Protect sacred Shark Island

Shark Island is a small rocky peninsula located adjacent to the coastal city of Luderitz, originally named Star Island. The piece of land was tortured by immense winds and crashing waters of the Atlantic Ocean for a century before it was connected to the mainland. Shark Island was used by the fascist German Empire as a concentration camp during the Ovaherero and Nama 19041908 genocide. It was also called the ‘Death Island', one of the five brutal concentration camps in then-German South West Africa – now Namibia. Many Ovaherero and Nama men, women and children died in this concentration camp between March 1905 and its closing in April 1907. A report by the German Imperial Colonial Office estimated that 7 682 Ovaherero and 2 000 Nama died at all camps in German South West Africa, of which a significant portion died at Shark Island.

The vast majority of these prisoners died through preventable causes and diseases, such as hunger and malnutrition, typhoid and scurvy exacerbated by malnutrition, over-work and unsanitary conditions in the camps. Many of the dead prisoners were buried at Shark Island. Sadly, my great-great-grandmother died on Shark Island, with no marked grave to this day.

Her bones are almost certainly part of those that lie there on that island in the desert, or washed away by the sea waves.

Two of my great great uncles a nd a great great aunt were later released from the Shark Island concentration camp on 28 May 1908.

Namibia has been identified as a potential green hydrogen source for its abundant sunlight and access to the sea, which developers say is crucial for the production of green hydrogen and its by-products, which include ammonia – a fertiliser. Astonishingly, Namibia's port authority, NamPort, has proposed a port expansion of Shark Island on a heritage site that is sacred to the indigenous Nama and Ova Herero ethnic groups of Namibia. The expansion is designed to facilitate green hydrogen production, and for export to Europe by a German energy company, Hyphen. This development is widely viewed by the citizenry as a new form of colonialism, where African resources are extracted for the benefit of European markets. Of particular concern and seen as disdain to our national heritage is the historical fact that in the 1900s, the colonial German authorities ran a concentration camp on Shark Island, where over 3 000 Ovaherero and Nama people were killed and buried – and still a German company wants to develop a project at the same site. In this regard, Sima Luipert, a community activist and a member of the Nama Leaders Association of Namibia, which has opened talks with the port authority, said they consider that land as sacred grounds. She further said, “Shark Island has got a historical meaning to the Nama and the Ovaherero people, and it should have the same historical meaning and heritage meaning for the entire Namibia and the world”.

Also, Hans-Christian Mahnke of Namibia's Legal Assistance Centre had this to say: “Yet, genocide talks and the reparation talks have not yet been finalised, and we are already doing again harm potentially to the descendants of the victims by tampering further on with this historical site”.

Legal protection

The National Heritage Act (Act no. 27 of 2004) “provides for the protection and conservation of places and objects of heritage significance and the registration of such places and objects; to establish a National Heritage Council; to establish a National Heritage Register and to provide for incidental matters”. Notably, Shark Island became a National Heritage Site on 15 February 2019. However, the education, arts and culture deputy minister at the time announced the declaration of the island as a heritage site at a special ceremony held at Lüderitz on 11th March 2020. This is indisputable. In addition, Article 95(1) of the Namibian Constitution is the focal point for the protection of Namibia's environment. In undertaking a project of the magnitude of a green hydrogen scheme at any place in Namibia,

save for Shark Island, the Environmental Management Act 7 of 2007(EMA) provides the required legislative foundation for the environmental protection of Namibia. The Act promotes sustainable development in everything that affects the environment. It also primarily protects Namibian cultural and natural heritage, including its biological diversity for the benefit of current and future generations.

In undertaking these projects, one needs to do an Environmental Impact Assessment first, which is a tool used to assess the significant effects of a project or development proposal on the environment, particularly in cases such as the development of the green hydrogen project at Shark Island. The basic assessment still requires public notice and participation, consideration of the potential environmental impacts of the activity, assessment of possible mitigation measures and an assessment of whether there are any significant issues or impacts that might require further investigation. It is mindboggling how government could allow a foreign entity to undertake a green hydrogen project at a site (Shark Island), which has already been declared as a national heritag,e without primary consideration of the affected community, and without having due regard to the prescribed law of the land. National heritage is a valuable resource that should be protected and conserved. It is a part of who we are, and it is a part of our future. That is why it is so important to preserve and conserve these sites.

Unfortunately, many of them are under constant threat from a variety of factors, including climate change, neglect and development. Heritage resources can provide scientific and educational information for teaching, learning, research and community engagement. The findings also suggest that heritage activities can preserve local culture and history, as well as unite people from diverse backgrounds. It can help people to learn about themselves and their history. Heritage values are the aspects of a place that give it special meaning, or make it more important to the community. Shark Island means that to the new Namibia. Heritage is about people's memories, and due respect is owed to them. It is about things making sense to people – being part of the accumulated culture of their communities. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, heritage is our legacy from our past, what we live with today and what we pass on to future generations.

Our culture and natural heritage are both irreplaceable sources of life and aspiration. Shark Island must remain conserved and developed into a remarkable national monument to be commemorated on National Genocide Memorial Day.

* Maj. Gen. (Rtd) J. B Tjivikua is a descendant of victims of the 19041908 genocide.