COULD you kindly allow me a little space in your paper to share my thoughts on reconciliation within the context of the current anomaly surrounding the ‘Father of the Nation’ and NSHR with the nation at large.
I don’t have an Oxford dictionary nor was I able to do research to have the word articulately laid out for you but I do have a story of the way I was brought up that might shed some light on the issue. During school holidays we used to go to a farm (white owned) where my grandparents were working and living for years with my cousins altogether.We usually talked about it as our farm and we were taught all of us to be brothers and sisters.There were things that weren’t negotiable such as fighting.If you were caught at fault in this regard, both parties were given a good hiding and coached to deal with disputes in a more amicable manner.Lies were just as good as committing a crime that warrants a death penalty (no compromise).We were then treated with kind and soft words and even lured with a candy or two and were sent to do a task together after shaking hands of course.Even when we went to play afterwards, we did it with renewed energy.Relieved from tension and all the hostilities I think we reconciled and made peace with one another.This was unlike the Swapo/colonial way of, ‘Forget (ignore) the past and live in harmony’.Being accused doesn’t make you guilty of any wrongdoings.Especially not in a country as democratic as Namibia..? You will always get a platform (court of law) to pronounce yourself and get acquitted should it be the case.The founding president is accused, and the accusations levelled against him are older than our independence itself.What has he done about it? Public dialogues, national debates, laws enacted to cater for a solution…nothing.Swapo/Nujoma made the bed.Let them/him sleep in it.The various Swapo affiliated organisations supporting Nujoma are very much in line with the political trend in Namibia ‘The stomach politics’.It’s the boss in trouble and that’s it.The justice and the Constitution are only secondary.If I was asked to choose between the political parties and the leaders to lead us my answer would have been a one single word, administrators or Nelson Mandela by second choice.A man whom one doesn’t have to do research on to understand the huge international recognition he has been accorded.You simply stay within your boundaries and watch your leaders.Opposition (CoD) complains about every little misstep of the government and stresses how they would have gone about it if voted in power.But now we’re not even sure whether the party still exists.Political happenings in some European and western countries have tarnished my perception of Swapo leadership irrevocably.For instance in the United States, the president wants to deploy more troops in Iraq but is publicly opposed by his own party members – this is never the case in Namibia.There are no individual thoughts or ideologies concerning the issues of serious public interest apart from the view of the party which is always coming from where/who…I don’t know.A motion (detainee issue) was rejected by all the Swapo MPs except the one that didn’t vote.But is it logic for all those brains to reason in the same way about that particular matter? I genuinely thought that the party might have had some credible leaders in the likes of Hamutenya and Geingob but were disappointed by their silent approach after being ousted from office simply by the powers vested in the President.A very strange kind of a reason only well understood by those within the ranks of the ruling party.Some just choose to retire (Amadhila), urging the Father of the Nation to treat all the same.The other brave one (Jesaya) never got the support…The closest I’ve seen the party to change was during the 3 cornered presidential candidate elections between Pohamba, Hamutenya, Angula.I’m still wondering how the modern schools and the universities have failed to produce just one academic/intellectual that can use his/her education to do what my grandparents can manage only by wisdom: to reconcile people.Nado Canniggia Via e-mailDuring school holidays we used to go to a farm (white owned) where my grandparents were working and living for years with my cousins altogether.We usually talked about it as our farm and we were taught all of us to be brothers and sisters.There were things that weren’t negotiable such as fighting.If you were caught at fault in this regard, both parties were given a good hiding and coached to deal with disputes in a more amicable manner.Lies were just as good as committing a crime that warrants a death penalty (no compromise).We were then treated with kind and soft words and even lured with a candy or two and were sent to do a task together after shaking hands of course.Even when we went to play afterwards, we did it with renewed energy.Relieved from tension and all the hostilities I think we reconciled and made peace with one another.This was unlike the Swapo/colonial way of, ‘Forget (ignore) the past and live in harmony’.Being accused doesn’t make you guilty of any wrongdoings.Especially not in a country as democratic as Namibia..? You will always get a platform (court of law) to pronounce yourself and get acquitted should it be the case.The founding president is accused, and the accusations levelled against him are older than our independence itself.What has he done about it? Public dialogues, national debates, laws enacted to cater for a solution…nothing.Swapo/Nujoma made the bed.Let them/him sleep in it.The various Swapo affiliated organisations supporting Nujoma are very much in line with the political trend in Namibia ‘The stomach politics’.It’s the boss in trouble and that’s it.The justice and the Constitution are only secondary.If I was asked to choose between the political parties and the leaders to lead us my answer would have been a one single word, administrators or Nelson Mandela by second choice.A man whom one doesn’t have to do research on to understand the huge international recognition he has been accorded.You simply stay within your boundaries and watch your leaders.Opposition (CoD) complains about every little misstep of the government and stresses how they would have gone about it if voted in power.But now we’re not even sure whether the party still exists.Political happenings in some European and western countries have tarnished my perception of Swapo leadership irrevocably.For instance in the United States, the president wants to deploy more troops in Iraq but is publicly opposed by his own party members – this is never the case in Namibia.There are no individual thoughts or ideologies concerning the issues of serious public interest apart from the view of the party which is always coming from where/who…I don’t know.A motion (detainee issue) was rejected by all the Swapo MPs except the one that didn’t vote.But is it logic for all those brains to reason in the same way about that particular matter? I genuinely thought that the party might have had some credible leaders in the likes of Hamutenya and Geingob but were disappointed by their silent approach after being ousted from office simply by the powers vested in the President.A very strange kind of a reason only well understood by those within the ranks of the ruling party.Some just choose to retire (Amadhila), urging the Father of the Nation to treat all the same.The other brave one (Jesaya) never got the support…The closest I’ve seen the party to change was during the 3 cornered presidential candidate elections between Pohamba, Hamutenya, Angula.I’m still wondering how the modern schools and the universities have failed to produce just one academic/intellectual that can use his/her education to do what my grandparents can manage only by wisdom: to reconcile people.Nado Canniggia Via e-mail
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