Two modes of amnesia: complexity in postcolonial Namibia

From text: Public commemoration of past atrocity, mass crime and particularly genocide has drawn attention both in the public realm and in scholarly debate, meeting general acceptance in recent years. However, the seeming opposite has also been advocated – forgetting. Variously, such forgetting is presented as a wiser approach in contradistinction to painstaking and evasive truth-seeking. Taking this tendency as a point of departure, I discuss here two cases that seem relevant to what might be called a strategy of amnesia, both relating to Namibia: (1) reference to the genocide perpetrated by the German colonial army in 1904-08, both in post-World War II (West) Germany and in the independent postcolony, and (2) the debates and conflicts within Namibia around the gross violations of human rights committed under the auspices of SWAPO during the 1980s. Without suggesting that these cases are in any wayequivalent, I contend, however, that they are related in the minds of a fair number of Namibians and further, that there are certain connections in the ways both cases have been and are addressed within the public spheres of the two countries concerned

Políticas de la memoria y la diferencia. Observaciones sobre la situación postcolonial en Namibia

The challenges facing postcolonial Namibia include a diversified landscape of historical experience, particularly on account of the uneven impact of German colonialism which culminated in the 1904-08 Ovaherero and Nama genocide. In the chapter, this experience forms the background of long-term efforts of affected communities to set forth their claims. After Namibian independence in 1990, such efforts met official German rebuffs, but led to a temporary alignment with the Namibian government. More recently, the Namibian government, while insisting on a German apology and reparations, has stressed national unity against specific claims of affected communities. This conflict has marked the inter-governmental negotiations between Namibia and Germany that got underway after Germany had at last acceded to the designation of genocide for what had happened in Namibia under German rule. Large parts of the affected communities claim an autonomous role in these negotiations and contest the right of the Namibian government to represent them. This raises, i.a., problems linked to the rights of indigenous peoples. In closing, the issues of unity and diversity are exemplified by the circumstances of the first restitution of cultural objects by Germany to Namibia in 2019.Los retos a los que se enfrenta la Namibia poscolonial incluyen un panorama diverso de experiencias históricas, en particular a causa del impacto desigual del colonialismo alemán que culminó con el genocidio de los ovaherero y los nama en 1904-08. En este capítulo, esta experiencia constituye el telón de fondo de los esfuerzos a largo plazo de las comunidades afectadas por exponer sus reivindicaciones. Tras la independencia de Namibia en 1990, estos esfuerzos se encontraron con los rechazos oficiales de Alemania, pero condujeron a un alineamiento temporal con el gobierno de Namibia. Más recientemente, el gobierno de Namibia, al tiempo que insiste en una disculpa y reparación alemana, ha hecho hincapié en la unidad nacional frente a las reclamaciones específicas de las comunidades afectadas. Este conflicto ha marcado las negociaciones intergubernamentales entre Namibia y Alemania que se iniciaron después de que Alemania accediera por fin a la designación de genocidio por lo ocurrido en Namibia bajo el dominio alemán. Gran parte de las comunidades afectadas reclaman un papel autónomo en estas negociaciones e impugnan el derecho del gobierno namibio a representarlas. Esto plantea, entre otras cosas, problemas relacionados con los derechos de los pueblos indígenas. Para terminar, las cuestiones de unidad y diversidad quedan ejemplificadas por las circunstancias de la primera restitución de objetos culturales por parte de Alemania a Namibia en 2019

From 'One Namibia, One Nation' towards 'Unity in Diversity? Shifting representations of culture and nationhood in Namibian Independence Day celebrations, 1990-2010

