Latest news with #reparations
Russia Today
2 days ago
- General
- Russia Today
Namibian descendant calls for justice over colonial-era genocide
A descendant of Namibia's OvaHerero and Nama peoples, Thrive Vinomaandero Mahua, has called for greater accountability and reparations from Germany over its colonial-era atrocities in Namibia. The OvaHerero and Nama genocide, carried out by the German Empire in present-day Namibia between 1904 and 1908, was the first genocide of the 20th century. It targeted the two groups through a campaign of ethnic extermination and collective punishment in what was then German South West Africa. Speaking to RT, Mahua recounted the personal toll the genocide had taken and expressed frustration over the prolonged delay in reaching a just resolution. She said the events tore families apart, and it was only after Namibia's independence that many displaced individuals were able to reconnect with their relatives. Although Berlin officially recognized the genocide of the OvaHerero and Nama peoples in 2021, more than a century after the atrocities, negotiations over reparations have remained deadlocked. The transition to a new German government, she added, has only introduced further uncertainty about whether these talks will resume. Mahua noted that a proposed €1.1 billion aid package was rejected by traditional leaders from both affected communities, who argued that the funds should be allocated directly to survivors and their descendants, rather than to national development projects. Mahua stated that no monetary figure could ever truly compensate for the suffering inflicted. 'What is the price for a life?' she asked. She further argued that the Namibian genocide deserves the same level of recognition and accountability as the Holocaust, pointing out that many practices later associated with the Nazis, such as concentration camps, had earlier precedents in her country during the German colonial occupation. According to Mahua, it is inconsistent for Berlin to take full responsibility for one atrocity while treating another with markedly less seriousness. 'As the descendants of those that have been affected, we should not allow them to forget days such as the Genocide Remembrance Day,' Mahua stressed. She emphasized the need for continuous public engagement, remembrance days, and open discussion. 'We need to make it uncomfortable,' she said, urging activists to keep speaking out until there is a meaningful response.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Namibia pushes for German reparations on first genocide remembrance day
Namibia has observed its first genocide remembrance day, honouring the estimated 75,000 victims who were massacred by soldiers or forced into concentration camps during German colonial rule. Between 1904 and 1908, an estimated 65,000 Herero people and 10,000 Nama people were killed when the groups rejected colonial rule. It amounted to 80% and 50% of their respective populations at the time. Some of their skulls were taken to Germany for racist experiments and were stored in German hospitals, museums and universities for decades. Namibia's president, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, told a memorial event in the parliament's gardens on Wednesday that the government would continue to push for reparations from Germany. She said: 'We should find a degree of comfort in the fact that the German government has agreed that German troops committed a genocide against the … people of our land. 'We may not agree on the final quantum, but that is part of the complex negotiations we have been engaged in with the German government since 2013 … We must remain committed that as a nation, we shall soldier on until the ultimate conclusion is reached.' In 2021, Germany officially recognised the atrocities as a genocide and agreed to pay Namibia €1.1bn (then £940m) to fund development for the Herero and Nama. It said this was a gesture of 'reconciliation', but not compensation or reparations. Germany returned the skulls and other human remains to Namibia in 2011 and 2018. Descendants of genocide victims said this was not enough and called on the German government to negotiate with them directly. Germany ruled Namibia, then known as South West Africa, from 1884 to 1915, when it was taken over by South Africa during the first world war. It became independent in 1990. Between 1904 and 1908, German troops shot, tortured or drove tens of thousands of Herero and Nama people into the Kalahari desert to starve, after they rebelled against colonial rule. Their descendants are now politically marginalised. Germany's ambassador to Namibia, Thorsten Hutter, said in a speech at the memorial: 'It is a stark reminder of the pain and suffering that was inflicted by German imperial troops during the colonial era … We cannot change the past, but as the people who are living today, it is our responsibility to remember those atrocities that were committed.' He told the local newspaper the Namibian: 'I believe we are on a very good path to forge forward, which includes the issues of reconciliation.' Herero and Nama representatives said more people in Namibia and worldwide should learn about the genocide. Hoze Riruako, a Herero chief, said it was a precursor to the Holocaust, but 'people are not aware of what has happened here to the same level.' Last year, Namibia declared 28 May would be a genocide remembrance day and a public holiday. It was chosen as it was the day in 1907 when Germany decided to close its concentration camps after an international outcry. Agence France-Presse and Reuters contributed to this story
Al Jazeera
3 days ago
- General
- Al Jazeera
Namibia marks inaugural Genocide Remembrance Day with call for reparations
