4 Oct 2024
Red flags and dresses, short, loud commands and high-pitched women's trilling. On Wednesday, around 60 OvaHerero troopers and 40 women in traditional costumes marched through Swakopmund on the Atlantic coast of Namibia.
The procession started at the stadium in the Mondesa district and ended at the cemetery on the southern edge of the coastal town. With their march, the OvaHerero commemorated the so-called extermination order against their people 120 years ago.
The background: Under the leadership of Chief Samuel Maharero, the OvaHerero declared war on the German colonial power in January 1904. After the decisive battle of Ohamakari / Waterberg on 11 August 1904 (more on this in the Namibian.org article), tens of thousands of OvaHerero fled eastwards.
Their destination was the British protectorate of Betchuanaland (Botswana). But only a few hundred OvaHerero around Maharero reached it. Tens of thousands died of thirst and exhaustion on the way through the Kalahari.
The Schutztruppe of the then colony of German South West Africa pursued the OvaHerero but could not catch them. The commander-in-chief of the Schutztruppe, General Lothar von Trotha, had to abandon the pursuit.
On the way back, von Trotha issued his 'extermination order' on 2 October 1904. He instructed the soldiers of the Schutztruppe to shoot all Herero if they were to return. Women and children were to be chased away. In addition, von Trotha had all water points known to the Germans occupied.
According to historians, the extermination order forms part of the proof that the mass killing of the OvaHerero was intentional. In addition to the tens of thousands of victims in the Kalahari, several thousand people died later in labour and concentration camps.
One of these camps was located in Swakopmund. Causes of death were the cold and damp climate, poor health care, lack of food and hard labour. The dead were buried in the sand.
The OvaHerero have erected a memorial stone in the Swakopmund cemetery. It overlooks a large area of nameless graves consisting only of heaps of sand.
This memorial stone was the centre of the procession on Wednesday. Men and women knelt and spoke to their ancestors. Afterwards, Paramount Chief Mutjinde Katjiua from the OvaHerero Traditional Authority (OTA) gave a speech in which he described the suffering of the OvaHerero that continues to this day.
The governments of Germany and Namibia concluded their negotiations to come to terms with the colonial era in May 2021. The OTA rejected the so-called reconciliation agreement ('Joint Declaration') because the affected OvaHerero and Nama communities were not directly involved in the negotiations.
Katjiua also opposes the Genocide Remembrance Day on 28 May proclaimed by the government as a national public holiday. The day refers to the official closure of the concentration camps on 28 May 1908. However, OvaHerero and Nama were not free afterwards, but had to work hard for little or no pay.
This is why the OTA chose 2 October for the 120th anniversary commemoration of the genocide. Two-day conferences were held before and after the day of the procession through Swakopmund. Topics included coming to terms with the past and formulating demands for negotiations on reparations.
Incidentally, the OTA and Nama associations are in favour of two separate days of remembrance. After all, there were two genocides – against the OvaHerero and the Nama.
General von Trotha had issued a similar extermination order against the Nama on 22 April 1905. Around half of the Nama died in the war and in camps.
Sven-Eric Stender
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