By Gerson Sindano
THE fear that comes with the thought of launching war is unmistakable, let alone facing a well equipped enemy. The big question that boggles my mind up to date is how did the few valiant Namibians reach a conclusion to wage war against an enemy who was armed to the teeth?
Correspondingly, how did they even think about hiding in those one-dimensional trenches and sparsely distributed bushes at Omugulu-wombashe? It is a known fact in the military that entering a battlefield is no wimp’s job! What makes the Namibian liberation struggle even more interesting is the fact that you had men and women who had literally nothing to protect themselves with, yet they marched in the face of adversity with the hope that one day victory would be on their side. Stories are told that these men and women walked long distances eating berries, wild oranges and worms to survive and fight another day. Some of them got ill, injured, wounded and hungry as they soldiered on.
With blood oozing from their wounds, they stopped short of looking back or surrendering, but they kept their heads up and kept striding briskly towards the promise of freedom that appeared on the horizon in the direction of their march. These valiant men and women were at their own peril in those foreign lands. Like the enemy, nature did not spare them either as some of them died of malaria, snake-bites or attacks from wild animals such as crocodiles as they crossed crocodile infested rivers. The enemy had enough bombs to shake all of Cassinga’s foundations and all physical infrastructure erected by PLAN, but what the enemy did not have is the bomb to shake the foundation of the Namibian people’s resolve and determination. The enemy had all the explosives, enough to send courageous hearts into hiding, but like true warriors the Namibian people stood unfaltering and faced a brutal enemy with zeal, vigour and determination.
Despite the explosions of bombs in places such as Cassinga and Quito Cuanavale, the Namibian people remained firm. Their goal was simple – unconditional freedom. After an arduous and long journey of struggle and fighting, an oasis of freedom appeared in the middle of the sweltering humidity of the apartheid regime. All the inhabitants of the newly established republic descended on the capital city, Windhoek, to celebrate their victory. The people became one; the nation became single. Namibia soon became the beacon of hope and freedom in southern Africa. The fact that the enemy did not manage to force those men and women to surrender or instil fear in their hearts, the logical conclusion is that the enemy had failed tactfully and politically.
The enemy failed to make Namibians capitulate to their (enemy’s) political whims. Logically speaking, Namibia ultimately won the war. Soon independence was within Namibia’s reach. Excitingly, since independence Namibia has grown into a formidable force to be reckoned with, socially and politically. However, despite the political freedom and independence, Namibia is still faced with insurmountable challenges in terms of job creation and economic freedom. The Founding president Dr Sam Nujoma is one of the proponents of economic emancipation for all Namibians. I comradely call upon him to continue illuminating our nation with his zeal, vigour, determination and wisdom. We have come along away as a nation; it is time now that we have to figure out solutions pragmatically to the high unemployment rate in the country. For comment contact me at gersindano@gmail.com
Gerson Sindano is a final year Master of Arts in English student in the Department of Language and Literature Studies, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Namibia.