Lest We Forget What They Sacrificed For

ON August 26 1966, the first shots were fired in the struggle for Namibia’s freedom.

In the ensuing decades, many sons and daughters of Namibia were to lose their lives, or beloved family members. Others’ lives were disrupted, their dignity denied on a daily basis by a system that was inherently discriminatory and divisive, their potential as human beings shackled.For those who died, theirs was a struggle underwritten by sacrifice, a willingness to die for what they believed in – a Namibia free of the yoke of oppression, a Namibia where all women and men could walk tall, a Namibia where equality reigned.As Namibians tomorrow remember those who sacrificed so that we could enjoy the fruits of Independence, we should spare time to take stock of how we are stewarding our inheritance.It is perhaps time that Namibians reconsider what kind of society we are allowing to take root and the type of society we want to nurture in our country.Are we going to bow before the idols of materialism and allow the gap between the rich and the poor to grow, deepening divisions and class conflicts in our society? Or will we not only remind ourselves of, but also re-commit ourselves to some of the noble ideals that kept the flame of Namibia’s freedom struggle alive through hard decades of bitter sacrifice? Ideals such as building an egalitarian, non-racial society, of creating caring and compassionate communities.Independence has offered rich pickings for mainly a small elite, with the usual quota of carpetbaggers and Johnny-come-latelies all too evident in their ranks.The concept of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) was instituted with the best of intentions.But it has, in too many respects, been hijacked by a small group with the result that many of Namibia’s less advantaged see BEE as a sting operation! At the end of last week the Speaker of the National Assembly, Theo-Ben Gurirab, expressed similar sentiments to South African President Thabo Mbeki on unbridled greed.Both politicians condemned the “merchants of self-enrichment who …with every passing second advise, with rhythmic and hypnotic regularity – get rich! get rich! get rich!” Speaker Gurirab noted that South Africa was debating a code of conduct on wealth accumulation and property ownership and recommended that Namibia should do the same.He followed it with a “Forward ever, backward never!” In the context of backward never, we may well ask if we want to imitate that which we despised about Namibia’s former colonial masters – they did it, so why shouldn’t we – or if we want to invest in creating a different society.Are we going to embrace the me-first, grab-what-we-can culture that is insinuating itself among certain sectors? Or will we play our part in creating a caring, sharing society? The struggle was about more than empowering a small group, a group that those who struggle to even put a loaf of bread on the table each day, or struggle to send their children to school, see getting fatter every day.Future generations will judge us on how we – both individuals and institutions – used our wealth, not by how much we managed to accumulate; they will judge us by our commitment to the ideals of the precious struggle heritage that were entrusted to us, a heritage that was paid for in blood.Tomorrow we will sing “Their blood watered our freedom” as we mark the 40th anniversary of the start of the armed struggle.Let us hope that on August 26 2046, 40 years from now, Namibians will not be lamenting “Their greed sucked dry our freedom”.Others’ lives were disrupted, their dignity denied on a daily basis by a system that was inherently discriminatory and divisive, their potential as human beings shackled.For those who died, theirs was a struggle underwritten by sacrifice, a willingness to die for what they believed in – a Namibia free of the yoke of oppression, a Namibia where all women and men could walk tall, a Namibia where equality reigned.As Namibians tomorrow remember those who sacrificed so that we could enjoy the fruits of Independence, we should spare time to take stock of how we are stewarding our inheritance.It is perhaps time that Namibians reconsider what kind of society we are allowing to take root and the type of society we want to nurture in our country.Are we going to bow before the idols of materialism and allow the gap between the rich and the poor to grow, deepening divisions and class conflicts in our society? Or will we not only remind ourselves of, but also re-commit ourselves to some of the noble ideals that kept the flame of Namibia’s freedom struggle alive through hard decades of bitter sacrifice? Ideals such as building an egalitarian, non-racial society, of creating caring and compassionate communities.Independence has offered rich pickings for mainly a small elite, with the usual quota of carpetbaggers and Johnny-come-latelies all too evident in their ranks.The concept of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) was instituted with the best of intentions.But it has, in too many respects, been hijacked by a small group with the result that many of Namibia’s less advantaged see BEE as a sting operation! At the end of last week the Speaker of the National Assembly, Theo-Ben Gurirab, expressed similar sentiments to South African President Thabo Mbeki on unbridled greed.Both politicians condemned the “merchants of self-enrichment who …with every passing second advise, with rhythmic and hypnotic regularity – get rich! get rich! get rich!” Speaker Gurirab noted that South Africa was debating a code of conduct on wealth accumulation and property ownership and recommended that Namibia should do the same.He followed it with a “Forward ever, backward never!” In the context of backward never, we may well ask if we want to imitate that which we despised about Namibia’s former colonial masters – they did it, so why shouldn’t we – or if we want to invest in creating a different society.Are we going to embrace the me-first, grab-what-we-can culture that is insinuating itself among certain sectors? Or will we play our part in creating a caring, sharing society? The struggle was about more than empowering a small group, a group that those who struggle to even put a loaf of bread on the table each day, or struggle to send their children to school, see getting fatter every day.Future generations will judge us on how we – both individuals and institutions – used our wealth, not by how much we managed to accumulate; they will judge us by our commitment to the ideals of the precious struggle heritage that were entrusted to us, a heritage that was paid for in blood.Tomorrow we will sing “Their blood watered our freedom” as we mark the 40th anniversary of the start of the armed struggle.Let us hope that on August 26 2046, 40 years from now, Namibians will not be lamenting “Their greed sucked dry our freedom”.