the community in question. In some cases the relationship with the State is influenced or even distorted by the obtaining political relations in the local community. When one community is close to Government or local dominant party leadership, latter will enjoy prominence in the order of the day.
Another difficulty is presented by perceptions on the different Heroes’ Days for commemorations. So will the day commemorating the works, life and times of Hendrik Witbooi be linked to the Witboois, The tenth of December to the people of the Ou Lokasie, Cassinga Day to the People of Swapo while a day like August 26 will be carved up between Swapo and the Ovaherero leadership and communities, albeit characterised by unyielding internal strife. This strife is at times so pronounced that prospective programmes have to be aborted because of the inherent tensions which are not limited to the Ovaherero only. They extend to a number of our communities and have threatened to tear apart hitherto solid communities such as the Batswana of Namibia and the Ovaherero of Vaalgras. Latter community was for the longest time resolute behind the leadership of King Stefanus Tjikuirire and is as of late caught in the throes on the model for leadership.
Let me be quick to add that the worst part of these conflicts is that, the contending groups tend to get defensive against any critical views on these tensions and I expect to be carved up for meddling in local affairs of one or the other community, for daring to raise this concern. This reminds me of an old Brazilian Bishop by the name Don Helda Camara who used to say in the face of critical views towards him: “When I feed the hungry they call me Saint… When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me Communist!” We tend to agree with critics for as long as their arguments reflect our point of view.
My last word goes to our leaders, all our leaders in their respective capacities. We need to review the practice of burying our head in the sand with regard to the recognition of our heroes and the divergent intensities with which we commemorate important days in the history of our nation-state and our people. For this way we may be inadvertently nurturing a powder-keg complex enough to complicate our resolve to build a One Namibia One Nation. Namibia is a child of international solidarity and it is instructive to learn from what served as draw backs for other nations and what others avoided in order not to be caught in national strife. No one escapes this challenge; there are no short-cuts to progress.