Inside the House Namibia Built: Open Windows and a breath of fresh air
Greg Mills interviews President Dr Hage Geingob Africa 12 Sep 2016 02:59 (South Africa)
The names of Windhoek’s streets are evidence of Namibia’s difficult past – but also its pragmatism.
Where Fidel Castro Street intersects with Independence (formerly Kaiser Street) Avenue, there are signs to Christus Kirche, Reiterdenkmal and Alte Feste. Kenneth David Kaunda, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, and Nelson Mandela are among those honoured with street names from Africa’s liberation history, and today they crisscross a pantheon of local heroes and German colonists.
The German colonial period was short, just 30 years, and brutal, including the slaughter of between 25,000 and 65,000 Hereros and 1,000 Namas, respectively 50-70% and 50% of their populations. This was followed by 75 years of South African occupation, reinforcing the colonial patterns of identity and racial privilege. Please click here to read the full interview...