Natives and the vanished dignity - by Job Shipululo Amupanda
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I am of a thinking that the African child of the 21st century is highly engulfed by 'Globalization' activities and cannot really hear the dogs barking as they see the EuroAsians from a distance, coming their direction. When they (EuroAsians) start cultivating mahangu or standing as candidates in our elections, maybe my generation will wake up.
In The wretched of the earth, Frantz Fanon, writing in the early 60s, submitted before us the amalgamation of issues surrounding Race, Colonization and Decolonization.
Fanon's contribution if carefully read can enable us to capture what we ought to have done in the process of decolonization.
The verity is that it is not enough to recover your parents' stolen house from the trespassers, when you are still sitting at the floor, while the goon is sitting on a comfortable chair in the same house because you have apparently "reconciled". This is not and should not be reconciliation.
That is a fallacy that should be condemned with all the condemnation it deserves.
National reconciliation should not be used to justify injustices and abuse of our people. If the tendency continues, I will be the first to call for the denouncement of the policy.
The foundation and the framework in which the same policy was fashioned is clear and should not be manipulated. Fanon asserts that decolonisation ought to bring in the 'complete calling in question of the colonial situation' or in other words 'the last shall be first and the first last'.
In my personal view, for us to reconcile, you must first depart from my parents' house and not just surrender the ownership while you remain sitting on a cozy chair deciding the rules of the game. You must leave so I assume my rightful place.
As you go to your parents' house, we will then reconcile when we meet as equal neighbours if we are, as community members if we are, as fellow citizens if we are or as children of the world.
For us to achieve the notion of 'all people are equal', the colonised must first be deliberately allowed to come at the same socio-economic level as the colonisers and their children, then we can start talking about equality as there can never be equality when a hungry athlete is put at the same line with a satisfied athlete and told to compete at the same time, place and manner.
As this might look as equality to others, it is not to me. The application of equality must be twinned with equity and the principle of fairness. The principle is that yes we must treat equal cases equally but fundamentally, we must deal with unequal cases in proportion to their inequality.
Fanon's utterances remain relevant in today's context.
In the words of this magnificent African child, 'the settler's town is a strongly-built town, all made of stone and steel. It is a brightly-lit town; the streets are covered with asphalt; the settler's feet are never visible, except perhaps in the sea; but there you're never close enough to see them. His feet are protected by strong shoes although the streets of his town are clean and even, with no holes or stones. The settler's town is a well-fed town, easy-going town; its belly is always full of good things'.
Far away and in remote areas, is the native place of residence described as ' a hungry town, starved of bread, of meat, of shoes, of coal, of light. The native town is a crouching village, a town on its knees, a town wallowing in the mire.'
Who doesn't know that in this country, we still have settlers that use zoological terms in mentioning natives?
Just look around and see how the natives are inhumanely treated.
It will not be difficult to stand by the road and see a bakkie packed with more than 20 workers being transported to workplaces, working on a tender worth more than one million Namibian dollars. The natives remain the exploited employees of the settlers and colonisers. We still have segregated schools. Accessibility does not imply a total removal of apartheid remnants and machineries.
I visited a school that still has chairs still printed South West Africa while you find a service station with all prices written 'Rand' instead of 'Dollars'.
It is said that settlers have both Namibian and South African citizenship. The settlers are of course ignorant of our revolution. The other day I was at the police station to collect my certificate of conduct, I was in a queue with many people that included the two citizens that I assume to be Afrikaners.
One of them was told by the police officer that a certain document of his that I did not take much note of was missing. In response, this man had the audacity to rudely shout at the police officer, fold his document and throw it to the direction of the 'constable' and remarked 'throw it in your dustbin'.
This event angered me and those patriotic compatriots who were in that same queue.
I for one thought that the man will be arrested right away but to my surprise he took off freely - presumably saying 'the natives cannot do anything to me the son of the settler'.
As a young person, it is very much disturbing seeing this happening in a decolonized motherland and to a state agency to which we have surrendered our natural act of protecting, governing and defending ourselves (our sovereignty).
If I am to meet this same man somewhere and he does something to me, should I report him to the police or 'nandi tulemo ongonyo' (punch him)?
Having told this story to many citizens from different regions and various places, I soon learned that there are many cases in which the natives are inhumanely treated by the settlers to the point where they are still given to 'eat with dogs and other pets'.
This appears unreal hearing it from the third party but once you have a conversation with those that have experienced it, you realise that decolonisation has just taken off.
The intricacy here is that due to the poverty level in our country, lack of qualification to fall back on and the need of employment, most of our people have succumbed to white supremacy and sold their dignity for economic survival.
The stories from domestic workers are more humiliating than ones from the farms while ones from farms are worse than from industries and so on.
It seems that Du Bois's avowal that the problem of the 20th century is that of a colour-line needs to be stretched to the 21st century.
What is clear here is that something needs to be done. Natives in the new Namibia must be on top of the food chain.
Needless to say, I end with the submission that if establishing a body to deal with cases pertaining to inhumane treatment of the native is farfetched then the police must do us this little favour of establishing an SMS line where we can tip the police on events of this nature because as I have already indicated, many people especially the unskilled and semi-skilled natives have sold their dignity for survival.
With the SMS line, you spare many the trouble of victimisation and travelling long distances from a farm in Outjo and other racially notorious places.
Till second half - hear and be heard.
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In The wretched of the earth, Frantz Fanon, writing in the early 60s, submitted before us the amalgamation of issues surrounding Race, Colonization and Decolonization.
Fanon's contribution if carefully read can enable us to capture what we ought to have done in the process of decolonization.
The verity is that it is not enough to recover your parents' stolen house from the trespassers, when you are still sitting at the floor, while the goon is sitting on a comfortable chair in the same house because you have apparently "reconciled". This is not and should not be reconciliation.
That is a fallacy that should be condemned with all the condemnation it deserves.
National reconciliation should not be used to justify injustices and abuse of our people. If the tendency continues, I will be the first to call for the denouncement of the policy.
The foundation and the framework in which the same policy was fashioned is clear and should not be manipulated. Fanon asserts that decolonisation ought to bring in the 'complete calling in question of the colonial situation' or in other words 'the last shall be first and the first last'.
In my personal view, for us to reconcile, you must first depart from my parents' house and not just surrender the ownership while you remain sitting on a cozy chair deciding the rules of the game. You must leave so I assume my rightful place.
As you go to your parents' house, we will then reconcile when we meet as equal neighbours if we are, as community members if we are, as fellow citizens if we are or as children of the world.
For us to achieve the notion of 'all people are equal', the colonised must first be deliberately allowed to come at the same socio-economic level as the colonisers and their children, then we can start talking about equality as there can never be equality when a hungry athlete is put at the same line with a satisfied athlete and told to compete at the same time, place and manner.
As this might look as equality to others, it is not to me. The application of equality must be twinned with equity and the principle of fairness. The principle is that yes we must treat equal cases equally but fundamentally, we must deal with unequal cases in proportion to their inequality.
Fanon's utterances remain relevant in today's context.
In the words of this magnificent African child, 'the settler's town is a strongly-built town, all made of stone and steel. It is a brightly-lit town; the streets are covered with asphalt; the settler's feet are never visible, except perhaps in the sea; but there you're never close enough to see them. His feet are protected by strong shoes although the streets of his town are clean and even, with no holes or stones. The settler's town is a well-fed town, easy-going town; its belly is always full of good things'.
Far away and in remote areas, is the native place of residence described as ' a hungry town, starved of bread, of meat, of shoes, of coal, of light. The native town is a crouching village, a town on its knees, a town wallowing in the mire.'
Who doesn't know that in this country, we still have settlers that use zoological terms in mentioning natives?
Just look around and see how the natives are inhumanely treated.
It will not be difficult to stand by the road and see a bakkie packed with more than 20 workers being transported to workplaces, working on a tender worth more than one million Namibian dollars. The natives remain the exploited employees of the settlers and colonisers. We still have segregated schools. Accessibility does not imply a total removal of apartheid remnants and machineries.
I visited a school that still has chairs still printed South West Africa while you find a service station with all prices written 'Rand' instead of 'Dollars'.
It is said that settlers have both Namibian and South African citizenship. The settlers are of course ignorant of our revolution. The other day I was at the police station to collect my certificate of conduct, I was in a queue with many people that included the two citizens that I assume to be Afrikaners.
One of them was told by the police officer that a certain document of his that I did not take much note of was missing. In response, this man had the audacity to rudely shout at the police officer, fold his document and throw it to the direction of the 'constable' and remarked 'throw it in your dustbin'.
This event angered me and those patriotic compatriots who were in that same queue.
I for one thought that the man will be arrested right away but to my surprise he took off freely - presumably saying 'the natives cannot do anything to me the son of the settler'.
As a young person, it is very much disturbing seeing this happening in a decolonized motherland and to a state agency to which we have surrendered our natural act of protecting, governing and defending ourselves (our sovereignty).
If I am to meet this same man somewhere and he does something to me, should I report him to the police or 'nandi tulemo ongonyo' (punch him)?
Having told this story to many citizens from different regions and various places, I soon learned that there are many cases in which the natives are inhumanely treated by the settlers to the point where they are still given to 'eat with dogs and other pets'.
This appears unreal hearing it from the third party but once you have a conversation with those that have experienced it, you realise that decolonisation has just taken off.
The intricacy here is that due to the poverty level in our country, lack of qualification to fall back on and the need of employment, most of our people have succumbed to white supremacy and sold their dignity for economic survival.
The stories from domestic workers are more humiliating than ones from the farms while ones from farms are worse than from industries and so on.
It seems that Du Bois's avowal that the problem of the 20th century is that of a colour-line needs to be stretched to the 21st century.
What is clear here is that something needs to be done. Natives in the new Namibia must be on top of the food chain.
Needless to say, I end with the submission that if establishing a body to deal with cases pertaining to inhumane treatment of the native is farfetched then the police must do us this little favour of establishing an SMS line where we can tip the police on events of this nature because as I have already indicated, many people especially the unskilled and semi-skilled natives have sold their dignity for survival.
With the SMS line, you spare many the trouble of victimisation and travelling long distances from a farm in Outjo and other racially notorious places.
Till second half - hear and be heard.
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