Staff Writer
SWAKOPMUND, Sept. 20 — Laidlaw Peringanda strides solemnly across the sand, where rocks mark the gravesites of victims who perished, unidentified, in what is now recognized as the first genocide of the 20th century.
This poignant site, nestled on the outskirts of the Namib Desert in Swakopmund, stirred deep emotions when Mr. Peringanda first visited, causing him to collapse. The genocide, perpetrated by Germans between 1904 and 1908 when they governed South West Africa, targeted the Herero and Nama people of present-day Namibia.
Mr. Peringanda’s great-grandmother had shared accounts of her time as a detainee in a concentration camp in this coastal city. Yet, the stories – how their cultural heritage was extinguished and their lands and way of life were plundered – took on a tangible reality during that moment in 2015. It kindled within him an activist’s fervour for justice.
“Everything I do is to preserve the memory of my family,” Mr. Peringanda asserts.
Since that time, he has championed a truth-seeking mission, establishing the Swakopmund Genocide Museum, advocating for the use of radar-penetrating technology to investigate the graves, protesting the presence of replicas that glorify Germany’s colonial history, and defacing those that still stand in this town.
So, when Germany and Namibia announced their joint declaration on the genocide in 2021 – with Germany extending an apology and offering to pay €1.1 billion over 30 years – one might have expected Mr. Peringanda to support it. Instead, he is among the many Herero and Nama people who have rejected the deal, initiating legal action against the Namibian government this year.
These restitution efforts come at a time when Europeans face mounting demands for accountability regarding colonial injustices. Yet, for many descendants in Namibia, the negotiation process between the German and Namibian governments failed to promote reconciliation because it was signed without the approval of Herero and Nama community members, inadvertently exacerbating their sense of powerlessness.
“You cannot merely apologize without engaging with me. You cannot issue an apology without explicitly specifying what you are apologizing for,” argues Sima Luipert, a member of the Technical Committee on Genocide of the Nama Traditional Leaders Association in Namibia, one of the groups suing the government. “Therefore, the money is a token gesture for Germany to absolve itself of colonial guilt. It is not intended for me, the descendant; it is meant to assuage Germany’s conscience.”
A divide exists between the German negotiators of the 2021 agreement and the Herero and Nama individuals who desire a seat at the table. While the governments sought descendant input through an advisory committee during the negotiations, members of the Herero and Nama traditional leadership insisted on direct dialogue. They perceive Germany as being in a hurry to draw the chapter to a close.
Opposition leaders and representatives of the Herero and Nama communities have filed a lawsuit against the Namibian government in the country’s high court. A central concern is a mistrust many Herero and Nama harbour toward Namibia’s ruling party, the South West Africa People’s Organization, led by Namibian President Hage Geingob. They believe that the nation as a whole fails to grasp the generations of marginalization they have endured as a result of the genocide.
Claudia Kavita, a Herero woman selling bone and beaded bracelets in the heart of Swakopmund, asserts that her life stands as a testament to past events. The mother of three did not originate in the city but, unable to sustain her family in the rural northwest, was compelled to relocate to make ends meet. Far removed from the quaint colonial architecture of this coastal city, her family resides in an informal settlement where thousands of corrugated steel homes precariously dot the desert landscape, lacking electricity and running water. “We expect more. The money is insufficient,” she contends.
The genocide of the Herero and Nama people represents a multifaceted and painful chapter in history. While the German government’s apology and offer of restitution mark significant strides toward reconciliation, they remain inadequate. The Herero and Nama people deserve to have their voices heard and their calls for justice answered.
