EDITORIAL: Peace is a construction of many things

Peace and stability are staple foods of Namibian podium rhetoric. It’s a ball that get thrown into the court of the masses, as if the state only has a secondary role to the cause.

In South Africa, where the flames of this week’s violence are still visible across the Orange, some justified that the looting was inevitable in a country where youth employment is above 70%.

Peace by word of mouth is not enough. There can never be peace where Maslow’s hierarchy of needs – especially the bottom two strata of his pyramid – are not met.

Disturbance of peace and stability cannot only be viewed through the cataracts of the liberation struggle’s history.

The most important ingredients for peace in a modern society are inclusiveness, sustainable development and justice for all.

Accountability by the custodians of our national resources is another important piece to the peace puzzle.

The absence of gunshots and exploding bombs is not enough to suggest Namibian is now peaceful – as politicians would like the masses to believe.

Therefore, when beating the drum of peace and stability, let us first check the conditions for which such tunes are meant.

Let’s not get carried away that political freedom alone is a guarantor of peace. That’s just a tiny piece in a vast ocean.