BY DR Ngarikutuke Tjiriange
The policy of the apartheid colonial regime of South Africa was based on the division of Namibians according to their tribes and colour of their skin.
As I was growing up the so-called native locations were divided into sections according to the tribes of the people. Let me hasten to state here that I am using the word “tribe” reluctantly and with hard feelings, although it is the word we use when we are referring to black and non-white people, maybe unknowingly.
I have difficulty using the word “tribe” for the following reasons; it was used by white colonialists to refer only to the so-called “primitive” and “uncivilized” people.
They never regarded themselves as “tribes” but either as nations, peoples or communities.
White colonialists to describe people in developing countries only used the word “tribe”. It was and is, indeed, offensive in that sense. However, for the purpose of this article I shall use it. The locations to which I have referred to was divided in the following way: Damara locations with the letter “D” on the doors of the houses, Herero locations with “H”, Ovambo locations with “OV” and Nama with “N.”
The whites were all living together, irrespective whether they were Afrikaners, Germans, and English etc. provided that they were not living with black people.
It is against this unacceptable apartheid division that our government has abolished and officially ended these annoying divisions.
Our government did not encounter any problem in implementing this noble policy, particularly from the blacks of this country.
The only tacit resistance to the implementation of this policy came from a tiny minority of our white compatriots who did not feel comfortable with black people coming to live in the formerly whites only suburbs. The majority of the whites in fact accepted this policy.
That as it may, the move is successful and all the people now live where they want and there are no more tribal or racial divisions.
Ironically and amusingly while we had introduced this progressive policy, in the same breath we allowed and tolerated the creation of a Chinatown.
We stopped our own citizens from dividing themselves along tribal and colour lines but we allowed foreign Chinese people to create what we have done away with in the country. To me it does not make any sense.
The Chinese friends must settle anywhere in the country together with all the citizens instead of them having a dedicated “tribal” China town.
During apartheid there were tribal “locations” now we have “tribal” China “town” (may be with a letter “C”).
The difference is only that during apartheid era it was known as location now it is known as town.
There are those who are arguing that in some countries, say for example like USA in some of their cities like New-York City, there are China towns, therefore why not here? It is true that there are places like that but what is good for those countries may not necessarily be good for Namibia. We are ruling our country and we are not ruling those countries.
For instance some of those countries occupy territories of other countries, which are far away from their own countries, claiming that such territories are their enclaves. They even take military actions against those countries, justifying such actions by not so convincing reasons, while Namibia cannot do the same. That is also not convincing because there are many Chinese who have shops basically in many places and towns in Namibia where there are no China towns and they live comfortably together with Namibian people in those places. I wonder whether one day I will see an Ovambo or Herero town in Beijing!
It will be interesting to see what will be the reaction of the Chinese authorities to such a development.
What goes round comes round! Say for instance if by any chance one day there will be some Namibians who will advocate for the creation of Damara towns, Herero towns, German towns, Ovambo towns, Afrikaner towns etc. in our country. Are we going to have any strong moral, political or legal justification to prevent such behaviour while we had allowed the creation of China town? It is against this background that I personally am opposed to the existence of the so-called “Herero mall,” because such tribal or racial arrangements may just precipitate unintended and undesirable consequences.
We have gone through painful and terrible racial discrimination and tribal divisions in this country for so many years and we cannot and should not allow some people to bring back something similar or resembling and reminding us of such nightmares in this free country, no matter under which pretext.
Let us not allow things to happen which have the potential to backfire and hound us tomorrow. It is always good to be foresighted and be vigilant in order not to fall victims of things that we could have prevented.
Finally I seriously believe that there is no need or justification whatsoever for the existence of tribal or racial towns and locations in this united, progressive and non-racial country of ours. More so taking into consideration the unacceptable colonial tribal and racial arrangements from which we had liberated ourselves not so long ago.
I should end by asking a rhetorical question: What is the difference between the creation of tribal and racial towns and acting and feeling nostalgically to apartheid separate development?
Dr Ngarikutuke Tjiriange is the Special Advisor to the Minister of Home Affairs and Immigration and he previously served as the Secretary General of SWAPO.