Peace, peace but no peace
By: Jeisn S. Ashimbanga
I never thought I would echo the words of peace, but I have. I have been thinking and questioning: Why is one man joyous and prosperous and another man poor and miserable? Why is one man fearful and anxious and another full of faith and confidence? Why does one man have a beautiful, luxurious home while another man ekes out a meagre existence in a slum? I've finally mustered the courage to analyse this.
I have been especially interested in the misdirection of public interest. To all my countrymen, Namibia is our country today. Tomorrow, the Republic of Namibia will be your children's country. We all learnt and understood that every generation has a role to play… the first generation brought about social change and the second generation brought about political freedom, what will history write about us? Let's fight our war of economic freedom and put more attention on the labour market, economic growth and on foreign investors. Obviously we need to think very well and drive our future in proper way. We need to put our heads together and avoid all the unnecessary division among ourselves and the fights that do not belong to us.
It is known that no one will hand you success, you have to fight for your future, and bear in mind that time is limited, so we should work hard while we can. Elders were once youth.
Working hard is not a guarantee that you will succeed, you will have to go through processes or procedures, but for you to succeed your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure. Be a risk taker and be willing to spend and sacrifice [invest] to gain. As a scenario in schools, kids usually write their books 'God help me to pass'. You will only pass if you study. Shame, cowards don't get to speak their minds and as a result they don't get to see their world change. War kills the warrior. It is usually the game you play that will see you lose. Don't be too rough, you might be approaching a blind spot! One hint, some think only good things are facts. Things that are stupid are kept to oneself, after all our mouths paint us, we look like what we say (in fact, we are what we say). Don't get too carried away, use what you got to get what you want, and what you don't have. A journey of thousand miles will always start with a single step! Every word we utter conveys what we are more than what we intend to mean. I am serious.
Politically, history cuts little ice with the young people who grew up with no apartheid memories, the struggle continues. In every role I play, I am sure to go above and beyond what is expected of me. I don't look back in service of anyone regardless of the sacrifices that I have to make along the way because I believe in the justice and the clarity of purpose. Identified as a youth is a badge of honour because I subscribe to the ideals and principles of our early heroes. Being an avid follower of youth movements is not just about wearing movements' t-shirts and have stickers, it's about personifying freedom and magnifying human dignity in political, social and economic dimensions.
I am dedicating my time and effort to help change our country for the better, because it seems like most of the current crop of politicians have completely forgotten that ideal, I don't want to spit on someone's parade. Moreover I don't have hope in our leaders because of their hypocrisy in overlooking the scandals and the serious allegations of corruption concerning politicians, and that the stealing from the nation's coffers gets overlooked. Don't get me wrong, I have just understood that there are certain political realities that have to be realised in order to effectively wield power.
As a young person I have learnt that in politics the means can never justify the end thus I believe in my personal integrity and I will never be ashamed of the fact that I gave all for myself. Honestly, I want to serve and dedicate my life in service to the people for my entire life in terms of social, political and economic transformation. I want to be an avenue by which I will show my devotion to serve our people and my commitment to help change our country for the better in our own ways.
Our people deserve more from our leaders. For far too long, political parties have negated the very reason why they're supposed to be there - to represent the people. They have been benefiting from the people that they are supposed to be serving, I think it's high time to turn the tables. Let's put our conscience over ambition, principles over our own glory and integrity above the pursuit of power, if they can no longer keep themselves true to these ideals. I will keep following this as my moral compass and guiding star in my own journey as an aspiring public servant.
I hope to see many more thought-provoking articles like this one. “Democracy is beautiful in theory; in practice it is a fallacy. If I advance; follow me. If I retreat; kill me. If I die; avenge me! It is better to live one day as a lion than 100 years as a sheep!”
*Jeisn S. Ashimbanga is a third-year student at the University Of Namibia studying towards an honours degree in secondary education
I never thought I would echo the words of peace, but I have. I have been thinking and questioning: Why is one man joyous and prosperous and another man poor and miserable? Why is one man fearful and anxious and another full of faith and confidence? Why does one man have a beautiful, luxurious home while another man ekes out a meagre existence in a slum? I've finally mustered the courage to analyse this.
I have been especially interested in the misdirection of public interest. To all my countrymen, Namibia is our country today. Tomorrow, the Republic of Namibia will be your children's country. We all learnt and understood that every generation has a role to play… the first generation brought about social change and the second generation brought about political freedom, what will history write about us? Let's fight our war of economic freedom and put more attention on the labour market, economic growth and on foreign investors. Obviously we need to think very well and drive our future in proper way. We need to put our heads together and avoid all the unnecessary division among ourselves and the fights that do not belong to us.
It is known that no one will hand you success, you have to fight for your future, and bear in mind that time is limited, so we should work hard while we can. Elders were once youth.
Working hard is not a guarantee that you will succeed, you will have to go through processes or procedures, but for you to succeed your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure. Be a risk taker and be willing to spend and sacrifice [invest] to gain. As a scenario in schools, kids usually write their books 'God help me to pass'. You will only pass if you study. Shame, cowards don't get to speak their minds and as a result they don't get to see their world change. War kills the warrior. It is usually the game you play that will see you lose. Don't be too rough, you might be approaching a blind spot! One hint, some think only good things are facts. Things that are stupid are kept to oneself, after all our mouths paint us, we look like what we say (in fact, we are what we say). Don't get too carried away, use what you got to get what you want, and what you don't have. A journey of thousand miles will always start with a single step! Every word we utter conveys what we are more than what we intend to mean. I am serious.
Politically, history cuts little ice with the young people who grew up with no apartheid memories, the struggle continues. In every role I play, I am sure to go above and beyond what is expected of me. I don't look back in service of anyone regardless of the sacrifices that I have to make along the way because I believe in the justice and the clarity of purpose. Identified as a youth is a badge of honour because I subscribe to the ideals and principles of our early heroes. Being an avid follower of youth movements is not just about wearing movements' t-shirts and have stickers, it's about personifying freedom and magnifying human dignity in political, social and economic dimensions.
I am dedicating my time and effort to help change our country for the better, because it seems like most of the current crop of politicians have completely forgotten that ideal, I don't want to spit on someone's parade. Moreover I don't have hope in our leaders because of their hypocrisy in overlooking the scandals and the serious allegations of corruption concerning politicians, and that the stealing from the nation's coffers gets overlooked. Don't get me wrong, I have just understood that there are certain political realities that have to be realised in order to effectively wield power.
As a young person I have learnt that in politics the means can never justify the end thus I believe in my personal integrity and I will never be ashamed of the fact that I gave all for myself. Honestly, I want to serve and dedicate my life in service to the people for my entire life in terms of social, political and economic transformation. I want to be an avenue by which I will show my devotion to serve our people and my commitment to help change our country for the better in our own ways.
Our people deserve more from our leaders. For far too long, political parties have negated the very reason why they're supposed to be there - to represent the people. They have been benefiting from the people that they are supposed to be serving, I think it's high time to turn the tables. Let's put our conscience over ambition, principles over our own glory and integrity above the pursuit of power, if they can no longer keep themselves true to these ideals. I will keep following this as my moral compass and guiding star in my own journey as an aspiring public servant.
I hope to see many more thought-provoking articles like this one. “Democracy is beautiful in theory; in practice it is a fallacy. If I advance; follow me. If I retreat; kill me. If I die; avenge me! It is better to live one day as a lion than 100 years as a sheep!”
*Jeisn S. Ashimbanga is a third-year student at the University Of Namibia studying towards an honours degree in secondary education
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