THE ‘Descendants of the survivors of the 1904-1908 genocide’ committee yesterday warned the Swakopmund municipality not to approve the annual German carnival (Küska), scheduled for June.
“We… are kindly informing the… municipality not to approve the… carnival until the white German-speaking community in Swakopmund explain to us why their German forefathers killed our Herero and Nama forefathers and foremothers in the 1904-1908 genocide at Swakopmund,” group representative Laidlaw Peringanda wrote in a letter addressed to the municipality.
The German community are invited to deliver their explanation at an erf in the DRC informal settlement, where there will also be an exhibition of “horrendous” colonial German photos, which the “descendants of the German settlers” took.
“The German community are proud to call Swakopmund ‘small Germany’. We are kindly inviting you to come and see for yourselves the living conditions of the descendants of the survivors of the… genocide, who are living like second-class citizens in their own country,” wrote Peringanda, who added that many German Namibians deny the genocide had taken place.
The committee threatened that if the community fails to attend and explain the photos, it will be forced to stop the Küska, and take legal action against the municipality for approving the event.
“Germans are celebrating the Küska, while thousands of our ancestors are buried headless at the genocide graveyard,” he added.
The genocide descendants have also opened a case two years ago at the International Criminal Court at The Hague (case number OTP-CR-352/16) to have the Marine Denkmal statue removed. The statue was inaugurated by the German mayor of Swakopmund in 1908, which, according to Peringanda, openly glorifies the genocide.
Swakopmund’s acting CEO, Hellao !Naruseb, said he has not received the letter yet (at the time of going to the printers), so he was not at liberty to comment until the letter’s content was studied.
Swakopmund councillor Uahimisa Kaapehi, who is a prominent voice when it comes to the genocide debate, told that Peringanda’s group has a right to air its concern.
He said while there were official reparation talks enjoying international attention and with the case turning in international courts, other groups’ interest in the matter were important.
“There are two groups dealing with the matter officially, but we all have a common goal, and we need to stand together. We hope that together, we are successful. We can’t stop one another, and I cannot stop Peringanda either,” said Kaapehi.
He said for some, the Küska may not mean anything, but for others, it opens wounds that need to be addressed.
This year’s carnival will be the 33rd Küska, and it is scheduled for 15 to 22 June. It consists of various functions in which all Namibians – not just Germans – “are welcome”, Kuska committee member Karl-Heinz Schulte told this newspaper.
“Everyone can attend, and many do, comprising all Namibians. There are many who are friends which spans the whole spectrum of Namibia’s cultures,” Schulte said, adding that the week-long event includes several functions from shows to fancy-dress balls, visits to schools and the elderly, as well as a street procession. “It’s a cultural event like any other.”
He said the only permission Küska required from the municipality is for the street procession to take place. If this, however, is not approved, then an integral part of the festivities will be missing.
“We will first wait and see how the municipality handles this,” he stated.
Schulte said the descendants’ anger was understandable.
“We know they are frustrated, but to hold us accountable for something which happened over 100 years ago? How far can we go back? We never gave the orders for what happened,” Schulte said.
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