No justice, equality for San

Namibia's San community have not felt the benefits of independence and 27 years after the widespread oppression of apartheid was abolished, they remain one of the most oppressed and sidelined communities in the country. “We believe that independence came only for other ethnic groups in Namibia, but not for the San,” Maria Garises speaking as a San representative, told a panel investigating racism, tribal issues and discrimination in Namibia, last week. Garises and Elizabeth !Khaxas, both of Namibia's Women's Leadership Centre (WLC), said San adults and children continue to experience widespread prejudice and derision, often at the hands of key authority figures, including police, health workers and teachers, resulting in them being denied justice and their rights being ignored. Speaking at public hearings launched by the Office of the Ombudsman, Garises, who lives in Drimiopsis in the Gobabis area, pleaded with government to improve their efforts to uplift the San communities in the country, which to date she said has been a large scale failure overall.She says government has to reach out more sincerely, by actively visiting many of the remote areas where San live, in order to teach the community about their human rights and to ensure that basic services, including education and healthcare services, are overhauled and extended to the marginalised community. “Teach the SAN about their human rights, so that they can know that they are also people who have rights,” Garises told the five-person panel last week. Garises pointed out that in historic times, San communities lived with the principles of equal rights, and that they were pioneers of social cohesion and harmony in many ways. Yet their history is not taught at school, a subject that could boost the community's overall confidence and help them reach their potential and improve their lives. “Our history is buried, it is not taught at school. Who will teach our children about our history? If we teach them, they will be proud of their heritage. Now, if you identify as a San, you are embarrassed,” she said. Reclaiming their legacy!Khaxas, who works closely with San communities, said there is a need in Namibia for the San to reclaim their legacy as the first people of the land. She said government should put it on record, as this could be one way to create general awareness and respect for the San's historical and current legacy and highlight their importance among other Namibians, who often discriminate against the minority group. She added that there is also a need for affirmative action legislation especially for the San, as well as special education programmes to prioritise and legislate the country's obligations to “bring the San to where other Namibians are.”She added that government should initiate awareness campaigns highlighting the San's equal rights and human rights in general and to remind and educate Namibians on everyone's rights in an independent Namibia. Garises said while government officials regularly address the plight of the San and promise that help is on the way “it stops there. The promises never reach the people themselves. It's talk, but no action.” Ignored and suffering Garises said the SAN, many living in remote and rural areas, continue to endure a host of social issues, their suffering compounded by widespread and extreme poverty, lack of quality education and healthcare, as well as insufficient information on their rights.Social ills are prominent and far-reaching, Garises and IKhaxas said. They further noted that the bullying of San children in schools “is a very real issue”, as well as the use of corporal punishment at schools, which is outlawed. Child marriage is another issue, another factor in the high dropout rates. Physical and alcohol abuse, high school dropout rates, gender-based violence, suicide, untreated health issues and a lack of advancement in school, aggregates their struggle to improve their lives and to become part of a Namibia that promises equal opportunities to all. These issues are rarely addressed she said, often due to unwillingness by authority figures such as police and healthcare workers, who are from other ethnic groups, who provide inadequate services to them. Garises told the panel that many San fear the police, are unwilling to report crime, rape or other forms of abuse, because they feel that police are from other ethnic groups and “oppress us even more, they do not come to help us, they are there to control the people.”The issue of language barriers further plays a major role in high school dropout rates, the ability to find employment and access a host of other services, the duo added. JANA-MARI SMITH MINORITY: Maria Garises and Elizabeth !Khaxas, both from the Namibia's Women's Leadership Centre, pleaded with government to improve their efforts to uplift San communities in the country. PHOTO: JANA-MARI SMITH

No justice, equality for San

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Namibian Sun 2026-06-08

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No justice, equality for San

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Namibian Sun 2026-06-08

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