Handling The Problems Of All Our People

CALLING this article a personal opinion while being in the capacity of Member of Parliament, being Secretary General of the Congress of Democrats (CoD), the official opposition Party, may sound incongruous.

I am representing a diverse constituency of people. The article, for this time, may concentrate more on the awakening of the horrors of the past.The past now includes the last 16 years.Following are my views about leadership, people and their problems and more so with regard to the ex-combatant or rather ex-freedom fighter saga.Obviously, different people at different levels and at different times know what they are talking about.I do not intend, in any way, to oppose or justify the demands made by the Committee on the Welfare of Ex-combatants.All I would say is that we must be open about issues of this nature.Of the many people who have spoken out about various issues and who have made demands, pleas, etc, some have been seen as being “outrageous”, asking for the “impossible”, some demanding “too much”.Others were again seen as making “reasonable demands” “possible to be considered”, etc.With the passing time many of the issues raised in the above manner are becoming a reality and our society is asked to think and rethink about some of these pertinent and persistent issues of concern.Some people did and still continue to ask for explanations only; some have simply asked for dialogue; others have asked for acknowledgement, and also for money, jobs; some for compensation, reward and others for justice.The good thing is that none have asked for trouble or punishment.Many mean not to provoke.Some of these people feel disappointed, some feel denied, some feel betrayed, insulted, some feel used and abused and others are angry.I am writing this article specifically because there are those amongst us who are ex-detainees by the last denomination, ex-combatants by the before-last denomination and Namibians in general.For over ten years now, we, the ex-detainees, have been trying to ask for justice and only justice.We have not asked for any monetary compensation.We have not threatened anybody in any way.We have not given any ultimatum to anyone.This does not mean, however, that we have forgotten our pain and the scars on our bodies and souls have in no way faded.We shall not ask for money.For how long have we asked the CCN and of late, some two years ago the now Bishop of the Lutheran Church (ELCRN) to mediate between Swapo and its Government and the ex-detainees, and the countless relatives of hundreds of missing people.The last time we, the Breaking the Wall of Silence movement (BWS), asked for such assistance from Bishop Zephaniah Kameeta, was a bit more than a year ago, upon which he pledged to adopt a “pastoral approach” that would heal the wounds of the tortured and the torturers.As we have all along maintained, we have wholeheartedly welcomed the idea of even helping those who suffer the trauma of having had to torture innocent fellow Namibians.Many of those who had to directly deal with us while in prison had to carry out orders from the top leaders.When we returned to Namibia in 1989, it was not long before Swapo abandoned those prison guards at Swapo dungeons and even those who were torturing people.Worst was even that amongst us have been people, who after some years of continuously torturing others, ended up in the dungeons among the very people they had tortured into false confessions.In spite of all their deeds, our hearts were very big and we were able to accommodate them and we would concede to even dressing their wounds.This was because we understood perfectly what was going on.To date, our hearts have remained big.We are able to see our torturers without taunting them.We are able to make ends meet in our own small and vulnerable ways.I particularly am even at a level where I have personally rendered financial assistance to some of the prison guards.I was able to introduce my son to the very person who tortured me and who told me that we, from the “south and central Namibia are dirty people”.We should not have been “even allowed to study after going into exile” and that we should “have been locked away on our arrival”.The man who had promised that they “would also deal with the internal Swapo leadership” whom he was claiming had “recruited and infiltrated us into Swapo as spies”.Namibians must remember that peace is attained at a very high price.Some people have attained peace for themselves at a high price and after betraying and killing so many innocent people.I do not think that building your house on top my grave will give you peace.Not myself, but my soul will haunt you, and thus far we have not even done that.I am really angered at how selective justice can be even in the eyes of our spiritual leaders.Without criticising, but rather applauding Bishop Kameeta for OFFERING to mediate between the ex-combatants and the Government, I would like to point out here that we have for so long asked the Council of Churches in Namibia (CCN) to act as a mediator between the direct and indirect victims of the ruling Party, while in exile in Angola.I went to see Bishop Kameeta in his former office at Parliament in 1996.As far back as 2004/5 I had an audience with him, as BWS Chairman, in his office at the ELCRN head office.Where else would we meet again, for I may not reach heaven? I must however give recognition to Bishop Kameeta for having spoken out directly about what he felt about the silence and refusal “to speak to the brothers and sisters of the Lubango dungeons” by the ruling Party and its government.He did so during the last Tuhungileni gathering.The poor victims of Lubango, direct or indirect, are today the poorest and the most marginalised ones.We may be seen as cowards, useless and lazy drunkards who live in utter frustration and trauma, but we do not all internalise that libel.I am yearning for the leader who would mediate between poverty and Government.I am craving a leader who would mediate for injustice without being selective.Do we have to resort to some kind of action to get some mediation offers? Or shall we live in a sort of a limbo while hoping to get some justice? Justice is fought for and we have done so in a very consultative and sensitive manner for the past 16 years.The plight of the Lubango victims has been on cards for long now.Other issues, claims, demands and even conditions have come and changed while the ex-detainee issue remained “sensitive”.Some torturers were crowned as heroes and others decorated with medals.Many people live in utter poverty in Namibia.The government turns a blind eye to that.Our country’s crucial institutional infrastructure is falling apart at high speed.The country’s moral fibre is degenerating.Social relations are broken and friends and comrades are now rivals because of tribalism.All these are happening right on Namibian soil, so many years after we pledged to uphold the gains of the struggle.People will continue to seek justice.It’s a matter of time and form in which they will attain that.I call upon fellow leaders to initiate a national dialogue where we should redefine the course of our next journey into good governance of our country and all our people.The current squabbles and crisis in the ruling Party and Government and even in some groups and the ranks of many people and common citizens are not only the business of those concerned.These problems must be approached nationally before Namibia becomes further fragmented socially and politically.There are continuous and worrying signs of fragmentation of Namibian society and a new breed of political leadership must surface before the last bit of stability and peace corrodes.* The author of this opinion piece, Reinhard Kala Gertze, is a former combatant and Swapo detainee who is now Secretary General of the CoD and Member of Parliament.The article, for this time, may concentrate more on the awakening of the horrors of the past.The past now includes the last 16 years.Following are my views about leadership, people and their problems and more so with regard to the ex-combatant or rather ex-freedom fighter saga.Obviously, different people at different levels and at different times know what they are talking about.I do not intend, in any way, to oppose or justify the demands made by the Committee on the Welfare of Ex-combatants.All I would say is that we must be open about issues of this nature.Of the many people who have spoken out about various issues and who have made demands, pleas, etc, some have been seen as being “outrageous”, asking for the “impossible”, some demanding “too much”.Others were again seen as making “reasonable demands” “possible to be considered”, etc.With the passing time many of the issues raised in the above manner are becoming a reality and our society is asked to think and rethink about some of these pertinent and persistent issues of concern.Some people did and still continue to ask for explanations only; some have simply asked for dialogue; others have asked for acknowledgement, and also for money, jobs; some for compensation, reward and others for justice.The good thing is that none have asked for trouble or punishment.Many mean not to provoke.Some of these people feel disappointed, some feel denied, some feel betrayed, insulted, some feel used and abused and others are angry.I am writing this article specifically because there are those amongst us who are ex-detainees by the last denomination, ex-combatants by the before-last denomination and Namibians in general.For over ten years now, we, the ex-detainees, have been trying to ask for justice and only justice.We have not asked for any monetary compensation.We have not threatened anybody in any way.We have not given any ultimatum to anyone.This does not mean, however, that we have forgotten our pain and the scars on our bodies and souls have in no way faded.We shall not ask for money.For how long have we asked the CCN and of late, some two years ago the now Bishop of the Lutheran Church (ELCRN) to mediate between Swapo and its Government and the ex-detainees, and the countless relatives of hundreds of missing people.The last time we, the Breaking the Wall of Silence movement (BWS), asked for such assistance from Bishop Zephaniah Kameeta, was a bit more than a year ago, upon which he pledged to adopt a “pastoral approach” that would heal the wounds of the tortured and the torturers.As we have all along maintained, we have wholeheartedly welcomed the idea of even helping those who suffer the trauma of having had to torture innocent fellow Namibians.Many of those who had to directly deal with us while in prison had to carry out orders from the top leaders.When we returned to Namibia in 1989, it was not long before Swapo abandoned those prison guards at Swapo dungeons and even those who were torturing people.Worst was even that amongst us have been people, who after some years of continuously torturing others, ended up in the dungeons among the very people they had tortured into false confessions.In spite of all their deeds, our hearts were very big and we were able to accommodate them and we would concede to even dressing their wounds.This was because we understood perfectly what was going on.To date, our hearts have remained big.We are able to see our torturers without taunting them.We are able to make ends meet in our own small and vulnerable ways.I particularly am even at a level where I have personally rendered financial assistance to some of the prison guards.I was able to introduce my son to the very person who tortured me and who told me that we, from the “south and central Namibia are dirty people”.We should not have been “even allowed to study after going into exile” and that we should “have been locked away on our arrival”.The man who had promised that they “would also deal with the internal Swapo leadership” whom he was claiming had “recruited and infiltrated us into Swapo as spies”.Namibians must remember that peace is attained at a very high price. Some people have attained peace for themselves at a high price and after betraying and killing so many innocent people.I do not think that building your house on top my grave will give you peace.Not myself, but my soul will haunt you, and thus far we have not even done that.I am really angered at how selective justice can be even in the eyes of our spiritual leaders.Without criticising, but rather applauding Bishop Kameeta for OFFERING to mediate between the ex-combatants and the Government, I would like to point out here that we have for so long asked the Council of Churches in Namibia (CCN) to act as a mediator between the direct and indirect victims of the ruling Party, while in exile in Angola.I went to see Bishop Kameeta in his former office at Parliament in 1996.As far back as 2004/5 I had an audience with him, as BWS Chairman, in his office at the ELCRN head office.Where else would we meet again, for I may not reach heaven? I must however give recognition to Bishop Kameeta for having spoken out directly about what he felt about the silence and refusal “to speak to the brothers and sisters of the Lubango dungeons” by the ruling Party and its government.He did so during the last Tuhungileni gathering.The poor victims of Lubango, direct or indirect, are today the poorest and the most marginalised ones.We may be seen as cowards, useless and lazy drunkards who live in utter frustration and trauma, but we do not all internalise that libel.I am yearning for the leader who would mediate between poverty and Government.I am craving a leader who would mediate for injustice without being selective.Do we have to resort to some kind of action to get some mediation offers? Or shall we live in a sort of a limbo while hoping to get some justice? Justice is fought for and we have done so in a very consultative and sensitive manner for the past 16 years.The plight of the Lubango victims has been on cards for long now.Other issues, claims, demands and even conditions have come and changed while the ex-detainee issue remained “sensitive”.Some torturers were crowned as heroes and others decorated with medals.Many people live in utter poverty in Namibia.The government turns a blind eye to that.Our country’s crucial institutional infrastructure is falling apart at high speed.The country’s moral fibre is degenerating.Social relations are broken and friends and comrades are now rivals because of tribalism.All these are happening right on Namibian soil, so many years after we pledged to uphold the gains of the struggle.People will continue to seek justice.It’s a matter of time and form in which they will attain that.I call upon fellow leaders to initiate a national dialogue where we should redefine the course of our next journey into good governance of our country and all our people.The current squabbles and crisis in the ruling Party and Government and even in some groups and the ranks of many people and common citizens are not only the business of those concerned.These problems must be approached nationally before Namibia becomes further fragmented socially and politically.There are continuous and worrying signs of fragmentation of Namibian society and a new breed of political leadership must surface before the last bit of stability and peace corrodes.* The author of this opinion piece, Reinhard Kala Gertze, is a former combatant and Swapo detainee who is now Secretary General of the CoD and Member of Parliament.