Africa-Press – Namibia. THE Keetmanshoop municipality recently unveiled a Covid-19 memorial at the town’s central park to remember the families, friends and acquaintances lost during the pandemic.
Mayor McDonald Hanse said Covid-19 came like a thief in the night, stealing loved ones from families.
Hanse said happy, healthy and productive members of society were gone in the blink of an eye.
What made matters worse was the fact that none of the comforting rituals such as families gathering around to offer support after the death of a loved one were available.
“It was a time of profound loss and profound trauma, therefore, this memorial is a tribute to lives well lived and lives worth remembering. It is a final gift to our departed loved ones, to honour their memory. And to the surviving family members, it serves as a peaceful focal point which they can visit and find healing,” said Hanse.
Family members of those who lost loved ones to Covid were last year invited to bring the names of the deceased to be engraved on the memorial stone. Henry Neumann assisted the council to erect the stone as a donation. He has been a political adviser to leaders of different African countries, but has called Namibia his home for the past 15 years.
“The virus has shaped our lives drastically. Our idea of life, publicly, socially and even when we talk of these big figures, we must remember we are talking about individuals, there are people behind them. Our parents, children, friends, neighbours, people we know. And that is why I thought to make this investment, and have come all the way from Germany to mourn with you,” said Neumann.
He emphasised the need to continue treading cautiously with regards to the coronavirus, after noting that new Covid-19 cases are being reported and rising in Germany.
Lynn Dausab, who lost both her mother and brother during the pandemic, thanked the initiators of the memorial stone.
Dausab said the deaths of her family members still do not feel real to her because she never had the chance to say goodbye to them.
“Every day, I still wait for them to come home. It’s as if they are on a long trip. We were not able to get close to their coffins, much less their bodies, and we stood a far distance away to watch them being buried,” said Dausab.
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