Namibia has held its first Genocide Remembrance Day to commemorate tens of thousands of Herero and Nama people killed by German colonisers in the early 1900s, in what is widely considered the first genocide of the 20th century. The southern African country's president, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, speaking at the event Wednesday, called again for reparations for the at least 70,000 Indigenous people killed by German troops from 1904 to 1908. Germany, which colonised Namibia from 1884 to 1915, previously acknowledged the genocide in 2021, but talks on reparations stretching back to 2013 have been fruitless. 'We should find a degree of comfort in the fact that the German government has agreed that the German troops committed a genocide against the … people of our land,' Nandi-Ndaitwah said at the ceremony held in the gardens of Namibia's parliament. 'We must remain committed that as a nation, we shall soldier on until the ultimate conclusion is reached,' she said. For its part, Germany released a statement earlier this week, reiterating that it 'acknowledges Germany's moral and political responsibility [for the killings] and emphasises the importance of reconciliation'. Berlin has previously pledged more than one billion euros ($1bn) in development aid over 30 years to benefit the descendants of the two targeted tribes, while stressing the funding should not be seen as payment of reparations. No agreement has been signed and Herero and Nama descendants have said they were excluded from the talks. At Wednesday's commemoration, candles were lit in honour of the victims and a minute of silence was followed by songs and speeches. The memorial was attended by about 1,000 people, including the German ambassador to Namibia. The Herero tribe revolted against German colonisers in January 1904, with the smaller Nama tribe joining the next year. The crackdown by German troops sent tens of thousands of people fleeing towards neighbouring Botswana. Then, in October 1904, German General Lothar von Trotha, under the command of German leader Kaiser Wilhelm II, signed a notorious 'extermination order' against the Herero. 'Within the German boundaries, every Herero, with or without a gun, with or without livestock, will be shot dead,' the order said. Between 1904 and 1908, at least 60,000 Herero and 10,000 Nama people were killed, many at German-run concentration camps, although some estimates put the death toll higher. Hundreds of Herero and Nama were also beheaded after being killed, with their skulls brought back to Germany for 'scientific' experiments meant to prove racial superiority. Since 2008, Namibian officials have demanded the bones be returned. Germany has complied, with ceremonial transfers in 2011 and 2018. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Israel Kaunatjike, a Herero activist who spearheaded the initiative 'No Amnesty on Genocide', called it a 'scandal' that no official memorial of the genocide has been held since Namibia gained independence from South Africa's control in 1990. 'It is very, very important for us today to celebrate, to remember those who lost their lives,' said Kaunatjike, who noted May 28 marked the day in 1908 the concentration camps were closed in then-German South West Africa. Kaunatjike added that any agreement that did not include reparations, and the return of Herero and Nama land still owned by descendants of German settlers, would be inadequate.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Namibia honours victims of colonial genocide as reparation calls grow
WINDHOEK, May 28 (Reuters) - Namibia honoured the victims of mass killings during German colonial rule with an inaugural memorial day on Wednesday, as politicians and affected communities voiced fresh calls for reparations from Berlin. German soldiers killed some 65,000 OvaHerero and 10,000 Nama people in 1904-1908 in what historians and the United Nations have long called the first genocide of the 20th century. In 2021 Germany officially described the massacre as a genocide for the first time, agreeing to fund development projects worth 1.1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) in the Southern African country, but stopping short of paying reparations. Namibian officials and representatives of the OvaHerero and Nama people say that is not enough. "We should find a degree of comfort in the fact that the German government has agreed that German troops committed a genocide," Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah told a solemn memorial event in the parliament gardens. "We may not agree on the final quantum, but that is part of the complex negotiations we have been engaged in with the German government since 2013," she said. A spokesperson for the German embassy in Windhoek in response to an email request for comment referred Reuters to a statement the German government published on the memorial day. "The federal government acknowledges Germany's moral and political responsibility (for the killings) and emphasises the importance of reconciliation," the statement said. Namibia's government chose to mark Genocide Remembrance Day on May 28 because it was on that date that German colonial authorities ordered the closure of concentration camps. Charles Kakomee Tjela, a descendant of genocide victims who attended the event in the parliament gardens, told Reuters the genocide should feature more prominently in school curricula. Hoze Riruako, an OvaHerero chief, said the colonial-era atrocities were a prelude to the Holocaust but "people are not aware of what has happened here to the same level". Some representatives of the OvaHerero community boycotted memorial proceedings because they think the agreement for Germany to fund development projects over 30 years does not address their grievances. Nandi-Ndaitwah said on Wednesday negotiations with Germany would continue and that any final agreement should be "satisfactory, particularly for the directly affected communities". McHenry Venaani, an opposition leader, agreed Germany's initial offer was insufficient. "We are demanding a fair deal," Venaani said. ($1 = 0.8838 euros)
Telegraph
