Jobs for compensations

SALOM SHILONGO WRITES:

At the first inauguration of President Bill Clinton on January 20, 1993, Maya Angelou read a great metaphorical poem titled; ‘On the Pulse of Morning,’ in which she urged the American people to leave the past behind and look forward to the future with hope. Angelou was the second poet in history to read a poem at a presidential inauguration, and the first African-American and woman.

But despite Angelou being a descendants of the slaves, she didn’t stand on the podium to cry about slavery, lynching, racism and segregation. However, Angelou was never docile about America’s painful past as she was a civil rights activist. ‘History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.’ Angelou said. Another potent statement from the same poem goes, ‘the Rock cries out to us, clearly, forcefully, come, you may stand upon my back and face your distant destiny, but seek no haven in my shadow. I will give you no hiding place down here.’

Although the poem was meant for the American people, surely there are some lessons for us, both the Namibian people and the Germans. We need to find a Rock on which we can stand as we seek our distant destiny. And whether the Rock is in Germany or Namibia, it doesn’t really matter, as long as the Rock is strong enough to carry us. The choice is ours, either to dwell in the past with bitterness, or to face the future with hope, determination, optimism and courage.

After many years of dodging and denying, the Germany government has finally admitted that what happened to the OvaHerero and Nama ethnic groups in Namibia between the years 1904-1908 was a genocide. But what is the way forward now?

It is true that we went through a terrible genocide. But we need to stop comparing the genocide with the holocaust. We need to face reality instead of playing the race card. It is very dangerous to play the race card. Because the Germans could also play the race card against us. For example, they could compare the status of the holocaust victims with that of the genocide victims.

First of all, the numbers of people killed during the holocaust were more than those who were killed during the genocide. There were also holocaust survivors or witnesses. But with the Namibian genocide, there are no living witness. The people holocaust victims had properties, investments, life insurances, factories, banking institutions, corporations, industries, schools, hospitals and so on. Holocaust victims were business people, medical doctors, scientists, engineers, teachers, writers, professors, philosophers and so on.

But our people were either pastoralists or hunter-gatherers. Some were not even wearing shoes or proper clothes. So if we are playing the race card, then the Germans would also play the race card and even use the African culture to their advantage. For example, in some African cultures, you pay a certain amount of cattle if you kill someone. So, what if the Germans were to insist that they will pay us compensation in cattle or the equivalent?

We must also remember that we are dealing with a different German this time. When Germany agreed to pay reparations to the holocaust survivors in 1952, the country was very weak and vulnerable. But this time we are dealing with a different German. Which is a member of NATO, the most powerful military alliance in modern history. It is also a member of the European Union, the richest and most powerful club in the world. So, we are like a mouse demanding reparations from a lion.

We are demanding direct monetary compensation from the German government, but are we really going to benefit in the long run? I understand some Namibians want to use monetary compensation to build universities, hospitals and houses. But what is the use of having a hospital if that very same facility does not even have doctors or medicines? What is the use of having a university if those who would be graduating from that university will not get employment? And what is the use of having a modern house if you don’t have food or money to pay bills?We must also remember that if we get a large lump-sum that we are currently demanding, then it could cause inflation in Namibia.Some Namibians are demanding the return of their ancestral land taken by the German descendants as part of the reparation settlement. But we need to remember that there are no white farmers in West Africa or Central Africa. But is West Africa really rich? The Mediterranean Ocean has become a graveyard as people from West Africa try to go to Europe in search of a better life. There are no white farmers in Angola either. But are the native Angolans rich? There is a lot of land in the Kavango regions, but are the people from that side really rich? In Zimbabwe, they have chased away the white farmers/people. But today there are thousands of Zimbabweans working for white farmers/people in the neighbouring countries and even beyond. So, the land is not really a panacea for poverty as some seem to think!We need to demand something that will benefit us better in the long run. So, since we have high unemployment in Namibia, while unemployment in Germany is around 5%, what if we demand ‘jobs for compensation?’ Whereby the German government, the private sector and German citizens will provide jobs for two million Namibians over a period of 100 years or so. Meaning that some (unemployed) Namibians would have to go and work in Germany. The two governments could share transport costs. People who would be working under the ‘jobs for compensation’ programme must be entitled to benefits such as pensions, medical health care, access to education, participation in sport activities, the right to set up a (small) business in German and so on. Perhaps they should also pay low income tax as well. The German government can provide resources so that those Namibians who qualify to work under this programme can be taught the basic German language.This would benefit more people. It could boost our economy, and it could also promote reconciliation between Namibians and the German people. The country would also get remittances. Namibians would also gain knowledge and skills.

We can also demand compensation in the form of some machinery or equipment that could be used in state hospitals, to dig earth dams in the rural areas, or tractors for the rural farmers.

What if we demand that Germany must provide scholarships to young Namibians in critical fields like medicine? Maybe the German could also provide state funded specialist doctors to Namibia.

In the end, whether we get monetary compensation, as long as we don’t keep our young people busy, they will just become criminals and drunkards. Yes, a job for compensation doesn't really look like compensation because you still have to work for that money. But it is better than getting monetary compensation that would probably end up in the pockets of corrupt politicians and traditional leaders.