Everyone should back Herero reparations
A HUNDRED years ago the German High Command, acting on instructions from the Kaiser of the time, issued a terrible proclamation to their troops in colonial Deutsch Suedwestafrica.
Annihilate the native Herero nuisance, or an order to that effect.
This was not the first 'Final Solution' war cry issued by German
warriors in history.
The barbarian invasions of Attila the Hun [Attila was not German
but a central-Asian invader of Europe. Ed.] into ancient Rome
(sic.) also followed proclamations that gave the order for a
scorched-earth policy.
The Herero challenge to the colonisers was no doubt a pain in
their backside and could not to be tolerated for long by the
militarily superior Schutztruppe.
That they had infringed upon the rights of the people who
inhabited the country before them was of no consequence to the
imperial army.
'Might was right' in those terrible days of white supremacy and
black people who dared to stand in the way of the explorers,
colonisers, hunters and discoverers were simply shot without
compunction.
And so it came about that the Herero people who saw their land
being taken away by white men, took up their spears to challenge
the Kaiser's might.
Continuous Herero harassment of the Schutztruppe and the many
colonial officials who were daily entering the country in big
numbers, finally led to the order by Von Trotha to exterminate the
whole Herero nation.
The imperial army needed no second bidding.
In those days, human rights were not even considered an issue
when it came to dealing with black people.
White men killing black people were thought to be doing Europe a
good service.
Nobody even complained afterwards about the killings, except
some missionaries.
And, although Germany eventually lost the country to other
foreign powers after the WW I, exterminating those they regarded as
their enemies remained a part of their national strategy during
war.
This bizarre policy was to be repeated 36 years later during the
WW II when the Germans gave another imperial order to exterminate
the Jews.
The world stood helplessly by as Jews were collected in cattle
trucks across Europe and transported to the extermination camps of
Adolf Hitler in what became known as the Final Solution.
There are strong similarities here.
Herero people were also herded into extermination camps and
either shot or hanged in large numbers.
Those who took to their heels were followed on horseback by the
bloodthirsty troops and put to the sword.
Jews were herded into extermination camps and either shot or
simply gassed and then burnt in huge ovens.
Today, many people in Germany do not want to even hear a
'whisper' about this ugly story.
No, it humiliates their country and destroys their dignity in
the eyes of the world.
After all, Germany is a highly developed, civilised and
prosperous country.
Why should such a first-world nation be linked to such barbaric
acts? Well, well, well...it happened, period.
There's nothing any well-respected German priest, human rights
lawyer, businessman or politician can do about it today.
Much as many citizens of Germany would wish to see the whole
sordid affair being swept under a carpet, this ugly stain will
haunt them until the Lord comes back.
The time for reparation is therefore due now.
What is reparation actually? It is the 'Please Forgive Me' or
'Good Neighbourliness' approach.
When someone has been hurt in southern Africa we have inherited
the word Sorry from the Afrikaans word 'Ekskuus/Askies'.
We hear this word all the time and it is even whispered in
churches.
'Askies' makes all the difference.
One can never buy off hurt, but one can say ''askies followed by
a small token to the one who is hurt, to make up for the hurt.
In Africa, if a man's cattle destroy a neighbour's crops, he has
to make for this by either giving a sum of money or sharing his
harvest with the party that lost everything.
That is his 'askies'.
Those who travel the Trans-Kalahari highway know what happens
when they accidentally hit a cow and it is killed in Botswana.
'Askies' to the owner means Pulas on the spot to make up for the
loss of his cow or goat.
But the issue of the Herero people in this case is not about
crops or livestock, but human beings.
Lets think about a whole race wiped from the face of the earth -
the Herero people nearly became extinct last century.
Anybody who says reparation must not be paid to the Herero
people betrays them and betrays the cause of liberation in
Africa.
Namibians must not look at this serious matter from the point of
view of (Chief Kauima) Riruako getting millions and becoming rich,
as this is very often the shallow way that some of us Africans look
at such matters.
No, a people was brutalised and traumatised by men on horseback,
mercilessly hunting them down like wild animals.
There is no other country in Africa where such an order was ever
given by colonisers and executed.
