There is nothing like having a vivid vision of what it is you are supposed to do. Building an industry is a messy thing and when you are a part of it, you have to find a way to keep your dreams alive.
You will work without praise or recognition but none of it will matter because in your dreams, you are at the height of your being. In your dreams, the world is your oyster and you are a magician who has the power to make things happen – actual things. Yes, we can complain because we know better, but we have to remember that things have been worse. We cannot be the ungrateful ones. There are people who have made real sacrifices that make ours look small and ridiculous.
People like Dr Libertina Amathila with her style and wit inspired a whole generation of fashionistas in a time where the order of the day was to fit into a man’s world.
Women like Dr Helena Ndume who had to give up her dream of being a fashion designer so that one day blind people may live to see our art because of her healing touch.
Women like Cynthia Schimming who paved the way for so many fashion designers and still makes it her business to take some under her wing so that the art never dies.
Women like Barbara Kahatjipara who inspired young black girls to dream a tall dream of being beauty queens and models.
Women like Chakirra Claasen whose hope for a better fashion industry set her on a crazy mission with the founding board members to start a fashion council for our micro industry.
And there are many more whose names we may not know. All these women are all from different generations and have done great things. The things they did or rather sacrifices they made, small as they may seem to many, have come a long way in shaping what our industry looks like today and will forever dictate how Namibian’s fashion history develops.
The doors they have knocked down have made it easier for many of us to walk through, but there will always be more doors and the goal is to keep knocking them down to make it easier for those to come.
Independence Day is about celebrating the battles we have won and recognising that there will be more battles yet to come. Rome was not built in a day because the slaves who built it were people like you and me. Today we cannot complain because this is not Rome and we are not slaves. We now live in a world where we have rights and the freedom to do more than most were allowed and we have to recognise that there were people who fought for it to be so.
So the next time you step out into your 21st century misery, remember that the only reason you can slay is because someone was slayed.
