You aren’t South African bru!
Any doubt that the #BlackMonday protests against farm killings were not based on racist ideology vanished when a popular Afrikaans artist was vilified as a ‘traitor’ because he pleaded for a broader focus and cautioned that the white protesters were “playing with fire”.
Or the apartheid flags or slogans such as “my people, my language, my pride”.
Of course, not everyone had malicious intentions and many genuinely believed the protests would help. But what it seems they did more than anything, is sow mistrust, anger, and confusion.
A handful of Namibians clearly identified strongly with #BlackMonday.
At the coast, some marched dressed in black.
At a grocery store, black Namibian staff allegedly dressed in black – willingly or not we don’t know – to support the campaign against farm murders.
One can reasonably assume that many of these grocery store employees face their own daily social struggles right here in Namibia – but obscenely, they became embroiled in a protest that has nothing to do with them and which addresses none of their own painful social problems.
A protest that reflected a dangerous and familiar trilogy of identifying pillars: Boer, Christian, Afrikaans.
An ideology that birthed apartheid South Africa, and generations of misery and trauma for black South Africans and Namibians.
This is not about denying people the right to show compassion for other human beings locally or internationally, or standing up for global human rights.
But, clearly, Namibia is dealing with its own fair share of horrific crime and social issues.
Child rape and domestic violence have reached appalling levels and is ruining thousands of lives.
Mostly black lives.
Very few Namibians, black or white, speak out sufficiently about these issues, so the lack of outcry from white Namibians is not in itself cause for condemnation.
But, they should be conscious of so frequently and so easily identifying with white South Africans, close to three decades after independence.
South Africans don’t give a damn about us. But we should give a damn about us. Read up on rape and murder statistics in your own country, think about the long-term generational harm it is doing to individuals, families, communities and our society as a whole.
Then post: My people, my country, my problem.
Or the apartheid flags or slogans such as “my people, my language, my pride”.
Of course, not everyone had malicious intentions and many genuinely believed the protests would help. But what it seems they did more than anything, is sow mistrust, anger, and confusion.
A handful of Namibians clearly identified strongly with #BlackMonday.
At the coast, some marched dressed in black.
At a grocery store, black Namibian staff allegedly dressed in black – willingly or not we don’t know – to support the campaign against farm murders.
One can reasonably assume that many of these grocery store employees face their own daily social struggles right here in Namibia – but obscenely, they became embroiled in a protest that has nothing to do with them and which addresses none of their own painful social problems.
A protest that reflected a dangerous and familiar trilogy of identifying pillars: Boer, Christian, Afrikaans.
An ideology that birthed apartheid South Africa, and generations of misery and trauma for black South Africans and Namibians.
This is not about denying people the right to show compassion for other human beings locally or internationally, or standing up for global human rights.
But, clearly, Namibia is dealing with its own fair share of horrific crime and social issues.
Child rape and domestic violence have reached appalling levels and is ruining thousands of lives.
Mostly black lives.
Very few Namibians, black or white, speak out sufficiently about these issues, so the lack of outcry from white Namibians is not in itself cause for condemnation.
But, they should be conscious of so frequently and so easily identifying with white South Africans, close to three decades after independence.
South Africans don’t give a damn about us. But we should give a damn about us. Read up on rape and murder statistics in your own country, think about the long-term generational harm it is doing to individuals, families, communities and our society as a whole.
Then post: My people, my country, my problem.
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Namibian Sun
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