In 2010 Namibia celebrated its twentieth anniversary of independence from South African rule. The main celebrations in the country’s capital Windhoek became the stage for an impressively orchestrated demonstration of maturing nationhood, symbolically embracing postcolonial policy concepts such as ‘national reconciliation’, ‘unity’ and ‘diversity’. At the same time, nation building in post-apartheid Namibia is characterised by a high degree of social and political fragmentation that manifests itself in cultural and/or ethnic discourses of belonging. Taking the highly significant independence jubilee as our vantage point, we map out a shift of cultural representations of the nation in Independence Day celebrations since 1990, embodied by the two prominent slogans of ‘One Namibia, one Nation’ and ‘Unity in Diversity’. As we will argue, the difficult and at times highly fragile postcolonial disposition made it necessary for the SWAPO government, as primary nation builder, to accommodate the demands of regions and local communities in its policy frameworks. This negotiation of local identifications and national belonging in turn shaped, and continues to shape, the performative dimension of Independence Day celebrations in Namibia.Web of Scienc

The politics and aesthetics of commemoration: national days in southern Africa

The contributions to the special section in this issue study recent independence celebrations and other national days in South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Madagascar and the Democratic Republic of Congo. They explore the role of national days in state-making and nation-building, and examine the performativity of nationalism and the role of performances in national festivities. Placing the case studies in a broader, comparative perspective, the introduction first discusses the role of the state in national celebrations, highlighting three themes: firstly, the political power-play and contested politics of memory involved in the creation of a country’s festive calendar; secondly, the relationship between state control of national days and civic or popular participation or contestation; and thirdly, the complex relationship between regional and ethnic loyalties and national identifications. It then turns to the role of performance and aesthetics in the making of nations in general, and in national celebrations in particular. Finally, we look at the different formats and meanings of national days in the region and address the question whether there is anything specific about national days in southern Africa as compared to other parts of the continent or national celebrations world-wide.Web of Scienc

Two modes of amnesia: complexity in postcolonial Namibia

From text: Public commemoration of past atrocity, mass crime and particularly genocide has drawn attention both in the public realm and in scholarly debate, meeting general acceptance in recent years. However, the seeming opposite has also been advocated – forgetting. Variously, such forgetting is presented as a wiser approach in contradistinction to painstaking and evasive truth-seeking. Taking this tendency as a point of departure, I discuss here two cases that seem relevant to what might be called a strategy of amnesia, both relating to Namibia: (1) reference to the genocide perpetrated by the German colonial army in 1904-08, both in post-World War II (West) Germany and in the independent postcolony, and (2) the debates and conflicts within Namibia around the gross violations of human rights committed under the auspices of SWAPO during the 1980s. Without suggesting that these cases are in any wayequivalent, I contend, however, that they are related in the minds of a fair number of Namibians and further, that there are certain connections in the ways both cases have been and are addressed within the public spheres of the two countries concerned

The Colonial Genocide in Namibia: Consequences for a Memory Culture Today From a German Perspective

No abstrac

The Colonial Genocide in Namibia: Consequences for a Memory Culture Today From a German Perspective

No abstrac

Development from below : a Namibian case study

This Discussion Paper offers a revised lecture by Reinhart Kössler, which was originally presented to a Research Forum organised by The Nordic Africa Institute jointly with the Seminar for Development Studies of Uppsala University. It deals with aspects of rebuilding societies from below firstly in a general development studies discourse on a more theoretical level, considering aspects of the current debate on globalisation. This is followed by a concrete case study from southern Namibia. It illustrates local responses by the Witbooi-Nama in Gibeon to (re-)define identity within the context of a (nation-)state in a post-apartheid society. The paper is commented upon by two discussants (Per Strand and Henning Melber). The contributions reflect on the issue of social reconstruction in the context of (southern) Africa with reference to a particular marginalised group. They deal, among other things, with the question of social power and the "invention of tradition" in local efforts to gain from, or seek integration into, the nation building process.CONTENTS -- Rebuilding Societies from Below: Reflections on Heroes Day, Gibeon/Namibia/R. Kössler -- The Local and the Global. A Comment/P. Strand -- Nama or Namibian? A Comment/Henning Melbe