Herero still want German reparations

THE drive of the Herero people to demand reparations from the German government for atrocities committed against them during German colonial rule between 1904 and 1908 is continuing.

This was made clear during a commemoration at Tsau in western Botswana during the weekend of July 14. “Any attempt to exclude the Otjiherero-speaking communities in the diaspora – South Africa and Botswana – from our efforts to claim reparations in whatever form and whatever definition, is a futile exercise,” said Festus Tjikuua of the Namibian Herero delegation.”We are inseparable in origin, history, culture, traditions and colonial experiences, regardless where we live.”Tjikuua is the secretary of the technical arm of the Ovaherero 1904 Genocide Committee (OCD).At Tsau, where the family of Chief Samuel Maharero arrived in December 1904 after fleeing German persecution through the waterless Omaheke Region, the remains of Maharero’s mother Katare and close relatives Friedrich and Wilhelm (Willie) are buried.Tjikuua said at the occasion that the annual gathering paid tribute to Wilhelm Maharero, who led his people during the difficult years in exile.”This part of Namibian history (here in Tsau) is directly linked to the wars against German occupation of Namibia.”The technical committee of the OCD was appointed from the members of the existing Royal Herero Houses and was given a clear mandate to launch a public awareness campaign, mobilise resources, formulate the dialogue agenda and come up with a comprehensive development programme and make all necessary arrangements for the commencement of the Dialogue with the German government, Tjikuua said.”I am proud to assure you that this principle has been the guidance in all the activities of the Technical Committee and its social interactions with the Ovaherero and Ovambanderu people in Namibia and the diaspora.”The dialogue is supposed to discuss ancestral land rights of the Herero, their education and culture and a ‘Marshall Plan’ for the Eiseb and Gam areas in eastern Namibia and those in diaspora, Tjikuua said.Several thousand Hereros live in Botswana, descendants of those who fled the genocide in then South West Africa in 1904.It is estimated that about 1 000 Herero descendants live in South Africa.”Any attempt to exclude the Otjiherero-speaking communities in the diaspora – South Africa and Botswana – from our efforts to claim reparations in whatever form and whatever definition, is a futile exercise,” said Festus Tjikuua of the Namibian Herero delegation.”We are inseparable in origin, history, culture, traditions and colonial experiences, regardless where we live.”Tjikuua is the secretary of the technical arm of the Ovaherero 1904 Genocide Committee (OCD).At Tsau, where the family of Chief Samuel Maharero arrived in December 1904 after fleeing German persecution through the waterless Omaheke Region, the remains of Maharero’s mother Katare and close relatives Friedrich and Wilhelm (Willie) are buried.Tjikuua said at the occasion that the annual gathering paid tribute to Wilhelm Maharero, who led his people during the difficult years in exile.”This part of Namibian history (here in Tsau) is directly linked to the wars against German occupation of Namibia.”The technical committee of the OCD was appointed from the members of the existing Royal Herero Houses and was given a clear mandate to launch a public awareness campaign, mobilise resources, formulate the dialogue agenda and come up with a comprehensive development programme and make all necessary arrangements for the commencement of the Dialogue with the German government, Tjikuua said.”I am proud to assure you that this principle has been the guidance in all the activities of the Technical Committee and its social interactions with the Ovaherero and Ovambanderu people in Namibia and the diaspora.”The dialogue is supposed to discuss ancestral land rights of the Herero, their education and culture and a ‘Marshall Plan’ for the Eiseb and Gam areas in eastern Namibia and those in diaspora, Tjikuua said.Several thousand Hereros live in Botswana, descendants of those who fled the genocide in then South West Africa in 1904.It is estimated that about 1 000 Herero descendants live in South Africa.