Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
slowly evolved into the more powerful Schutztruppe (German Imperial Army), which
constructed forts around the country to combat growing opposition.
At this stage, Namibia became a fully fledged protectorate known as German South
West Africa. The first German farmers arrived in 1892 to take up expropriated land on the
central plateau, and were soon followed by merchants and other settlers. In the late 1890s
the Germans, the Portuguese in Angola and the British in Bechuanaland (present-day Bot-
swana) agreed on Namibia's boundaries.
DARK TIMES
Once the Germans had completed their inventory of Namibia's natural resources, it is difficult to see how they
could have avoided the stark picture that presented itself. Their new colony was a drought-afflicted land envel-
oped by desert, with a nonexistent transport network, highly restricted agricultural opportunities, unknown miner-
al resources and a sparse, well-armed indigenous population. In fact, the only option that presented itself was to
follow the example of the Herero, and pursue a system of seminomadic pastoralism. But the problem with this
was that all the best land fell within the territories of either the Herero or the Nama.
In 1904 the paramount chief of the Herero invited his Nama, Baster and Owambo counterparts to join forces
with him to resist the growing German presence. This was an unlikely alliance between traditional enemies. Driv-
en almost all the way back to Windhoek, the Schutztruppe (GermanImoerial Army) brought in reinforcements,
and under the ruthless hand of General von Trotha went out to meet the Herero forces at their Waterberg camp.
On 11 August 1904 the Battle of Waterberg commenced. Although casualties on the day were fairly light, the
Herero fled from the scene of battle east into the forbidding Omaheke Desert. Seizing the opportunity, von Trotha
ordered his troops to pursue them to their death. In the four weeks that followed, some 65,000 Herero were killed
or died of heat, thirst and exhaustion. In fact, the horror only concluded when German troops themselves began to
succumb to exhaustion and typhoid, but by then, some 80% of the entire Herero population had been wiped out.
Since the early 1990s, traditional Herero leaders have been lobbying for an official apology as well as monetary
compensation from the German government. Finally in 2004, on the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Waterberg,
Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, Germany's development aid minister, apologised for the genocide, and in 2005 Ger-
many pledged US$28 million to Namibia over a 10-year period as a reconciliation initiative.
Still many problems remain. The Namibian government, almost exclusively made up of Owambo members, be-
lieves that any compensation should be channelled through it rather than go directly to the Herero, citing its policy
of nontribalism as a key concern. But as the chairman of the Namibian National Society for Human Rights points
out, 'Not all the country suffered from the genocide, so it is ridiculous to say that the Hereros should not be spe-
cifically compensated'.
What may have been a minor episode in German colonial history was a cataclysm for the Herero nation. Demo-
graphic analysts suggest there would be 1.8 million Herero in Namibia today if it were not for the killings, making
it rather than the Owambo the dominant ethnic group. In reality there are only about 120,000 Herero. For many
this is a bitter pill to swallow, as the comments of Chief Kuaima Riruako illustrate. 'We ought to be in control of
this country,' he said, 'and yet we are not.' Old rivalries still run deep.
