Africa-Press – Namibia. The trauma, pain and suffering remains with the descendants of the victims of the Old Location 61 years after the massacre.
Mayor of Windhoek Job Amupanda said this in a statement released today to mark Human Rights Day, which is commemorated to remember the 11 lives lost when inhabitants of the Old Location were forcefully moved to Katutura on 10 December 1959. The day is also marked as the start of the resistance against colonialism and the then apartheid regime towards Namibia’s independence. “The trauma, pain and suffering remain in the descendants of the victims of the Old Location, which remains fresh in their minds. The massacre also served as a turning point and rallying cry for Namibia’s independence as many families and notable heroes and heroines resided in the Old Location,” he said. He added: “The purpose of the removal was to accommodate the then elite white residents under the then apartheid regime. This day in history was one of the saddest and poignant examples of human rights violations ever committed against humanity.”Amupanda said many families were inhumanely uprooted and relegated to a life of disenfranchised existence, and to date, said many Namibians still experience the subsequent effects of the previous apartheid regime and its violent policies. The mayor highlighted the country’s high unemployment and teenage pregnancy rates, generational poverty and racial inequality, especially among black youths and broader communities nationwide.“The name ‘Katutura’ means: “(The) place where we do not live”. It is now 30 years since Namibia’s independence and still, Namibian people suffer from the long-lasting effects of the above violations as is evident in Windhoek’s current structure plan that is divided along racial lines, especially in the residential suburbs, for example,” the mayor said. Amupanda expressed his commitment to build a transformative and caring city where residents feel secure in their lifetime and for future generations. “To those of us who lost loved ones on this day, sixty-one years ago and to the fallen heroes and heroines, and those who survived, I salute you. “Your legacy lives on and we will continue to develop a city where there is no racially privileged group over another and where access to land, housing and economic development becomes a reality to all and dignity, a sense of purpose and freedom are restored,” he said.
