By the things we do and the actions we take, we sometimes unknowingly express regret for being created the way we are.
We may as well all know that the purpose of media is for us to express opinions, educate, persuade and entertain. However, not all of us seem to use media for its intended purpose.
The duty lies in all of us to evaluate whether we are using it correctly for the purpose of those who are yet to be born. While we think we know, there are more uses of media than we think.
The presence of social media has changed a lot of things, good and bad. The truth seems to have been affected and it is far away from us on media. Why do I say this? If you take a careful look on social media such as Facebook, you will observe the following: on users’ profiles, you will learn that a lot of people from this country have false identification.
You will surely see that a person that we know and can locate to be working at a farm, has given his profile working at NIPAM, or NAMCOL learner, that we know very well has lied as he is studying at UNISA.
It gets worse when it comes to names – people have thrown away their surnames. Instead of Shamuyengo or Simasiku, you will see that they have changed to Gonzalo, Lorenzo or Buthelezi, as if they understand the meaning of these names! What is happening? How far are we from declaring officially that we are not proud of our parents and forefathers? Are we sure we are not forgetting where we come from? These questions are important; they will determine where we want to go and how we will get there.
We should be careful – we might wake up one day only to be told our new name means Satan! Remember, the time will come when we will be questioned for these kinds of decisions on our journey to Heaven.
Do not ask me about places. Some people look for a spot with a lawn, even dry lawn, as long as its grass, somewhere far in remote areas, deep in the bush, then they take a picture and post that they are in Zoo Park. This is done by many of us, if not all. It gets worse when one has migrated to the city. In this case, a social place such as Goreangab dam becomes London, ‘on a honeymoon with my fiancé, London here I come.’
You will break into laughter when you take your time to observe this. In a natural attempt to look beautiful, if not different, you will see that some of us risk pretending to look in a different direction. Some look to the sky while some hide to be taken pictures of, all in attempts to get a desired look. Is this thing not happening? It is. Why do we hide? This is done by us, young and old, including me. I don’t think we are proud of how we look and who we are.
It saddens to see how many of us have embraced the social media with likely clear ignorance of the kids that feed on these posts we post. It is human nature that everyone wants to look beautiful and handsome. But as long as we examine how we want to look, you will learn that a lot is going wrong in our minds, as reflected in our social media.
After carefully studying the media and how we use it, I cannot argue against someone who says that some of us argue to be light in complexion when we are dark, or get angry and pick up a serious fight with someone who describes us as black.
This may still be another inferiority complex. We need to be careful, our own indigenous languages are already bearing the pain. This kind of influence is the reason we consistently struggle to become proficient in our own African languages. In Namibia today, you may not find a literate individual who can speak his first language fluently without, “I mean….”
We value other languages more than our own, especially the almighty English which has been also handed to us. Many of us are proud to speak English instead of our own languages. As a result, we end up speaking English with our wives and children at home.
We need to be careful – let’s find ways to use media to preserve our own culture, at least a post of your picture holding a plough, beating drums, or traditional food for those who post food. Let’s use it for substantial purposes.
We appreciate that we can no longer walk thousands of miles to carry a funeral message to relatives like in the past; we acknowledge that it is making our lives easier. Let’s use it to improve ourselves and even our livestock. We should not forget, there was a time, not too long ago when we fought over pictures in a magazine.
Christian Mukuve
English and Thimbukushu lecturer
UNAM, Rundu Campus