Apartheid never loved us
In 1966, the United Nations General Assembly labelled apartheid a crime against humanity following heavy petitioning by member states and other pressure groups. The discriminatory racial policies of the then white South African government were roundly condemned at the time, leading to the endorsement of the resolution, which declared apartheid as unlawful in that it violated the Charter of the United Nations.
In fact, in addition, the United Nations declared apartheid to be criminal. For many years, Namibia and its allies waged a bitter struggle against apartheid-colonialism until the implementation of Resolution 435, which the South African government only agreed to in 1988, despite the United Nations Security Council adopting the resolution in 1978.
Sadly, thousands of soldiers and innocent citizens, including children, lost their lives in our struggle for independence.
During the apartheid era, black Namibians were not allowed to vote and were subjected to racial oppression and subjugation for many years. It was also during apartheid that blacks were restricted to certain areas and townships only.
There was no mingling allowed with the opposite race. Even a simple park or beach bench was only reserved for the minority whites, while the natives had to carry passes (not Covid-19 essential permits) to travel from one town to another.
Passes were also used to exclusively access whitesonly neighbourhoods. The apartheid regime was equally famous for police brutality, which included state-sponsored torturing and detention without trial of many Namibians, including young students, who had, rightly so, opposed the illegal occupation.
Protest marches were forbidden, and who will forget the inferior Bantu education system forced down our throats by the colonial regime. In a free Namibia, we are freely able to move and associate as we please. Freedom of expression is a mainstay of our democracy. We are considered as the country with the freest media in Africa.
Our children have access to education, and study wherever and whatever they want. Yes, we are cognisant of the fact that we are still a developing state, with a potpourri of challenges.
In fact, reversing the apartheid legacy, including the backward mentality, has been an uphill battle, as some opportunities and resources are still in the hands of a selected few. However, to suggest that apartheid was much better than the Namibia of today is an insult to thousands of heroes and heroines who paid with their lives and sacrificed their youth to fight for a better Namibia.
President Hage Geingob is, therefore, not disingenuous to state post-independent Namibia is better off than the apartheid era. Of course, challenges persist, while political differences remain deep-seated. The housing issue is a foremost problem being experienced across the country. Corruption and access to quality education as well as joblessness are other issues blighting our freedom.
But equating those challenges to the historic apartheid failed dispensation is an error of epic proportions. As Namibians, we have a duty to play our part and contribute to the solutions to make this country better for our children and future generations.
The call for patriotism cannot be overemphasised, even in the midst of perennial difficulties and shortcomings, which might or may frustrate us. Now, we have an opportunity to solve or contribute to the solutions befalling our country, and not being ruled with an iron fist from Pretoria.