Katamelo demands action beyond words on genocide

The atrocities committed by Germany during the 1904–1908 genocide against the Ovaherero and Nama people can only be addressed through meaningful action, National Assembly deputy speaker Phillipus Katamelo said on Thursday.

Katamelo made the remarks during Namibia’s Genocide Remembrance Day commemoration at Shark Island at Lüderitz.

“As descendants of Germany living in Namibia, your words alone are not enough. Only action can truly show you mean your words,” he said.

He urged companies such as Hyphen Hydrogen Energy operating in the ||Kharas region to focus not only on economic development, but also on improving social conditions in local communities.

Katamelo said investment in sectors such as sport and community development could help uplift the lives of local people, while creating jobs for residents would contribute towards correcting historical injustices.

He said the wounds of the genocide remain deeply felt more than a century later, as many families and communities still carry the pain and trauma of the colonial era.

“Shark Island remains a reminder that genocide begins with dehumanisation, dispossession and the destruction of people’s humanity,” he added.

Meanwhile, former deputy minister of health and social services Esther Muinjangue said the extermination order issued by German general Lothar von Trotha against the Ovaherero people remains unique because it was formally written and distributed in different languages.

Speaking at the Genocide Remembrance Day commemoration in Okakarara, Muinjangue said copies of the order are preserved in Botswana archives, while the Nama people later received a similar order written in Dutch in 1905.

She said many people fled to Botswana and South Africa in fear of their lives after resisting slavery and concentration camp captivity.

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المصدر: The Namibian