EDITORIAL: Bringing fallen heroes home brings closure

The repatriation of Namibians who died and were buried outside the country is about more than returning human remains.

It restores something decades of separation denied their families – the certainty of knowing where their loved ones lie and the opportunity to mourn, honour and visit them at home.

For families that spent decades living with distant graves, unanswered questions and memories passed from one generation to another, that certainty matters. It cannot erase the loss, but it can provide closure. There must, therefore, be immeasurable relief for families who can finally point to a grave and say, 'This is where our father, mother, brother, sister or grandparent rests. The return of Simon Petrus Niilenge, Festus Nehale and the ancestral remains from South Africa should therefore not mark the end of this work. Namibians still lie scattered across countries where history, exile, war and colonialism took them.

Government should continue identifying those who are buried in distant lands, locating their graves and working with families and foreign authorities to bring home those whose relatives wish for their return. A nation owes its departed more than remembrance. Where possible, it should bring them home.