Cassinga survivors should be exemplary

SWAPO secretary for information and mobilisation Helmut Angula said the party expects Cassinga survivors to be exemplary in all their endeavours as they are the torch bearers of international solidarity.

Some of the Cassinga survivors, led by safety minister Charles Namoloh, visited the Vietnam and Cassinga camps at Tchetequela village in Angola’s Cunene province as part of this year’s commemoration.

In a statement this week, Angula said the Swapo party pays attention to the survivors, and that the party reminds them that they are and have been the beneficiaries and recipients of great humanitarian and revolutionary solidarity support.

“Keep reminding us in the leadership the debt we owe to the masses of our land, the Frontline states and Nigeria, Africa in general and the international community at large, ” Angula said.

He added that the survivors are the bond which binds them with the international community. Thus, they need to strengthen their faith in the building of a just and egalitarian society. President Hage Geingob on Wednesday said Cassinga Day carries with it a multitude of emotions that only the atrocities of war can conjure up.

He said it is a day on which the enemy thought they would break Namibia’s will, but instead ended up increasing their resolve twofold.

“It is a day which revealed to the world the sheer brutality and callous nature of the enemy, which the sons and daughters of Namibia faced, and in so doing, galvanised the support of our friends and allies from all over the world, ” Geingob said.

He stated that as people commemorate the day, they should remember their mothers, fathers, daughters and sons who continue to water their freedom with the blood of their sacrifice.

The President furthermore commended the Angolans who stood with Namibia as the country endured the brutality of South African military aggression and oppression.

Namoloh told Nampa on Sunday that there are plans to erect monuments at Vietnam and Cassinga.

“We should all cherish the memories of our heroes and heroines by re dedicating ourselves to the ideals for which they laid down their lives, ” he said, paying tribute to the heroic people of Angola, Zambia, Cuba and the former Frontline states. Recalling what happened on 4 May 1978 was Andreas Shomangue, a representative and survivor, who said the attack started at the Cassinga refugee camp and proceeded to Vietnam.

“There was a lot of confusion as people were running around, pleading to God to save them from the merciless killings. However, the enemy did not stop, ” he said.

The survivors laid wreaths at the graves of some People’s Liberation Army of Namibia fighters killed during the attack, including that of the camp commander, Wilbard Tashiya Nakada.

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