The Herero Extermination Tragedy and the Consequences
A hundred years ago, the German High Command, acting on instructions from the Kaiser of the time, issued a terrible proclamation to their troops in colonial Deutsche Sud-West AfricaAnnihilate the native Herero nuisance, or an order to that effect. This was not the first "Final Solution" war cry issued by German warriors in history. The barbarian invasions of Attila the Hun into ancient Rome, also followed proclamations that gave the order for a scorched earth policy.
The Herero challenge to the colonizers was no doubt a pain in their backside, and could not be tolerated for much longer by the Schutztruppe, who were by far superior militarily. That they had infringed upon the rights of the people who inhabited the country before them was of no consequence to the imperial army. Might was right in those terrible days of white supremacy, and black people who dared to stand in the way of the explorers, colonizers, hunters and discoverers were simply shot to death without compunction.
And so it came about that the Herero people, who saw their land being taken by white men, took their spears to challenge the Kaiser?s might. Continuous Herero harassment of the Schutztruppe and the many colonial officials who were daily entering the country in big numbers, finally led to the order by Von Trotha to exterminate the whole Herero nation. The imperial army needed no second bidding.
In those days human rights were not even considered an issue when it came to dealing with black people. White men killing black people were like doing Europe a good service. Nobody ever complained afterwards about the killings, except here and there some missionaries. And, although Germany eventually lost the country to other foreign powers after the First World War, exterminating those they regarded as their enemies remained as part of their national strategy during war. This bizarre policy was to be repeated thirty-six years later during the second world war when the Germans gave another imperial order"Exterminate the Jews." The world stood helplessly by as Jews were collected in cattle trucks across Europe, and transported to the extermination camps of Adolf Hitler, in what became known as "The Final Solution." There are precise similarities here. Herero people were also herded into extermination camps and either shot or hanged in big numbers. Those who took to their heels were followed on horse back by the blood-thirsty troops and put to the sword. Jews were herded into extermination camps and either shot or simply gassed, and then burnt in huge ovens whose smoke stacks were daily seen gushing out thick black smoke for miles around. Those who tried to escape were hunted down and shot.
Today many people in Germany do not want to hear a ,whisper? of this ugly story. No, it humiliates their country and destroys their dignity before the world, for, after all, Germany is a highly developed, civilized and prosperous country. Why should such a first world nation be linked to such barbaric acts as exterminating whole races of people? Well, well, well. It happened, period. There?s nothing any well-respected German priest, human-rights lawyer, business man or politician of today can do about it. Much as many citizens of Germany would wish to see the whole sordid affair being swept under a steel carpet that could keep the dirty linen there for all eternity, this ugly stain will haunt them until the Lord comes back.
And, although they have our sincere sympathies for their discomfort, this is the ugliest stain on their conscience, and it will be there for all time.
The time for reparation is therefor now. What actually is reparation? It is the "Please forgive me" of good neigbourliness? When someone has been hurt, in southern Africa we have inherited the word "askies" (sorry) from the Afrikaans word ,ekskuus?. We hear this word many times in a single day in our homes, the lifts, the banks, supermarkets, taxies, sidewalks, and it is even whispered in churches. "Askies" makes the difference. One can never buy hurt, but one can make a gesture of "askies" followed by a small token to the one who is hurt, to make up for the hurt. In Africa, if a man?s cattle destroy a neighbour?s crops, he has to make up to his friend by either giving a sum of money, or sharing his harvest with the party that lost everything. That is his "askies". Those who travel the Trans-Kalahari know what happens when they accidentally hit a cow and it is killed in Botswana. "Askies" to the owner is in Pulas on the spot to make up for his loss of a cow or goat. One is told in no uncertain terms that "if you did not pass this way today, my cow would still be alive". I?ve never heard of a motorist who refused to pay up when asked to do so. But the issue of the Herero people in this case is not about crops or livestock, but human beings. Lets think about a whole race being wiped out from the face of the earth, while scientists of our day are fighting to stem the tide of certain species of the creation from going extinct. The Herero people nearly went extinct last century. Anybody who says that reparation must not be paid to the Herero people has betrayed them, and has betrayed the cause of liberation in Africa.
Namibians must not look at this serious matter from the point of view of "Riruako getting millions and becoming rich," as this is very often the shallow way that some of us Africans look at such matters. No, a people was brutalized and traumatized by men on horse back, mercilessly hunting them down like wild animals, making sure that there would be no one left to tell the story. When one takes a look around Africa, there is no other country where such an order was ever given by colonizers and executed. Even slavers never gave such orders, for they wanted the merchandise whole on two feet.
