In January 1904, Samuel Maharero of the Herero people and Hendrik Witbooi of the Nama rebelled against German colonial rule. In the following four years, more than 100,000 Namibians died from the genocide. Those who survived the genocide were imprisoned in concentration camps, where most died of diseases, abuse, and exhaustion. It has been described as the first genocide of the 20th century.
As late as 2018, skulls of slaughtered tribe members were taken back to Germany to promote racial superiority in the name of medicine and science.
The Herero genocide was a precursor and inspiration for Hitler in his war against the Jews, Slavs, Romani, and those he described as “non-Aryans.”
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In November 2022, a German colonial statue, Curt von Francois, was finally taken away, however, to a museum, despite the activists’ criticism as a symbol of oppression. Instead, the statue was carefully wrapped and moved to the Independence Museum for “safekeeping.”
The statue of Curt von Francois will be moved to the Independence Museum, with a decision yet to be made on what should replace it Image: Lisa Ossenbrink/dpa/picture alliance
I spoke to Patrick Sam about shame, congratulating colonialism, imposter syndrome, and how he wakes up in the morning.
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Patrick Sam is a descendant of the Nama people from his paternal side, and his maternal side has a mixed heritage involving Damara, Xhosa, and German ancestry. His work involves articulating the human condition, and as a poet, academic, journalist, public policy expert, and human diversity specialist aims to ensure the mainstreaming and normalization of human dignity for all people from diverse cultures. Patrick is a Fulbright Scholar with a MA in International & Transcultural Studies from Columbia University.
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