Namibia is set to commemorate Genocide Remembrance Day for the first time tomorrow.
The day was chosen following a Cabinet decision after consultation with a range of affected community leaders.
This article looks at the significance of Genocide Remembrance Day as a step towards reconciliation.
First, a brief background: Between 1904-1908, Germany launched an ethnic extermination against the Nama and Ovaherero people.
It was the first genocide of the 20th century – over 100 000 Ovaherero and Namas were killed.
After Namibia gained independence in 1990, the new government started genocide negotiations with Germany, which have not been without controversy.
In 2018, Germany returned skulls and other remains of massacred Namibians used in colonial-era experiments to assert claims of European racial superiority.
TOWARDS HEALING
Genocide Remembrance Day signifies a milestone for Namibians in their steadfastness against past injustices.
It is a day that symbolises peace and unity.
It also symbolises the bravery of our forefathers – Hendrik Witbooi and Samuel Maharero – in the struggle for freedom.
Their valour inspired our late founding president, Sam Nujoma, to continue where they left off in the fight for independence.
Reconciliation is an important step in the transformation of societies divided by past injustices.
Joanna Santa-Barbara, a psychiatrist and peace activist, defines reconciliation as restoring a state of peace to a relationship where the entities are at least not harming each other, and can begin to be trusted not to do so in future.
It means that revenge is foregone as an option.
Reconciliation involves a long-term process of telling the truth about the harm done in order to heal, acknowledging atrocities, apologising to the victims wholeheartedly, genuinely asking for forgiveness and an assurance that it will never happen again, and providing justice in the form of restitution.
MOVING FORWARD
The restitution process between Namibia and Germany remains deadlocked.
However, it is hoped that the remembrance day will change Germany’s heart and attitude and help finalise that process.
In summary, Genocide Remembrance Day can mark the beginning of a better road towards forgiveness and justice between Namibia and Germany.
This road is necessary in Namibia’s quest for healing from past injustices.
- Collen Kurana is a doctor of philosophy student in peace studies at the Durban University of Technology.
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