And so there are those who are totally against reparation to the
Herero people for reasons only known to them of course.
Others argue that Germany is already pumping millions into the
Namibian economy in the form of aid and so on.
The crux of the matter is: When the Herero people were
exterminated.
Namibia did not exist.
There was no general call to arms such as the one made in the
Sixties for the total liberation of South West Africa.
No, no one came to help the Herero people except the Nama
people, who were fighting their own battles anyway.
Furthermore, the Herero people of that period occupied land that
was theirs and they would fight any other tribe - be it Owambo,
Kavango or Caprivi, if they had come to settle on it.
To refer to Namibia in this matter is totally out of
(historical) context.
Furthermore, as far as is known, the Herero people started with
the campaign of demanding reparation before Namibia's
independence.
In like manner, the state of Israel was non-existent when the
Jews were exterminated by Germany.
In fact, Israel was only created three years after the WW II -
long after six million Jews were killed in Germany.
It is obvious that if the Hereros were not exterminated by the
German army, their population would be much bigger than it is
today.
Germany cannot bring back those souls whose bones lie scattered
all over the Kalahari plains.
But a sum of money can be paid to the Herero people as a gesture
of friendship - to ask for forgiveness.
The amount should be commensurate with the number of people
killed.
The eighty-six years that have elapsed and the pain caused by
the extermination process must be taken into account.
This should go a long way towards healing the wounds of a very
angry people.
All Namibians should support this demand without question.
It should be left to the Herero people themselves to decide what
they want to do with such reparation money and not the state of
Namibia.
Should Germany pay the reparation, and we hope they will, that
country can only win friendship and trust among the people of
Africa in general and Namibians in particular.
After many years of arguments, lies, subterfuge and sanctions,
Libya has owned up for the bombing of an America plane over
Lockerbee and has paid US$ 2 billion for fewer than three hundred
people.
In Namibia we are talking about between sixty to a hundred
thousand souls.
Let no one escape the wrath of generations whose forebears were
simply killed like chickens in flu-riddled South East Asia.
The process of globalisation will strengthen the brotherhood of
humanity to the extent that racial prejudices, intolerance,
apartheid and all the unholy schemes and -isms that are hatched in
the minds of dictators and communists can disappear from the face
of the earth.
We are waiting.
Andrew Matjila
Windhoek
This was not the first 'Final Solution' war cry issued by German
warriors in history.The barbarian invasions of Attila the Hun
[Attila was not German but a central-Asian invader of Europe. Ed.]
into ancient Rome (sic.) also followed proclamations that gave the
order for a scorched-earth policy.The Herero challenge to the
colonisers was no doubt a pain in their backside and could not to
be tolerated for long by the militarily superior Schutztruppe.That
they had infringed upon the rights of the people who inhabited the
country before them was of no consequence to the imperial
army.'Might was right' in those terrible days of white supremacy
and black people who dared to stand in the way of the explorers,
colonisers, hunters and discoverers were simply shot without
compunction.And so it came about that the Herero people who saw
their land being taken away by white men, took up their spears to
challenge the Kaiser's might.Continuous Herero harassment of the
Schutztruppe and the many colonial officials who were daily
entering the country in big numbers, finally led to the order by
Von Trotha to exterminate the whole Herero nation.The imperial army
needed no second bidding.In those days, human rights were not even
considered an issue when it came to dealing with black people.White
men killing black people were thought to be doing Europe a good
service.Nobody even complained afterwards about the killings,
except some missionaries.And, although Germany eventually lost the
country to other foreign powers after the WW I, exterminating those
they regarded as their enemies remained a part of their national
strategy during war.This bizarre policy was to be repeated 36 years
later during the WW II when the Germans gave another imperial order
to exterminate the Jews.The world stood helplessly by as Jews were
collected in cattle trucks across Europe and transported to the
extermination camps of Adolf Hitler in what became known as the
Final Solution.There are strong similarities here.Herero people
were also herded into extermination camps and either shot or hanged
in large numbers.Those who took to their heels were followed on
horseback by the bloodthirsty troops and put to the sword.Jews were
herded into extermination camps and either shot or simply gassed
