Why We Neglect Our History
ALFREDO Tjiurimo Hengari wrote in his column about Windhoek which is supposed to be Namibia’s major culture centre and he compares it to Barcelona.
After reading his column I, as a good Windhoeker, wanted to defend my City. So I went to Wikipedia and typed in both cities’ names.
After the shocking results I got from Wikipedia I must concur that the viewpoint of Hengari is spot on.
The only thing that I can say about Windhoek vs. Barcelona is that it took Barcelona almost a millennium to develop before Windhoek was founded.
Early history suggests that Barcelona was founded round about 3 BC and Windhoek, if you take the Jan Jonker history, was founded in1840.
My fight died when the first thing I noticed on the Windhoek Wikipedia pages is that they ask for more information about our town.
The latest statistics available on our town’s population and other vital information is from the census of 2001.
We are in the 21st century are we not? Is it not because our government neglected this vital part of our information that we need to do proper planning that there are about 200 000 people living in tin houses?
Is it not because of the same reason that we have 51% unemployment?
Back to the two cities - when you go to Barcelona’s Wikipedia page there is a lot of information which is up to date. New and historical facts. Why is it that we in Namibia are so light on facts and history but heavy on rumours?
Say for example you are a tourist and want to come and visit Africa.
You use Wikipedia to check out the different cities in Africa because you want to experience the African vibe and culture.You most surely will not want to visit Windhoek according to the info you receive from Wikipedia.
Type in any city name in Wikipedia, for example: Lagos, Accra, Johannesburg, Harare, etc. Their information and history facts are up to date, so if I am a tourist seeking information about a country in Africa, Namibia will not be the one I will visit.
Why is it that we neglect our history in such a horrific manner?
Why is it that we neglect our statistical information in such a horrific manner?
Why is it that we neglect our culture in such a horrific manner? It is not just Windhoek, but the whole country. I only tried Wikipedia I do not want to try other search engines, I am too scared!
The only thing I can say is that at least we can have a braai or kapana on any occasion I bet you cannot do that in Barcelona!
Theuns Dreyer
Via e-mail