By Kae Matundu-Tjiparuro
SWAKOPMUND
Side by side, shoulder to shoulder, Ovaherero traditional leaders Kuaima Riruako and Christian Zeraeua led a contingent of hundreds of people, predominantly in the green, red and white colours of these three flags, through the streets of this coastal town to the cemetery where they unveiled a memorial stone in the memory of those who perished in concentration camps here, one of colonial Germany’s host of concentration camps in the then German South-West Africa, as Namibia was known then.
The occasion was the Ovaherero-Ovambanderu Reparation Walk organized by the Ovaherero Genocide Committee’s coastal chapter, the Ovaherero-Ovambanderu Genocide and Reparation Coastal Committee.
Starting off about two hours after the scheduled time for the start of the march, the procession set off from the corner of Moses Garoeb Street and Tobias Hainyeko and moved all the way down Moses Garoeb for about two kilometres to the cemetery.
Some marchers waved placards with messages: “We shall never ever give up”, referring to the quest of the Ovaherero and Ovambanderu for reparation. Battle cry chants accompanied the procession marked by drilling parades. This provided the inhabitants of this holiday resort with an unusual spectre, luring them out of their Saturday morning slumber. Along the way, one could see a sprinkling of curious inhabitants peeping from the windows of their high-rise apartments.
The memorial stone bears the following inscription: “In memory of the thousands of heroic Ovaherero/Ovambanderu who perished under mysterious circumstances at the realm of their German colonial masters in concentration camps in Swakopmund / Otjozondjii during 1904-1908. Rest in Peace. Suvee Mohange. Kavitondemna. 31st March 2007. Swakopmund-Namibia.”
The procession moved back along Moses Garoeb Street into the main street of the town, Sam Nujoma, and eventually into Tobias Hainyeko to the Swakopmund Stadium for the remainder of the programme entailing mainly speeches. The procession led by warriors in traditional Ovahimba gear chanted moving battle cries in true warlike mould to put the speakers in the mood for the occasion. This was paying tribute to those who perished in concentration camps and at the same time celebrating the 200th anniversary since the abolition of slavery and slave trade in Britain.
Among those who attended and delivered speeches were the Minister of Veteran Affairs Dr Ngarikutuke Tjiriange, United Nations Resident Coordinator Simon Nhongo, Pan-African Centre Board Member and a descendant of the victims of the Ovaherero/Ovambanderu-German war Mauren Hinda-Mbaziira, and Kamutuua Kandorozu who led a contingent of Ovaherero/Ovambanderu currently in the South African Diaspora. Ovaherero/Ovambanderu from Botswana also attended the occasion.
The event was held under the theme: “Rededicating ourselves to our resolve that never again shall we be colonized and enslaved through retracing the footsteps of our ancestors to rediscover their unmarked graves for a dignified burial.”