Anwar Abdullah Thomas
On behalf of !Aimablaagte Primary School
As parents, teachers and learners of !Aimablaagte Primary School, many of us did not know Axali Doëseb personally, but that does not lessen the pain we felt for losing a man of his stature, the composer of our school anthem.
Axali arrived to occupy the space amongst our school community at a time when we were busy embedding the identity of the new school in Mariental.
We succeeded in jointly deciding on the school uniform, the school logo and the emblem, but we had a difficulty to identify a composer. It was in July this year that our chairperson proposed Axali as the composer of our school anthem – an honour he humbly accepted – that is how our five-month journey with the eminent musician started.
Unbeknown to us, it was at a time that he was slowly walking into the sunset, but far-sightedness allowed him to complete the composition of our school anthem, ‘Run the Race with Endurance’.
To our knowledge, our school anthem is the 22 and the last composition of this great musician this country ever had.
Undoubtedly, Axali, through his music, invoked the emotions of pain, joy, grief, empowerment or simply fun – but more importantly, he moved us to march for justice, peace and the right to self-determination, which brought about independence.
Axali was gifted to precisely describe a place or emotions through his lyrics; it is like watching a movie.
In ‘Run the Race with Endurance’, he described conditions after the floods in Mariental:
“When floods block the way to knowledge and there’s no bridge over the damage, run the race with endurance.”
As the repositories of Axali Doëseb’s legacy, we will, with bravery through our academic, cultural and sports performances, honour the composer of ‘Namibia, Land of the Brave’.
“So good! Thank you, Mr conductor. My huge appreciation for leading the parents and the kids. Super!”
Axali, we last spoke on Saturday, the 21st of this month to inform you about our inauguration plans.
Sadly, to us, your promise to arrive two days before the inauguration to rehearse the songs with us will not materialise, but we take consolation in the fact you had approved Ambrosius #Nuseb to complete your assignment.
As agreed, we will unveil the school anthem, emblem, uniform, patron, anthem composer, board, teachers, learners, vision, mission and value statement when we inaugurate the school during the first term in 2024.
We will eternalise your contribution as one of the founding fathers of !APS posthumously.
Axali, in bidding you farewell, we will stand together in mourning you –not only for what you gave us when you were here but to remain true to our identity.
Go well, humble soul!