Don’t exclude Damaras, San from genocide debate: !Auchab

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United Democratic Front leader, Apius !Auchab, has said Germany equally meted out genocide against the Damara and San communities, therefore the two groups should not be excluded in the ongoing genocide talks.

Submitting his contribution to the joint declaration on the 1904-1908 genocide between Germany and Namibia for debate in the National Assembly on Wednesday, !Auchab said the genocide extermination order also affected the Damaras (#Nukhoen) and the San as the original indigenous people of Namibia.

!Auchab argued that the genocide was based on the Berlin conference of 1884-1885, which made all inhabitants vulnerable to brutal and destructive mass killings between 1904 to 1908 and 1912 to 1915.

“I appeal to the August House for the genocide period be reviewed to cover up to 1915 to do justice to the historical truth of the mass killing of the San people by the Germans during 1912 to 1915,” he said.

The politician further argued that the descendants of the two communities are in the diaspora, having survived the gross inhumane brutalities of the genocide and escaping the German troops before fleeing to Botswana, followed by the Ovaherero people.

“Germans cannot kill Hereros without affecting the two communities due to the then shared geographical areas, unless the bullets of the Germans were smart enough to be able to identify only the Hereros and Namas amidst the two groups,” he fumed.

!Auchab strongly contended that the Damara and San people have a strong and unique case on the genocide matter, starting with ancestral land loss, displacement, marginalisation, destruction of culture, humiliation and continuous crimes against humanity.

“We lawmakers have an obligation as members of the August House and as leaders of the Namibian citizens to make all people feel truly represented regardless of their origin. Let us acknowledge that genocide is a national process that demands from us wisdom and unity to pursue restorative justice for our people,” said !Auchab.

The leader of the Landless People’s Movement, Bernadus Swartbooi, echoed his sentiments, saying an extermination order was equally issued against the San Hai//Om and Damara community and that they were hunted “for leisure” until 1919.

“The horror began earlier than 1904 and ended far later than 1908. Von Trotha was brought to the then South West Africa to expedite and achieve total acquisition of land and its resources via suppression of the natives, such as the San people,” he noted.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency