Monday 13 February 2012

THE WATERS OF ERONGO


North-East of Swakopmund, and somewhere where the line that runs the copper ore down from Otari has a station called Omaruru, there stands a mass of huge table-topped mountains. At the time of which I write they were known as the Erongos, so named after a famous chief of the Gainin Bushmen, who had made something of a stand there against the invading Damaras that eventually "ate up" both him and his tribe.
Even in that land, where most mountains are table-topped, and where the flat plateau above and the plain beneath represent geological epochs that are divided by aeons of years, these Erongo Mountains are remarkable; for they have never been climbed. From their base thick vegetation can be seen crowning the inaccessible summit, and in several places water flows in gushing cataracts down the steep cliffs that frown upon the plain on every side.
This mountain had always had a great fascination for me; and once or twice, in the old days, before the railway came, and when we used to water our transport animals at these same streams, I attempted to climb its steep sides, full of curiosity to see what the top might be like.
But I never got within a thousand feet of it, for the crowning bastions are almost sheer, and would need a better cragsman than myself to negotiate.
Isolated, and rising straight from the plain to a height of about 3,000 feet, it formed a prominent landmark for those few traders or prospectors who, in the old days, returned from their trips to the north to Walfisch Bay by this route; and I was glad indeed to see its huge bulk towering up one day more years ago than I care to remember when trekking in from a long expedition in the Kaokoveld for it meant that my long journey was nearly finished.
With my wagon I had as cook and roust-about an old Englishman named Jim Blake, who had ran away from his ship at Walfisch Bay many years before, and who had traversed the country in all directions, since then, as few men had. In spite of the many years he had spent there, and the fact that he spoke many of the native dialects well, his Cockney accent was as pronounced as ever it could have been when he first shipped at Limehouse; and he had, apparently, a wholesale contempt for everything, and everybody, but himself.
As his employer, he tolerated me, and as he was invaluable in many ways, I tolerated him in return, but he had one habit that always annoyed me immensely. In season and out of season he would say: "Yer don't know heverythink if yer thinks yer does!"; and I could never break him of it.
Well, the evening that I speak of, we outspanned under the cliffs ofErongo, and the oxen drank deep.
We had had a very successful trip, and I felt at peace with all mankind, as I sat smoking, and watching the setting sun turn the tall rocks from gold to crimson, and thence through a whole gamut of purples, violets and mauves to the cold grey of twilight.
"Pritty, 'aint it?" said a voice at my elbow. It was old Blake. His mahogany face shone with the effects of the first soap and water he had been able to use for weeks, for we had been very short of water; and even his arms showed the tattoo-marks that were usually hidden by the grime inseparable to life in the desert.
"Yes," I answered, "it's beautiful, the most beautiful mountain I know in Africa. I wonder what's on top? I've had a go at climbing it myself several times but, of course, it can't be done. The Bushmen couldn't, Erongo himself only had his werf half-way up when he fought the Damaras. No one has ever climbed it!"
"You don't know heverythink if yer thinks yer does," sniffed old Jim; "you're wrong. I've bin up it meself!"
"Rubbish, Jim!" I said; "don't talk rot. How far have you been up, anyway? As far as the bottom of the big fall, I suppose?"
"To the top and all over it," said old Jim. "Oh, I knows yer don't believe. But it's gospel. You don't know heverythink!"
"No, that's true, Jim," said I meekly, for I wanted his yarn. "I know you sailormen can climb better than I ever shall but how did you do it? Ropes? Ladders? . . . How?"
"No," he answered slowly, turning his quid in his cheek, and spitting with great precision at a blue-headed lizard that had emerged from a crack in the rock and sat eyeing us. "Got yer!" he went on as the small reptile retired in considerable discomfiture.
"No, neether ladders nor ropes. If yer reely wants ter know, I were carried up!"
"Oh, you can chuckle, but so it were! Twenty year or more agone I came here fust. There was four of us white men; me as cook, two prospectors, and the perfesser.
"He was a queer bloke, that perfesser, clever, too, but bless yer he didn't know heverythink! I'd bin with him a long time, and he used ter tell me more'n he tole the other fellers . . . a clever sort of chap . . . but he didn't know heverythink. And he 'ad one great pecooliarity: he was everlastingly afeard of getting old! He must ha' bin well over fifty, but he used ter get himself up outrageous young: and when I docked his shavingwater he cussed most wonderful!
"'Cleanliness, and stric' observance of rules of life that is the only way ter keep young, Blake,' he would say ter me.
"Well, in them days, bein' young, I didn't see much in what he said, and if I got a wash once a month I was werry well satisfied; and arter a while this 'ere washing business of his got on my nerves. 'Cause, as yer know, when water's been used fer a bath, yer can't werry well use it fer anything but washing up, or biling pertaters, or sich like, and he was the wastefullest man I ever had to cook for. Well, we comes up here on our way to the Koaka Velt on some kind of scientific trip er other I dunno, and it didn't matter as long as I was paid and the two prospectors they brings in gold, and tin, and copper, and all sorts of muck, and the perfesser was busy 'blow-piping' and 'classifying' and what not, and every day he gets more 'centrick. Then he gets sick only a bit of fever, but it laid him out bad for a time: and he couldn't shave, and he couldn't bath, and that hurt him wuss'n the fever. We was here, then; jist in this same camp. And when he got well enough to talk again I took him his cawfee one morning, and sees him a-looking at himself in a little glass: and he looked fair frightened! He'd got a week's bristles on, and they was grey, o' course he weren't no chicken, anyway! And he says to me pitiful like 'Blake, I surely don't look as old as all that?'
"'You've bin ill, perfesser,' I says, 'and it don't make a man look younger. You'll be all right when you've had a bath there's plenty o' water now.'
"Well, I could see 'e weren't satisfied, because he gives a bit of a groan, and looks at hisself in the glass agin. But a day or two arterwards he was well enough to get up, and when he sees Erongo for the fust time, with the water a-pouring down that big fall, he brightens up at once.
"'Just the very place the very place. Who knows but it may be true? Never to be old! . . . Never to be old!' I hears him a-saying, over and over again; but nat'rally, I on'y thought he was a bit off his napper, same as half these 'ere perfessers is, wot think they know heverythink! Anyhow, as soon as ever he was able, oft he goes and bathes in the stream, farther up, a goodish way from the camp, and a power o' good it seemed to do him, for he comes back a-looking ten years younger. Next day he sends the two prospectors out fer a long trip and then he calls me.
"'Jim,' says he, ''ow do you think I look?'
"'Look?' I says for I was fair mazed at the look of him, 'why ten years younger than ever I seed yer!'
"'Just so,' says 'e. . . . 'It's true then!'
"'Wot's true,' I says.
"'The water of life,' says he; 'I have searched for it fer years!'
"'Take some quinine,' says I, 'and back yer goes to bed,' for I'd seen fever patients that way afore.
"'You don't know heverythink, Blake,' he says he 'ad a nasty way o' using that there expression; 'it isn't fever it's joy. For if the stream below has such an effect, wot will the source be like?'
"Well, it wasn't much good taking notice of what he said, but anyhow, next day 'e'd gone!
"The boys said he'd gone upstream towards the big fall, and arter a while I follered him. As you know, that there waterfall takes a lot of reaching, but I gets there at last, and there he was a-sitting in the stream. Lord, I 'ardly knew 'im, he looked so young and vigorous, and full o' life. He wanted me to bathe, but I'd had a wash on'y a day or two before, and I wouldn't. But, my word, he seemed to keep getting younger; and as fer strength, why on our way back he jumped over rocks like a klipbok I never seen the like! Next mornin' he'd gone agin, and this time he stays away fer two days, and I gets scared. The prospectors was away, and there was on'y me and the boys and I couldn't get 'em to go far up Erongo, for they said it was full of devils. P'raps they was right them there boys knows a lot though they don't know heverythink! Third day I gets up early and goes right up the side o' the stream, till I gets to the waterfall, but no sign did I find. And I sits there a-pondering, till all of a sudden I 'ears a voice a- calling 'Jim!'
"I turns round, and there 'e was at least I s'posed it was him! He hadn't a stitch o' clothes on, and his skin shone like a babby's. Look young? Why the only thing I knew about 'im was his voice! And he came a-bounding over the rocks as if he was made of injy-rubber. And his face was all a-shinin' it made me think o' pictures o' hangels to see him.
"'Jim! Jim!' he sings out; half a-laughing and 'alf sobbing, 'it's true! it's true! look at me I'm young agin! I'm immortal!'
"'You're naked,' I says, 'and you ought to know better at your time o' life and in this 'ere 'ot sun too!'
"He laughs like a madman.
"'Ye old fool,' he says (nice it was, and on'y yesterday he'd bin a lot older than me!). 'Don't you see it's true? I've been to the top, man, and bathed in the source there, and I'm immortal!'
"'You're barmy,' I says, though I was a bit scared, for never have I seen such a difference!
"'Come with me to the top and bathe,' says he, 'and see fer yerself!'
"'Who's to take me?' I says. 'I ain't a bird!'
"'I will!' he shouts; and before you could 'a' said 'Jack Robinson,' he grabs 'old of me in a clove hitch!
"I was strong and a bit useful in them days, but I was like a babby in the arms of a giant, and he tucked me under one arm and 'eld me like a parcel. And then well! I know yer don't believe it, but yer don't know he very think. He jist went up the side of that there cliff like a klip-springer, catching on to little points of rock, and a-springing from place to place, as if I didn't weigh more'n a feather; with me under his arm a-hollering blue murder, and a-lookin' down sick and dizzy, and a-praying for him not to let me fall! Right up that there cliff as you can see from here we went, and almost afore I knew what had happened, I was on top. There was thick grass, and bush, and flowers, and tall trees and fruit I'd never seen afore, and butterflies everywhere, and he sat me down jist close to the brink, and there I sat a-gasping. And then he laughed and what a laugh it was jist like a trumpet ringing out, and he says again: 'Come and bathe, man, and be immortal, like me!'
"And then he hustles me off into the wood, flustered and frightened, and a wondering when I should get down to terra-cotta agin. That there mountain ain't flat on top, its cup-shaped, and it's only the rim you can see from here; and there's trees and water everywhere, and birds a- singing, and flowers a-blooming and butterflies a-flitting, and if there'd o'ny bin a nice little pub up there, like wot I knows of there at 'ome in Lime'ouse, it would 'a' bin Parrydise and I'd 'a' stayed. We sees no animals and no snakes, and we goes along the banks of the stream, and at last we conies to a deep pool that bubbled and fizzed up like soda water, all over.
"'The Source!' he says; 'the Source!' an' you could ha' 'eard 'is voice a mile off; 'the Water of Life! I bathed here this morning look at me! Come, bathe, old fool, and be young, and a companion fer me, and we'll stay here fer ever!'
"'Course, I knew he must be barmy though 'ow he got me up that cliff certainly is a mystery! Any'ow, I thought I'd better 'umour 'im a bit. So I starts to undress; and then I pauses.
"'Any beer here?' I asks.
"'Beer, what do you want vile beer for, when there's necktie fit fer the gords to drink?' says 'e.
"'Baccy?' I asks agin knowin' he 'ated it.
"'Phaw,' he says, 'your filthy smoke what need is there of it?'
"'Wimmen!' I says, thinkin' that would be a clincher fer him.
"'Yes,' he shouts; 'beautiful nymphs, spirits as immortal as myself!'
"'I don't see 'em!' says I.
"'They are in the water,' says he; 'beautiful water nymphs and wood nymphs lurks there among the trees! Bathe, fool, and your eyes will be opened!'
"That settled it. I'd got an argyment fer 'im now.
"'Not me,' I says, putting my shirt on agin. 'No beer; no baccy; no wimmen but a lot o' shameless huzzies a-hiding and a-waiting to watch a feller bathe! Not me. I go back besides, I 'ad a bath on'y a few days ago.'
"Well, 'e was that wild I thought 'e'd chuck me in, but I 'umored and coaxed 'im for I had to get 'im to take me down again; and at last 'e did. How he did it I don't know, for when he took me up, like a kid, I shut me eyes, and never opened 'em agin till he put me down at the foot of the waterfall.
"'Good-bye, fool,' he said; 'some day you'll be sorry!'
"Well, we never seen 'im agin, and when I told the prospectors wot I'd seen, they told me to put more water in my grog. And at last the whole outfit went back and reported the perfesser lost or dead.
"But I knows better: he's up there yet! Look! see that smoke on the top? Well, who's a-goin' to make a fire on Erongo if it ain't 'im? You don't know heverythink, if yer thinks yer does."

Excerpt from "A Rip Van Winkle Of The Kalahari Seven Tales of South-West Africa"
Author: Frederick Cornell

Sunday 12 February 2012

Namibian Rights. What about Namibian responsibilities?


Last week we celebrated Constitution Day - 9th Februray. I thought about this great document we have in Namibia, but have to keep asking myself,
"Great that we have Namibian Rights. What about Namibian responsibilities?"

Since Independence, Namibians have been guaranteed their rights through our Constitution. These rights are are known by all, but how many of us realise the burden of responsibilities these same rights put on us? In this opinion piece I look at the rights in our constitution, and compare them to the responsibility expected of each of us to ensure these rights for us all.

And what is it to be a good citizen?

  • You must always remember that the other person has rights while being aware of your own
  • Think and do as you want, but know that your rights end where another’s begin
  • Create things which are useful to yourself and others
  • “It is to produce wealth by labour and only by labour, and to spend less than you have produced that your children may not be dependent on the state for support when you are no more. “
  • protect and defend the lives of others
  • not put other people’s lives at risk through my actions. This includes carrying of dangerous weapons, by acting recklessly and not disobeying our rules and laws. This is especially relevant to the responsibility we have as road users. It is your responsibility to ensure the vehicle and driver are in a fit condition to endanger the lives of others.
  • look after my own body by exercising, eating correctly, not smoking or abusing alcohol, not taking drugs or doing irresponsible things that may result in me becoming infected with communicable diseases such as HIV and AIDS
  • be polite to those who provide me with a service
  • enquire about the working conditions of the workers who provide me with services
  • pay adequately the people who work for me in my garden, around my house and within the office
  • treat every person equally and fairly
  • not discriminate unfairly against anyone on the basis of gender, race, colour, ethnic origin, religion, religion or status in society
  • respect the property of others
  • respect the letters, emails or conversations of people and avoid sharing this with others
  • recognise that love means long-term commitment, and the responsibility to establish strong and loving families
  • honour and respect my parents, and to help them,
  • be kind and loyal to my family, to my brothers and sisters, my grandparents and all my relatives
  • to see, and treat,  every child as my own
  • listen to, and respect the opinion of a child
  • provide an example of how to treat others
  • provide monetary support for my children to achieve their goals



 Article 6 - Protection of Life
The protection of life places on me the responsibility to:

Article 7 - Protection of Liberty
The protection of liberty places on me the responsibility to:
• not hurt, bully or scare people, or take measures to stop others who are hurting, bullying or scaring people
• find solutions for problems in a peaceful manner, that is without resorting to violence

Article 8 - Respect for Human Dignity
The right to human dignity places on me the responsibility to:
• treat every human being with respect and dignity
• be caring, kind-hearted and understanding with everyone, by greeting them warmly and speaking to them politely

Article 9 - Slavery and Forced Labour
The right to safe and fairly paid employment places on me the responsibility to:

Article 10- Equality and Freedom from Discrimination
The right to equality and freedom from discrimination places on me the responsibility to:

Article 13 - Privacy
This right to privacy by each citizen expects me to:

Article 14 – Family
The right to family expects me to:

Article 15 - Children's Rights
The responsibility of respecting children’s rights means:
I believe that we can still do more to teach ourselves, and our children, about responsibilities. Feel free to email me atmiltonlouw@gmail.com with your comments

Wednesday 8 February 2012

The need for open debate - Villager 14/08/11


Open and critical debate is not always welcome in our country.  In the days of apartheid-colonialism, expressing views openly (especially political ones) often led to persecution, even detention and death.
With independence, such repressive practices came to an end as a liberal constitution was adopted that enshrined basic human and political rights.  However, a living democracy requires more than a few democratic rights on paper and the occasional holding of elections.  A living democracy requires the appreciation for robust debates as well as policies to guarantee that the basic economic needs of all citizens are met.
Despite the many praises for Namibia’s peace and stability since independence, I would argue that we are still falling short in some aspects of our democracy.  Namibia is among countries with the highest levels of income inequality in the world and virtually all spheres of life are still characterised by inequalities on the basis of colour, gender and class. 
 A large part of our population is thus engaged with a daily struggle for basic survival and the fact that 500 000 Namibians are living in shacks as reported recently by this paper, exemplifies this point.  I will analyse the levels of inequality and what can be done to change them in a future column.
Today I will focus on another aspect, namely our lack of appreciation for open and robust debate.  This was not always the case.  At the time of independence, Namibia was bustling with activism and debate.  
The Namibia National Students Organisation (NANSO) and the trade unions under the umbrella of the National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) were spearheading debate and action as they had done during the final years of the liberation struggle. 
However, after the elections of 1989 and the achievements of independence in 1990, things began to change gradually.  Having elected “our own” Government and believing that the “fruits of independence” would become visible soon, mass organisations lost their vibrancy or were deliberately dismantled.  This was not unique to Namibia but has happened in many other African countries after independence.
With weakening community-based organisations and an increasingly dominant role of Government, the process of decision-making became increasingly hierarchical.  The typical western form of representative Government became rooted and replaced more direct and participatory forms of democracy.  The large community meetings that had taken place in Katutura in the late 1980s are now only a historical memory and even the consultative community meetings that some Government Ministers undertook shortly after independence have become rarities.  Instead, decisions are taken in the higher echelons of power and then communicated to the base.
Accompanying this increasingly hierarchical political culture was mistrust towards critical ideas and debate.  Instead of seeing them as the lifeblood of democratic organisations, critical views were seen with suspicion and the first question that was usually asked was: “What is their agenda?”
Loyalty to an organisation was increasingly equated with blindly following the decisions taken by the leadership and in the end. Nobody was willing to raise critical questions for fear of being labelled a “trouble-maker” or “hibernator” etc.   
This political culture of suspicion against open debate has taken hold of most organisations in Namibia.  Ironically, even those organisations that criticise hierarchical and autocratic practices of others often fall into the same pattern when dealing with critical voices in their own ranks.
As a result, public debates in Namibia have become very guarded.  Only a few people are still willing to raise challenges openly for fear of offending the powers that be.  Instead, many express their views only privately and are even scared of sending readers’ letters in their own name.  
This trend is very worrying and needs to be countered before it becomes an all-embracing norm.  History provides many examples how dictatorships and social standstill emerge when debates are dying.  It was thus refreshing to see how Minister Kazenambo at a recent public debate of the Unam Sociology Students Association pointed out that it was important for the youth to raise their voices when they see things go wrong.  How else can we improve if we are not willing to debate with a view of finding new solutions?  
Raising critical issues, exploring new ways of doing things and alluding to shortcomings and failures is a lifeline for any living democracy.  Instead of just defending past decisions and actions, we must learn to appreciate criticism as it is the only way to avoid the death of ideas and socio-economic stagnation.  Defending past policies and practices simply to please the powers that be will not contribute towards finding solutions for the many challenges we face today.  Let us speak from the heart, let us share our ideas and let us have robust debates as part of our everyday lives.  Fear and silence must be broken as they undermine the very democracy we fought for.  After all, we are supposed to be the land of the brave!


Herbert Jauch is a labour researcher and educator in Windhoek.

Politicsweb - How to write about race - Top stories

Politicsweb - How to write about race - Top stories

An eight step guide to commenting on South Africa's favourite obsession

Introduction

South Africans love race. One might even say we are obsessed with it. We cannot get enough. You cannot open a newspaper, read a blog, listen to radio discussion or watch a current affairs show that doesn't have yet another someone or other telling us what an enormous problem race is, how under appreciated the scale of the crisis is and how desperately we need to move past it.

Anyone who doesn't want to talk about race or considers themselves non-racial is accused either of effectively being racist themselves or living in some kind of dangerous denial. And it is everywhere. I mean everywhere. There is not a thing that is not interpreted through a racial lens or, indeed, argued itself not the product of some kind of racial malfunction.

Written Interview with Andreas Thomas - Windhoek Observer - 7 Feb 2012




Good afternoon Mr Louw
It seems that a new political stance has emerged were tribal sentiments and ethnicity is now at play in local politics. Tribal outburst allegedly made during the interview by Youth Minister Kazenambo against Oshiwambo speaking people and the subsequent reactions toward the comments paint a picture of a society deeply rooted tribalism in our society.
I would like to assist me answer some of pertinent questions regarding tribalism and tribal loyalties in Namibia especially in the wake of the upcoming Swapo Party congress and impact it might have on the country.
 1.      Do you think the problem of tribalism has seeped into the ruling party Swapo Party and how bad do you think that is?
Tribalism and associated decision making because of ethnic relationships had been a product of the Apartheid South African ruling system. This we have to accept. However, we as a nation have committed ourselves to another standard, whereby through reconciliation and the adoption of our constitution, we do not base decision-making on culture or tribal affiliation.

Having said that though, we must realise that politicians present things in certain ways to get themselves elected. Look at our opposition parties and all have an ethnic (though some say locality) representation.

Swapo, being the party representing the largest protion of the population, would obvisouly thus also constitute the largest section of Oshiwambo speaking people. From a representative viewpoint, thus also many of the leaders of SWAPO would also be of this cultural group.

However, tribalism is not the problem. I believe the problem is rather nepotism - (patronage or favoritism shown on the basis of extended family relationships) and cronyism (partiality to long-standing friends, especially by appointing them to positions of authority, regardless of their qualifications).

If however, the person seeing this act nepotism is only seeing it in tribal terms, as they themselves are not part of that specific tribe.

So no, tribalism is not the problem, nepotism and cronyism are.


 2.     Government adopted the policy of National Recompilation mainly to achieve reconciliation between blacks and white Namibians. Since independence, it has increasingly become evident that there is a tension between the various ethnic groups in Namibia. Should reconciliation between black Namibians therefore not had been the first priority after independence and is there not a need even now to start a process of reconciliation between various ethnic groups?  

Please allow me to explain a little - Reconciliation can be used in terms of either

  • conflict resolution or
  • ethnic relations 


Thus Namibian reconciliation as Independence was conflict resolution between two ideological opposing sides. The one side, wanting Namibia to be a part of South Africa as a fifth province, and the other side wanting independence from South Africa. Thus conflict resolution reconciliation has been effective.

What we are seeing is that there is a need for ethnic resolution reconciliation.

So no, it could not have been a first priority. But it is still a step we need to take as a nation. We need to create a common memory - a history lesson we all feel comfortable with which explains where we all come from, why we came here, and what our shared future vision is.

I would like to see our leaders rather promoting our differences, and what we can learn from each other, than what has been reportedly said my the Minister.

I believe this quote explains what I mean, "..But maybe memory is what young people need to be taught before they can be taught actual history."


 3.     Minister Kazenambo feel that he is being victimised because of the calls he made for the next country President (Swapo) to be non-Oshiwambo. But how would you suggest Minister Kazenambo should have handled this matter during the interview?

I cannot say how the Minister should or should not handle any matter. However, if any reporter should ask me how i feel as a coloured person, I would immediately state that I believe in in integration. By this I refer to the lump sum off all of us as citizens of a specific country. It is the pride we have when singing the national anthem, our support to the members of our national sporting codes, or identifying with a Namibian that has done well on the world stage.

The best way to illustrate this is: "Before Independence I was Coloured, now I'm Namibian".


 4.     Having a current situation of politics based on the premise of “now it is the turn of other tribes to take over". What do you think the impact this will be on politics in the country and society in general? Do you expect tribal loyalty take centre stage at the congress?

First, if it is "the turn of others" to take over - it should be the turn of a Namibian woman to be President. Or do we as a nation, or political party, or as families, not yet believe woman are as good (or even) better as leaders?

I wish to state that there is more gender-based discrimination among Namibian men than what there is tribal-based discrimination.


The issues of leading Swapo, or Namibia will always be what is best for us as a nation. Each and everyone must vote according to their conscience. We deserve the leaders we choose.

Nevertheless, we must face the reality that whoever is elected to be in command of SWAPO after Comrade Pohamba will be the next President of Namibia. So yes, it will have an impact on our society if the person chosen is not the best candidate, but rather the "best oshiwambo" candidate.

During the last congress when Hidipo Hamutenya, Nahas Angula and Hifikepunye Pohamba stood as candidates, it is clear that the Swapo members chose the person who in the long run has been the best choice for us as a arty, and Namibia as a nation

Will tribal loyalty take centre stage - yes in the form of cronyism. All political parties in the world are based on give and take within the voting process - who is my friend, who will do something for me. However, terming it tribalism is just another way to hide from the fact that in Namibia too many of us still do not believe we are "One Namibia, One Nation".

We are a tribe, the Namibian tribe.

Monday 6 February 2012

Culture, racism and tribalism


My rambling thoughst about race, tribalism and the recent tribal based comments by KK and others

Namibia and Integration
Most of the Namibian peoples have come to this area leaving behind war or oppression of some sort or the other. They chose this inhospitable place to settle and live peacefully, not only with one another, but also with the natural environment they found themselves in. During periods of oppression they have not had a choice but to react to ensure their continued peace and stability.


After Independence, it was only natural that Namibians should choose to have one of the best constitutions in the world that ensures this peace and continued peaceful co-existence with one another. The policy of reconciliation was as natural for its people as breathing and eating.


Today, Namibia is a model that few other countries can emulate. Worldwide, countries struggle with problems of integration. These differences take the form of religion, language, customs or race. In Namibia these differences are recognised, but do not form the basis of either government policy decisions or social interaction.


As Namibians we have a lot to offer the world, and more specifically our neighbours in Southern Africa. We are an “Institute of Integration” where peoples from other parts of the world can come to learn what we know – we have a dependency on our fellow human beings and the natural environment in which we stay.


Differences in Namibia
We have thrown the baby out with the bathwater. This is the only explanation of the total lack of information based on cultural affiliations in our census in Namibia. Unfortunately, this attitude of “let’s pretend it is not there” does not make it so.


Even in South Africa, where the Apartheid system was the most formalised, they have recognised the need to keep the information and knowledge of all cultural groups as part of the “rainbow nation”. Discrimination because of race colour or culture is a thing of the past and is replaced by recognition and acceptance of our differences.


We have also outlawed discrimination on the basis of gender, yet still need this categorisation to measure the needed changes that must take place in our country for gender equality. In the same way it is important to note that when a previously marginalised group, such as the San people, have qualified teachers from within their own tribe and culture (Republikein – 14 April 2009).


The lack of recognition of certain groups can have detrimental effects on our country. Look at what has happened to some of our pre-Independence orphans who returned from East Germany. More recently we have seen the SWAPO veterans and orphans also wishing to be recognised as a distinct group with specific needs. In the near future we will see a new group forming of AIDS orphans who have grown up differently with specific disadvantages that need to be addressed to allow them to fully pluck the fruits of our freedom. What culture shall all these groups inherit?


There is a national culture Namibia. Thus we can refer to our language as Namlish with its peculiarities and pronunciations. We are known by our friends and foes on the sport fields as the Brave warriors and the Biltongboere.


In business we refer to the marketing process. It starts with an analysis of the present and then moves to develop a strategy. In marketing it is recognised that to provide the best product for the customer you need to segment the market. Tools such as the Living Standards Measurement are used to focus our marketing efforts. A typical LSM would include age, gender, race or cultural group and income. (Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) household surveys have become an important tool in measuring and understanding poverty in developing countries.)


The people of Namibia are the customer. To serve our people better we must recognise our difference not only in gender or language but also in race. The census in Namibia must measure the race and culture embraced by each resident in future.


The tertiary education institutes in Namibia must then participate in research focussing on cultural, racial, gender, urban-rural economic and livelihood inequalities in Namibia. This ongoing research must continue to ask what the relationship is between the growth and spatial distribution of the public and private economic sectors. It must also encompass the formal and informal economy, the nature of poverty, the characteristics of poor areas, and socio-economic empowerment.

Friday 3 February 2012

I am a socio-political entrepreneur

I often consider myself a socio-political entrepreneur. To me this means that while I chase a business objective, i also need align certain political / legal frameworks to enable me to reach my longer term goals.

Perhaps they just express it a little to harshly for my ego.


Architects of the Future: The Socio-Political Entrepreneurship Style of 5GW

PurpleSlog. "Architects of the Future: The Socio-Political Entrepreneurship Style of 5GW." PurpleSlog. August 27, 2007. http://purpleslog.wordpress.com/2007/08/27/architects-of-the-future-the-socio-political-entrepanuership-style-of-5gw/ (accessed January 14, 2011).
In the second blog post of a series of blog posts exploring potential archetypes, or styles, of 5GW, PurpleSlog suggests a “Socio-Political Entrepreneurship” style of 5GW.

Unlike the first archetype explored in the series (“The Puppet Master”), the Socio-Political Entrepreneurs will operate in the open to effect large-scale changes but their exact motives and ultimate goals will be hidden from view; that is,

The S-P-E 5GWer acts out in the open (not in secret), but their true aims or expected/hoped-for consequences are closely held (secret) and/or at longer timespans than most folks consider or notice (there’s the secrecy), or the effects are so broad/horizontal that the ramifications are overlooked by most.

The Socio-Political Entrepreneur will operate across many domains, with and/or upon a wide variety of other actors, through visible means, but his apparent goals will be seen as the normal goals of entrepreneurship of one sort or another while his real motivations and goals remain hidden. PurpleSlog gives a short list of examples, although these are given as metaphors and not necessarily as examples of real Socio-Political Entrepreneur 5GW effectors:

  • Super-empowered money actors (think Gates, Buffet, Soros)
  • Super-empowered media access actors (think Gore, Michael Moore, Kos)
  • Super-empowered idea/meme generating actors
Furthermore, many apparatuses such as NGOs or even Dan Abbott’s “Military-Industrial-Sysadmin Complex (MISC)” or other force structures or public organizations could conceivably operate as Socio-Political Entrepreneur 5GW organizations.