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Demanding slavery reparations now is proof Democrats have lost the plot
Even for a party as troubled as the Democrats, the decision by a group of lawmakers to introduce a congressional resolution demanding reparations for the descendants of enslaved Africans is particularly hairbrained. It's not that African Americans, like myself, do not deserve formal recognition for the centuries of labour our ancestors were forced to contribute to building this nation. But reparations? It's the wrong solution from the wrong party at the wrong time. The specific legislation on the table is not new. Officially known as the Reparations Now resolution, the bill was first introduced back in 2023 by former Representative Cori Bush – then a leading member of the Democrats' ultra-progressive 'Squad', whose best-known figure is New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Last August, Bush was defeated in an unusually-costly Democrat primary race dominated by her aggressive criticism of Israel and its war with Hamas in Gaza. This time, the reparations push is being led by Pennsylvania Democrat Summer Lee, another vocal Israel-critic and 'Squad' member. 'Black folks are owed more than thoughts and prayers. We're owed repair, we're owed restitution and we're owed justice,' said Lee at a press conference announcing the bill. Bush, who also attended the event, added: 'For over 400 years … America has been cashing checks written in black blood.' Reparations Now calls upon the federal government to allocate trillions of dollars – $14 trillion in Bush's original version – for reparations atoning for slavery, as well as for the legacies of Jim Crow, housing discrimination and the effects of America's decades-long war on drugs. With African American household wealth still roughly one-sixth that of their white counterparts, according to data from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, few could deny that there is a problem. But Reparations Now is not the plan to address it. Beyond the logistics of such a scheme – funding, eligibility, disbursements – is the timing behind the idea's resuscitation. Lee has made clear that she is picking up where Bush left off as a direct response to the Trump White House's assaults on race-based preference programmes such as DEI. Such thinking was also behind the reintroduction of a similar bill – HR 40 – by Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass) and New Jersey Senator Cory Booker in February. HR 40 would establish a federal commission to examine the long-term effects of slavery and explore possible reparations programmes. Pressley was even more biting in her critique of the president and the necessity of reparations now than her fellow Squad-members, branding Trump's second term 'a moment of anti-Blackness on steroids'. While it might make for easy headlines, tying reparations directly to the return of Trump makes no sense. For one thing, the relative poverty of African Americans is nothing to do with the current president: black Americans have been poor under both Republican and Democratic administrations. In fact, many African American leaders, such as Republican South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, believe that Democratic efforts to eradicate poverty among black communities through handouts – most notably President Lyndon B Johnson's 1960s'-era 'Great Society' campaign – have done more harm than good. 'What was hard to survive,' said Scott during his short-lived run for the presidency back in 2023, 'was Johnson's Great Society, where they decided to put money – where they decided to take the black father out of the household to get a check in the mail. And you can now measure that in unemployment and crime and devastation.' Although Scott was skewered by progressives such as 1619 Project author Nikole Hannah-Jones, data from Pew reveals that Scott is likely to be speaking for a not-insignificant proportion of African Americans. Roughly 20 per cent do not support a reparations push, with higher-educated and higher-earning black Americans leading such opposition. Overall, 70 per cent of Americans believe reparations schemes are a bad idea. It isn't particularly difficult to see why. In California, reparations commissions at both the state level and in the city of San Francisco spent years – and millions on research and task forces – but have yet to take any concrete actions. And this in a state that never had slavery. A San Francisco plan was particularly ambitious, floating a $5 million payment to every eligible black resident — a process that the Hoover Institution said would cost every local non-black family $600,000. Unsurprisingly, the scheme has been stalled by budgetary constraints. Although such figures have yet to be considered on a national level, the price tag for bills like Lee's Reparations Now would be difficult to stomach even for most Democrats – and face almost certain legal opposition from Republicans. A modest reparations scheme in Evanston, Illinois, for instance, was sued last year by the conservative group Judicial Watch, which claims that it is unconstitutional because applicants must qualify by race. The programme – which launched in 2022 – provides $25,000 in housing grants to direct descendants of black residents harmed by historic housing discrimination. Rather than focus on reparations schemes that spend decades in development but inevitably go nowhere, Democrats would be better served — and better serve their constituents — fixing their party and focusing on efforts that are actually likely to improve the plight of black Americans. But that would involve confronting some hard facts and making some difficult decisions. Like with their support for preferred pronouns or Pride flags, it's far easier to embrace virtue-signalling and anti-Trump bluster. The Democrats thrive on distraction – and reparations fit this mold perfectly.