And so there are those who are totally against reparation to the Herero people, for reasons known to them of course. Others argue that Germany is already "pumping millions" into the Namibian economy, assisting with aid, and, and, and. The crux of the matter isWhen the Herero people were exterminated, Namibia did not exist. There was no general call "To arms!" such as the one experienced in the sixties for the total liberation of South West Africa. No, no one came to help the Herero people to fight back, except the Nama people, who were fighting their own battles anyway. Furthermore, the Herero people of that period occupied land that was theirs, and they would fight any other tribe, be it Owambo, Kavango, Caprivi, if they came to settle on it. To refer to Namibia in this matter is totally out of context, and misses the point entirely. The state of Namibia came about eighty-six years after the extermination of the Hereros. Furthermore, and as far as is known, the Herero people started with the campaign of demanding for reparation before Namibia?s independence. In like manner, the state of Israel was non-existent when the Jews were exterminated by Germany. In fact, Israel was only created three years after the Second World War (SWW), long after six million Jews were killed in Germany.
It is obvious that if the Hereros were not exterminated by the German army, their population would be far much bigger than it is today. Germany cannot bring back those souls whose bones lie scattered all over the Kalahari plains. But a sum of money can be paid to the Herero, people as a gesture of friendship, to ask for forgiveness. The amount should be commensurate with the number of people killed. The eighty-six years that have elapsed, and the pain caused by the tyranny with which the extermination process was executed, must be taken into account. This should go a long way towards healing the wounds of Chief Riruako and his very angry people. All Namibians should support this demand without question. It should be left to the Herero people themselves to decide what they want to do with such reparation money, and not the state of Namibia. Should Germany pay the reparation, and we hope they will, that country can only win friendship and trust among the people of Africa in general, and the Namibians in particular.
Modern day extermination of people took place at Lockerbee in Scotland, and deep inside the Sahara Desert. At Lockerbee a plane carrying over two hundred
passengers was destroyed by Libya, while another plane carrying French citizens was also downed by Libya in the Sahara, on the border with Niger. After many years of arguments, lies, subterfuge and sanctions, Libya has owned up and has paid billions for less than five hundred people. In Namibia we are talking of between sixty and a hundred thousand souls. Or is colour and location perhaps the criteria used by the Germans here? We have a high regard for Germany, and the German people must not let us down.
They must not close their eyes and ears towards this responsibility.
Let no one escape the wrath of generations whose forebears were simply killed like chickens in flu-riddled South East Asia.
Finally, this should be a lesson to nations the world over. People cannot just be attacked and wiped out by an invading force simply to take their land. It is to be hoped that the period of colonization is passed and forgotten forever. Or is there still someone out there waiting to resuscitate slavery and colonialism? I think not. The process of globalization will strengthen the brotherhood of humanity, to the extent that racial prejudices, intolerance, apartheid and all the unholy schemes and -isms that are constantly being hatched in the minds of dictators, communists and evil rulers can disappear from the face of the earth.
We are waiting.
Andrew Matjila
Windhoek
The Herero challenge to the colonizers was no doubt a pain in their backside, and could not be tolerated for much longer by the Schutztruppe, who were by far superior militarily. That they had infringed upon the rights of the people who inhabited the country before them was of no consequence to the imperial army. Might was right in those terrible days of white supremacy, and black people who dared to stand in the way of the explorers, colonizers, hunters and discoverers were simply shot to death without compunction.
And so it came about that the Herero people, who saw their land being taken by white men, took their spears to challenge the Kaiser?s might. Continuous Herero harassment of the Schutztruppe and the many colonial officials who were daily entering the country in big numbers, finally led to the order by Von Trotha to exterminate the whole Herero nation. The imperial army needed no second bidding.
In those days human rights were not even considered an issue when it came to dealing with black people. White men killing black people were like doing Europe a good service. Nobody ever complained afterwards about the killings, except here and there some missionaries. And, although Germany eventually lost the country to other foreign powers after the First World War, exterminating those they regarded as their enemies remained as part of their national strategy during war. This bizarre policy was to be repeated thirty-six years later during the second world war when the Germans gave another imperial order"Exterminate the Jews." The world stood helplessly by as Jews were collected in cattle trucks across Europe, and transported to the extermination camps of Adolf Hitler, in what became known as "The Final Solution." There are precise similarities here. Herero people were also herded into extermination camps and either shot or hanged in big numbers. Those who took to their heels were followed on horse back by the blood-thirsty troops and put to the sword. Jews were herded into extermination camps and either shot or simply gassed, and then burnt in huge ovens whose smoke stacks were daily seen gushing out thick black smoke for miles around. Those who tried to escape were hunted down and shot.
Today many people in Germany do not want to hear a ,whisper? of this ugly story. No, it humiliates their country and destroys their dignity before the world, for, after all, Germany is a highly developed, civilized and prosperous country. Why should such a first world nation be linked to such barbaric acts as exterminating whole races of people? Well, well, well. It happened, period. There?s nothing any well-respected German priest, human-rights lawyer, business man or politician of today can do about it. Much as many citizens of Germany would wish to see the whole sordid affair being swept under a steel carpet that could keep the dirty linen there for all eternity, this ugly stain will haunt them until the Lord comes back.
And, although they have our sincere sympathies for their discomfort, this is the ugliest stain on their conscience, and it will be there for all time.
The time for reparation is therefor now. What actually is reparation? It is the "Please forgive me" of good neigbourliness? When someone has been hurt, in southern Africa we have inherited the word "askies" (sorry) from the Afrikaans word ,ekskuus?. We hear this word many times in a single day in our homes, the lifts, the banks, supermarkets, taxies, sidewalks, and it is even whispered in churches. "Askies" makes the difference. One can never buy hurt, but one can make a gesture of "askies" followed by a small token to the one who is hurt, to make up for the hurt. In Africa, if a man?s cattle destroy a neighbour?s crops, he has to make up to his friend by either giving a sum of money, or sharing his harvest with the party that lost everything. That is his "askies". Those who travel the Trans-Kalahari know what happens when they accidentally hit a cow and it is killed in Botswana. "Askies" to the owner is in Pulas on the spot to make up for his loss of a cow or goat. One is told in no uncertain terms that "if you did not pass this way today, my cow would still be alive". I?ve never heard of a motorist who refused to pay up when asked to do so. But the issue of the Herero people in this case is not about crops or livestock, but human beings. Lets think about a whole race being wiped out from the face of the earth, while scientists of our day are fighting to stem the tide of certain species of the creation from going extinct. The Herero people nearly went extinct last century. Anybody who says that reparation must not be paid to the Herero people has betrayed them, and has betrayed the cause of liberation in Africa.
Namibians must not look at this serious matter from the point of view of "Riruako getting millions and becoming rich," as this is very often the shallow way that some of us Africans look at such matters. No, a people was brutalized and traumatized by men on horse back, mercilessly hunting them down like wild animals, making sure that there would be no one left to tell the story. When one takes a look around Africa, there is no other country where such an order was ever given by colonizers and executed. Even slavers never gave such orders, for they wanted the merchandise whole on two feet.
And so there are those who are totally against reparation to the Herero people, for reasons known to them of course. Others argue that Germany is already "pumping millions" into the Namibian economy, assisting with aid, and, and, and. The crux of the matter isWhen the Herero people were exterminated, Namibia did not exist. There was no general call "To arms!" such as the one experienced in the sixties for the total liberation of South West Africa. No, no one came to help the Herero people to fight back, except the Nama people, who were fighting their own battles anyway. Furthermore, the Herero people of that period occupied land that was theirs, and they would fight any other tribe, be it Owambo, Kavango, Caprivi, if they came to settle on it. To refer to Namibia in this matter is totally out of context, and misses the point entirely. The state of Namibia came about eighty-six years after the extermination of the Hereros. Furthermore, and as far as is known, the Herero people started with the campaign of demanding for reparation before Namibia?s independence. In like manner, the state of Israel was non-existent when the Jews were exterminated by Germany. In fact, Israel was only created three years after the Second World War (SWW), long after six million Jews were killed in Germany.
It is obvious that if the Hereros were not exterminated by the German army, their population would be far much bigger than it is today. Germany cannot bring back those souls whose bones lie scattered all over the Kalahari plains. But a sum of money can be paid to the Herero, people as a gesture of friendship, to ask for forgiveness. The amount should be commensurate with the number of people killed. The eighty-six years that have elapsed, and the pain caused by the tyranny with which the extermination process was executed, must be taken into account. This should go a long way towards healing the wounds of Chief Riruako and his very angry people. All Namibians should support this demand without question. It should be left to the Herero people themselves to decide what they want to do with such reparation money, and not the state of Namibia. Should Germany pay the reparation, and we hope they will, that country can only win friendship and trust among the people of Africa in general, and the Namibians in particular.
Modern day extermination of people took place at Lockerbee in Scotland, and deep inside the Sahara Desert. At Lockerbee a plane carrying over two hundred
passengers was destroyed by Libya, while another plane carrying French citizens was also downed by Libya in the Sahara, on the border with Niger. After many years of arguments, lies, subterfuge and sanctions, Libya has owned up and has paid billions for less than five hundred people. In Namibia we are talking of between sixty and a hundred thousand souls. Or is colour and location perhaps the criteria used by the Germans here? We have a high regard for Germany, and the German people must not let us down.
They must not close their eyes and ears towards this responsibility.
Let no one escape the wrath of generations whose forebears were simply killed like chickens in flu-riddled South East Asia.
Finally, this should be a lesson to nations the world over. People cannot just be attacked and wiped out by an invading force simply to take their land. It is to be hoped that the period of colonization is passed and forgotten forever. Or is there still someone out there waiting to resuscitate slavery and colonialism? I think not. The process of globalization will strengthen the brotherhood of humanity, to the extent that racial prejudices, intolerance, apartheid and all the unholy schemes and -isms that are constantly being hatched in the minds of dictators, communists and evil rulers can disappear from the face of the earth.
We are waiting.
Andrew Matjila
Windhoek
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