Damara and San join genocide chorus

The Damara and San people of Namibia claim to have suffered at the hands of the OvaHerero and Nama in the same way that the latter tribes suffered at the hands of the Germans. The two communities urged the Education Ministry to review the history taught in schools to include their painful past. This comes hot on the heels of one of Namibia’s stalwarts of the liberation struggle, Mburumba Kerina, saying not only the OvaHerero and Nama people were affected by the colonial genocide of 1904 – 08. That supported a disputed 2014 claim by the National Heritage Council of Namibia that the remains of Owambo, Damara and San people were taken to Germany alongside those of OvaHerero and Nama people during the colonial period. In letter titled, ‘The Damara and San Genocide Before the Establishment of the German Protectorate in 1907’, the Damara and San communities demand an apology from the OvaHerero and Nama and the start of dialogue on reparations. They support their argument with the fact that the German colonial troops, OvaHerero and Nama warriors didn’t find themselves in a vacuum or in uninhabited land. This is according to Edward !Aoxamub of the Cross Cultural Trust of Namibia (CCTN). “There were San and Damaras who were in this south-western part of Africa as a peaceful abode,” !Aoxamub said. He stressed that even though history might be bitter and painful, it was equally dangerous to preach half of the truth. “The true history of Namibia includes the San, the Damara, OvaHerero, Nama, Ovambo, Kavango, Germans, Afrikaners, Basters, Tswanas.” He added that the San inhabited the desert plans and the Damaras the mountainous areas. “[Let us] begin the real process of reconciliation or reparation starting from the pre-colonial era, because atrocities were committed against the Berg Damara and San before 1904.” He said this account was reflected in certain historical books including ‘The Berg Damara’ by German author Heinrich Vedder. He quotes from it: “The [Ova]Herero and Nama ruthlessly committed violence against the Berg Damara before the German protectorate was established. “The Berg Damara was killed as one exterminates a destructive animal and no one, man, woman, child was sure of their life in the lonely veld or in inaccessible camp. “[Ova]Herero warriors were sent to apparently wipe out a troublesome Berg Damara settlement and they found a lone Damara whom they forced to betray the settlement.” !Aoxamub stressed that this narrative was more gruesome than the atrocities recorded by historians. He warned that this should not be taken lightly by the Germans, Namas and OvaHereros. “In this case an apology and reconciliation or reparations need to come from the [Ova]Herero and Nama as much as it must come from Germans to the San and the Berg Damaras.” ELVIS MURARANGANDA