Two faces of one Namibia BY CHRIS JACOBIE/ Informanté Namibians must take a hard look at themselves and adjust their inner compass to make sure that all are on the same journey of nation building through development and common purpose. The different layers of the various communities and their realities should be discovered by uncovering layer by layer in order for the needs of the citizens, their representatives, and their communities to be addressed properly. Introspection is necessary to get a clear view of where help is required and, more importantly, how such assistance is to be delivered. Contrary to the make-believe from the usual cynics, Namibians are offended by food dependency. Therefore it is an insult to the vulnerable when they are warned not to trade-in food, while those that warn them will not even look at the food and will be reluctant to feed their cattle with it. To get to one Namibia it must be admitted that there are many Namibias with different realities that must be discovered first. One Namibia consists of Windhoek, from where the main roads lead to different destinations and communities. The other Namibia consists of the communities far away from Windhoek. The reality is that an immigration official at a remote border post between Katwitwi and Ruacana wields ten thousand times the power of an immigration official in Windhoek. A NaTIS official at Rundu and Keetmanshoop, for instance, is more influential in that community than the counterpart in the bigger centra where people can keep an eye on each other. This Namibia – of the back roads less travelled -- is not the same as the one on the main roads. There is the remote Namibia where one can drive for hours without meeting any other human, and where in settlements electricity and running water is something that has been promised, but is yet to arrive. This now in direct contrast to Windhoek where hardly a metre can be driven without a traffic jam of sorts due to the huge number of vehicles, not only taxis, but also private and government cars. In Windhoek, households might still have water even if the payment is in arrears, because they can visit their municipality and make arrangements to pay outstanding accounts. But in the outlying areas, residents might have paid their water bill, but as their council did not pay NamWater or NamPower, the supply is cut off through no fault of the residents themselves, but because of the incompetence of the officials appointed for, and on their behalf. The differences and challenges of everyday life, depending on where Namibians are living, are so glaring that they are impossible to ignore and for Namibia to unite and to move towards a common purpose, it is important and, indeed, extremely necessary to recognize this. One or two small examples of the different realities of people will suffice. In the Kavango there is ample water in the river on our border. If, however, an elderly widow stays in a homestead on the far side of the tar road from the river, that water is not free for drinking or washing. The elderly grandmother will typically have a few toddlers to raise, but they might not be strong enough to carry a 25 litre water can. In this case, a vehicle will have to be paid for to take the cans to the river to be filled at a cost. The elderly and the weak are unable to carry twenty kilogrammes of drought aid to their homesteads that might be five kilometres away and they will they have to pay someone to drive the maize to their homes. How will they pay? By a surrendering a portion of their own food or by selling some. That is the reality. In Namibia it makes a difference where you are poor. If the ATM machine at Okatope is out of order, the next place to draw money will take you back to Eenhana. In Windhoek, the next machine is a few paces away. In Windhoek there is a neighbour in even the poorest of community who can assist with a spoonful of sugar, while in the more remote areas there is no such a neighbour, and a fee will be charged by someone buying sugar on the next visit to the nearest town. In fact, the way different communities use a candle is the best indicator of poverty. In Windhoek a candle might be seen a something romantic when we invite our loved one to a dinner. However in the DRC, it is a necessary evil and a potential killer that can, and does claim lives. In many of these households poverty can be measured by how many times a candle has to be cut to spread the light equally between a child who needs a piece for studying, and a grandmother that must use another piece to see the stitches when she is mending the only trousers or skirt that a grandchild must wear to school. On top of it, the school is often kilometres away and lacks study material and even teachers. To unite Namibia towards a single purpose and goal is a never-ending search of understanding the different realities and assuming nothing of fellow Namibians. Respect for and tolerance of the different challenges they face can overcome by unity in purpose. The only purpose worth having is an improvement of daily life of a fellow human being.
Posted on: Thu, 05 Sep 2013 05:40:23 +0000
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