Architects of the Future: The Socio-Political Entrepreneurship Style of 5GW - 5GW Theory Timeline

Wednesday 1 February 2012

To my old slave master



Dayton, Ohio,
August 7, 1865
To My Old Master, Colonel P.H. Anderson, Big Spring, Tennessee

Sir: I got your letter, and was glad to find that you had not forgotten Jourdon, and that you wanted me to come back and live with you again, promising to do better for me than anybody else can. I have often felt uneasy about you. I thought the Yankees would have hung you long before this, for harboring Rebs they found at your house. I suppose they never heard about your going to Colonel Martin's to kill the Union soldier that was left by his company in their stable. Although you shot at me twice before I left you, I did not want to hear of your being hurt, and am glad you are still living. It would do me good to go back to the dear old home again, and see Miss Mary and Miss Martha and Allen, Esther, Green, and Lee. Give my love to them all, and tell them I hope we will meet in the better world, if not in this. I would have gone back to see you all when I was working in the Nashville Hospital, but one of the neighbors told me that Henry intended to shoot me if he ever got a chance.

I want to know particularly what the good chance is you propose to give me. I am doing tolerably well here. I get twenty-five dollars a month, with victuals and clothing; have a comfortable home for Mandy,—the folks call her Mrs. Anderson,—and the children—Milly, Jane, and Grundy—go to school and are learning well. The teacher says Grundy has a head for a preacher. They go to Sunday school, and Mandy and me attend church regularly. We are kindly treated. Sometimes we overhear others saying, "Them colored people were slaves" down in Tennessee. The children feel hurt when they hear such remarks; but I tell them it was no disgrace in Tennessee to belong to Colonel Anderson. Many darkeys would have been proud, as I used to be, to call you master. Now if you will write and say what wages you will give me, I will be better able to decide whether it would be to my advantage to move back again.

As to my freedom, which you say I can have, there is nothing to be gained on that score, as I got my free papers in 1864 from the Provost-Marshal-General of the Department of Nashville. Mandy says she would be afraid to go back without some proof that you were disposed to treat us justly and kindly; and we have concluded to test your sincerity by asking you to send us our wages for the time we served you. This will make us forget and forgive old scores, and rely on your justice and friendship in the future. I served you faithfully for thirty-two years, and Mandy twenty years. At twenty-five dollars a month for me, and two dollars a week for Mandy, our earnings would amount to eleven thousand six hundred and eighty dollars. Add to this the interest for the time our wages have been kept back, and deduct what you paid for our clothing, and three doctor's visits to me, and pulling a tooth for Mandy, and the balance will show what we are in justice entitled to. Please send the money by Adams's Express, in care of V. Winters, Esq., Dayton, Ohio. If you fail to pay us for faithful labors in the past, we can have little faith in your promises in the future. We trust the good Maker has opened your eyes to the wrongs which you and your fathers have done to me and my fathers, in making us toil for you for generations without recompense. Here I draw my wages every Saturday night; but in Tennessee there was never any pay-day for the negroes any more than for the horses and cows. Surely there will be a day of reckoning for those who defraud the laborer of his hire.

In answering this letter, please state if there would be any safety for my Milly and Jane, who are now grown up, and both good-looking girls. You know how it was with poor Matilda and Catherine. I would rather stay here and starve—and die, if it come to that—than have my girls brought to shame by the violence and wickedness of their young masters. You will also please state if there has been any schools opened for the colored children in your neighborhood. The great desire of my life now is to give my children an education, and have them form virtuous habits.

Say howdy to George Carter, and thank him for taking the pistol from you when you were shooting at me.

From your old servant,
Jourdon Anderson.


_________________________________________________________________________________________
In the summer of 1865, a former slave by the name of Jourdan Anderson sent a letter to his former master. And 147 years later, the document reads as richly as it must have back then.

The roughly 800-word letter, which has resurfaced via various blogs, websites, Twitter and Facebook, is a response to a missive from Colonel P.H. Anderson, Jourdan's former master back in Big Spring, Tennessee. Apparently, Col. Anderson had written Jourdan asking him to come on back to the big house to work.

In a tone that could be described either as "impressively measured" or "the deadest of deadpan comedy," the former slave, in the most genteel manner, basically tells the old slave master to kiss his rear end. He laments his being shot at by Col. Anderson when he fled slavery, the mistreatment of his children and that there "was never pay-day for the Negroes any more than for the horses and cows."

 To take a look at what appears to be a scan of the original letter, which appeared in an August 22, 1865 edition of the New York Daily Tribune, click below:


From:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/01/in-recently-discovered-le_n_1247288.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009

Why use words like black market?


Black and white in language was not used to refer to the colour of people's skin.

"....there were no “white” people in Europe before 1492. With the transatlantic slave trade, first Indian, then African, Europeans increasingly saw “white” as a race and race as an important human characteristic."

Before this period, black referred to things that could be done under cover of darkness.

Sorry friends, there is nothing racial about black market, etc.