and then burnt in huge ovens.Today, many people in Germany do not
want to even hear a 'whisper' about this ugly story.No, it
humiliates their country and destroys their dignity in the eyes of
the world.After all, Germany is a highly developed, civilised and
prosperous country.Why should such a first-world nation be linked
to such barbaric acts? Well, well, well...it happened,
period.There's nothing any well-respected German priest, human
rights lawyer, businessman or politician can do about it today.Much
as many citizens of Germany would wish to see the whole sordid
affair being swept under a carpet, this ugly stain will haunt them
until the Lord comes back.The time for reparation is therefore due
now.What is reparation actually? It is the 'Please Forgive Me' or
'Good Neighbourliness' approach.When someone has been hurt in
southern Africa we have inherited the word Sorry from the Afrikaans
word 'Ekskuus/Askies'.We hear this word all the time and it is even
whispered in churches.'Askies' makes all the difference.One can
never buy off hurt, but one can say ''askies followed by a small
token to the one who is hurt, to make up for the hurt.In Africa, if
a man's cattle destroy a neighbour's crops, he has to make for this
by either giving a sum of money or sharing his harvest with the
party that lost everything.That is his 'askies'.Those who travel
the Trans-Kalahari highway know what happens when they accidentally
hit a cow and it is killed in Botswana.'Askies' to the owner means
Pulas on the spot to make up for the loss of his cow or goat.But
the issue of the Herero people in this case is not about crops or
livestock, but human beings.Lets think about a whole race wiped
from the face of the earth - the Herero people nearly became
extinct last century.Anybody who says reparation must not be paid
to the Herero people betrays them and betrays the cause of
liberation in Africa.Namibians must not look at this serious matter
from the point of view of (Chief Kauima) Riruako getting millions
and becoming rich, as this is very often the shallow way that some
of us Africans look at such matters.No, a people was brutalised and
traumatised by men on horseback, mercilessly hunting them down like
wild animals.There is no other country in Africa where such an
order was ever given by colonisers and executed.And so there are
those who are totally against reparation to the Herero people for
reasons only known to them of course.Others argue that Germany is
already pumping millions into the Namibian economy in the form of
aid and so on.The crux of the matter is: When the Herero people
were exterminated.Namibia did not exist.There was no general call
to arms such as the one made in the Sixties for the total
liberation of South West Africa.No, no one came to help the Herero
people except the Nama people, who were fighting their own battles
anyway.Furthermore, the Herero people of that period occupied land
that was theirs and they would fight any other tribe - be it
Owambo, Kavango or Caprivi, if they had come to settle on it.To
refer to Namibia in this matter is totally out of (historical)
context.Furthermore, as far as is known, the Herero people started
with the campaign of demanding reparation before Namibia's
independence.In like manner, the state of Israel was non-existent
when the Jews were exterminated by Germany.In fact, Israel was only
created three years after the WW II - long after six million Jews
were killed in Germany.It is obvious that if the Hereros were not
exterminated by the German army, their population would be much
bigger than it is today.Germany cannot bring back those souls whose
bones lie scattered all over the Kalahari plains.But a sum of money
can be paid to the Herero people as a gesture of friendship - to
ask for forgiveness.The amount should be commensurate with the
number of people killed.The eighty-six years that have elapsed and
the pain caused by the extermination process must be taken into
account.This should go a long way towards healing the wounds of a
very angry people.All Namibians should support this demand without
question.It should be left to the Herero people themselves to
decide what they want to do with such reparation money and not the
state of Namibia.Should Germany pay the reparation, and we hope
they will, that country can only win friendship and trust among the
people of Africa in general and Namibians in particular.After many
years of arguments, lies, subterfuge and sanctions, Libya has owned
up for the bombing of an America plane over Lockerbee and has paid
US$ 2 billion for fewer than three hundred people.In Namibia we are
talking about between sixty to a hundred thousand souls.Let no one
escape the wrath of generations whose forebears were simply killed
like chickens in flu-riddled South East Asia.The process of
globalisation will strengthen the brotherhood of humanity to the
extent that racial prejudices, intolerance, apartheid and all the
unholy schemes and -isms that are hatched in the minds of dictators
and communists can disappear from the face of the earth.We are
waiting.Andrew Matjila
Windhoek