Each man for himself
Namibia was known as the smile on the face of Africa. This is no longer a truth. Our people were known for their hospitality, welcoming smiles and friendly attitudes. That too, is no longer a truth.
The truth in this country is that we are a selfish, egocentric, greedy bunch.
What kind of a person does it take to, for more than 24 months, defraud a ministry that is trying to educate our children to uplift them from poverty? What kind of a person does it take, to apply Vaseline to a condom to allow the continued rape of a 13-year-old girl? What kind of person does it take to stab his own four-year-old son the head because he believes the child' mother has cheated on him?
We see corruption and violence every single day in our small nation. Our violence levels are through the roof.
But our leaders proclaim peace and stability.
Well, allow us to disagree.
There is no peace and stability on our roads – people drive with an arrogance and a competitive nature like never before. They drive with a 'me-first attitude' and to hell with the rest. There is no courtesy at all.
There is no peace and stability within our state departments. Cashiers and other clerks are rude and self-aggrandising. They are lazy and have an attitude of the 'world owes them'. Travellers complain about rude customs and immigration officials, citizens complain about home affairs, vehicle owners complain about NATiS. And the list goes on.
Our crime, directed at the most vulnerable, can only be described as a pandemic. Day after day we are inundated with stories of gruesome violence, of women stabbed to disable them so they can be raped, of children raped, of children dumped. Of sons killing their mothers.
In this country, we kill over a cigarette or a cell phone.
Where is our fellowship? We are in trying times. Our sense of community is all but gone. Here, in our sunny corner of the world, it is each man for himself and invariably, the one with the mightiest weapon, is the one that wins.
Things are falling apart.
The truth in this country is that we are a selfish, egocentric, greedy bunch.
What kind of a person does it take to, for more than 24 months, defraud a ministry that is trying to educate our children to uplift them from poverty? What kind of a person does it take, to apply Vaseline to a condom to allow the continued rape of a 13-year-old girl? What kind of person does it take to stab his own four-year-old son the head because he believes the child' mother has cheated on him?
We see corruption and violence every single day in our small nation. Our violence levels are through the roof.
But our leaders proclaim peace and stability.
Well, allow us to disagree.
There is no peace and stability on our roads – people drive with an arrogance and a competitive nature like never before. They drive with a 'me-first attitude' and to hell with the rest. There is no courtesy at all.
There is no peace and stability within our state departments. Cashiers and other clerks are rude and self-aggrandising. They are lazy and have an attitude of the 'world owes them'. Travellers complain about rude customs and immigration officials, citizens complain about home affairs, vehicle owners complain about NATiS. And the list goes on.
Our crime, directed at the most vulnerable, can only be described as a pandemic. Day after day we are inundated with stories of gruesome violence, of women stabbed to disable them so they can be raped, of children raped, of children dumped. Of sons killing their mothers.
In this country, we kill over a cigarette or a cell phone.
Where is our fellowship? We are in trying times. Our sense of community is all but gone. Here, in our sunny corner of the world, it is each man for himself and invariably, the one with the mightiest weapon, is the one that wins.
Things are falling apart.
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Namibian Sun
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