2013-11-08Mathias Haufiku CAN somebody please tell me when did Namibians became selfish and self-centred? Just when I thought Namibians are one of the most caring people on the globe, the N$13 million ‘KK’ public outcry erupts. And no, I am not talking about Kazenambo Kazenambo but the Dr Kenneth David Kaunda of Zambia, the founding president of Zambia and by extension the founding father of Southern Africa. It seems many Namibians have rudimentary minds on Zambia’s role towards our attaining independence and have a problem with government’s decision to give Kaunda a small token of appreciation in the form of a multi-million dollar house. Maybe those who are condemning the donation forgot that Namibia fought for its independence from Zambian soil until independence was attained in 1990. Why must we be selfish now? At this rate, I bet if any of our neighbours were to engage in a battle, we will be the first country to lock all our borders. It seems we are quick to forget the help our forefathers got from the Zambians as they fought the enemy tooth and nail to free the then South West Africa, from South Africa. I agree that we face a myriad of social problems such as drought, malnutrition, lack of schools and other basic services, but I say it will be foolish to think that the people of Zambia did not have their own social problems when they accommodated Namibians during the struggle. How ungrateful can one be, it’s like a child being raised by a single mother, schooled, taken to university and ends up getting a good job. Now that he/she is working, whenever the mother calls and ask for financial or any sort of assistance you hear them saying: “Eish, my mom likes asking money, I also have my things to do,” as if your mom did not have her things to do while raising you. When Zambia got its independence in 1964 it was surrounded by many states which were yet to be liberated, like Zimbabwe, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique and of course our mother country, Namibia. Zambia, under Kaunda’s presidency, at the time took an absolute liberation stance and assumed the big brother role by accommodating its struggling siblings. With its abundance of natural resources, trust me, Zambia could have been the biggest economic player in SADC and even in Africa, but it chose to place its neighbours before its own interest. Our fighting from Zambia’s border towns left many indelible physical and psychological scars on Zambia as a whole and the detractors just want to overlook that. Like the old adage goes: “A man in trouble is only your friend until he meets success.” That N$13 million does not even come close to the damages our presence in Zambia caused, so save your words for a more worthy cause. – Eewa By Mathias Haufiku 2013-11-08Mathias Haufiku
