Namibia

Marcia, I have the first picture that I want to post. Could I send it to you to put in? PLEEEZE?

Congratulations, Ree. Namibia now has a place in our collective consciousness.

Wow, my lovely virtual wife has posted a topic about Namibia, I love it, I love it, I love it.

Yeah! You'll love it even more when I show you all the lovely Himba women!

Bring them on without delay, please.

Ree, you may send me anything without asking first - just put where you want it posted and it will be done with great pleasure!

John, do you think I need to start one about Hawaii - or have we spread it throughout the rest of the Spring ad nauseum already?

YYYYYEEEEAAAAHHH!

Please, if there isn't a HI topic in travel, please create one! That's a serious omission if there isn't one.

This is how the Namib Desert looks just after sunrise...Ree Walton

How incredibly spectacular! Watching this download for the first time is awesome. Thanks, Ree...You send, I'll post!

woow! That's amazing... a red river of glowing sand...

I really is amazing. Also, when you look at how small the dunes beneath appear, you'll get a good idea of how high the dune I was standing on is. It is called Dune 7, and it is the only dune in the Namib which is too big to shift. And imagine this: every time you manage to drag yourself all the way up that old monster, you see a completely different dune pattern beneath.

*giggle* yes Ree-head, you really are amazing! and lookit you... coming out of your shy shell and all!

Totally amazing! I thought it was taken from an airplane. Not only is it beautiful, but I must add my compliments to the photog as well. There's nothing like an artist's perspective! That photo is worthy of National Geographic.

What is the ethnic makeup of Namibia? What are the tribes?

WHHHOOOOOOPPPPSS!! Sorry, no that was really not meant as an 'I'! Marcia, the photo was an accident, really! Normally they don't look anything like that! The biggest tribe is the Ovambo, followed by the Oshivambo who live mostly up north in the Caprivi strip. Then you get the Hereros and the Himbas who live in the central parts. The other tribes are pretty small. You get the Kalahari Bushmen, the Namas, the Damaras, the Hottentots, and some other tribes as well - I just can't think of all the names now. I'll try and find pictures.

What are the major industries? Companies?

From Ree: This is Isa on an ostrich farm just outside the town where my mum lives. The farm is called 'Ombu' - the Herero word for ostrich.

That's really cute! Is that in the Kalahari? I know the man feeding the ostrich is not a bushman, but it sure looks like desert land.

That is one of the densest parts of the country!!! It's the savannah. The guy feeding the ostrich is a Herero; he was brilliant showing her how to feed them, and in the end she got to ride one! I'll try and find that photo as well.

Cool. Ostrich jockey, eh?

What's your record in ostrich racing, ree?

I managed to stay on for about 20 strides - then it threw me like no horse has ever managed. The bad thing is, you can't stay down and feel your limbs to see if anything is broken, and whether everything is moving; you have to get up and RUN, 'cos ostriches have a nasty little habit of kicking the $hit out of one.

I was just joking, but you really did ride an ostrich. I wish I had a picture of that.

Don't - it was not a pretty sight! And broken ribs would be all you'd see on the picture; apart from my crying like a baby!!! ha-ha!!

WHY AMERICANS SHOULD NEVER BE ALLOWED TO TRAVEL The following are actual stories provided by travel agents: I had someone ask for an aisle seat so that their hair wouldn't get messed up by being near the window. A client called in inquiring about a package to Hawaii. After going over all the cost info, she asked, "Would it be cheaper to fly to California and then take the train to Hawaii?" A man called, furious about a Florida package we did. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in Orlando. He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to explain that is not possible, since Orlando is in the middle of the state. He replied, "Don't lie to me. I looked on the map and Florida is a very thin state." I got a call from a man who asked, "Is it possible to see England from Canada?" I said, "No." He said "But they look so close on the map." A nice lady just called. She needed to know how it was possible that her flight from Detroit left at 8:20am and got into Chicago at 8:33am. I tried to explain that Michigan was an hour ahead of Illinois, but she could not understand the concept of time zones. Finally I told her the plane went very fast, and she bought that! I just got off the phone with a man who asked, "How do I know which plane to get on?" I asked him what exactly he meant, which he replied, "I was told my flight number is 823, but none of these darn planes have numbers on them." A business man called and had a question about the documents he needed in order to fly to China. After a lengthy discussion about passports, I reminded him he needed a visa. "Oh no I don't, I've been to China many times and never had to have one of those." I double checked and sure enough, his stay required a visa. When I told him this he said, "Look, I've been to China four times and every time they have accepted my American Express."

ha-ha!!! You are echoeing all over the place, Mr Burnett!

Yes, I am. I've seen these people and cringe when I do. But I understand that's only part of what gives Americans such a bad name in other nations.

See, Ree...there are Stupid tourists all over - not just bothering the National Park Service Rangers (as in "is this island completely surrounded by water?"). I've seen 'um too...!

Marcia, did you really hear a dolt ask that?

..a dolt adult...and David actually was asked that very question...followed by "Is it the same ocean on the other side of the island?"

HA! Brilliant! I did a really stupid tourist thing in Manchester this time though. I spent my last 2 days in a little hotel on the far side of the Whitworth gallery. I wanted to go into town, so I got on the bus and asked the driver if he was going to the city centre. He nodded. So I asked what the name of the stop was where I had to get of. And he looked at me with that 'DUH!'-look on his face. Then I knew what the name of the stop was!

It could have been some street name...that was a perfectly legitimate question. I might also have asked...!

Some bus drivers have absolutely no compassion for out-of-towners who ask perfectly legitimate questions. Sounds like the stereotype of the snooty and condescending French waiter. Of course, I'd be pissed, too, if people called me "Garcon" all day.

Neat topic, Riette!

THanks, Autumn! I need to put in more photos though. I'm just so damned lazy...

Scan'um and I'll post'um!!!

Ree, have you checked out africa.com. They're running a special on Namibia right now, and I thought of you.

THANKS, Maggie!! Fabulous!

How was it?

africa.com is a very interesting and informative web site. Thanks, Maggie, for telling us about it!

Where IS Maggie?

What did you think of the Namibia coverage on that site, Ree Ree?

To be honest I didn't look at it in detail - it seemed to mention all the popular places. I paid more attention to the countries that I still want to visit, like Egypt, Tanzania and Kenya. Most of all I want to go to Na�robi and from there do a 8-10 day safari; I've always wanted to see the Kilimandjaro (how does one say it in English?) for real. Just imagine this huge Alp lost somewhere in the middle of nowhere in Africa. It must be like a dream come true.

When are you going back to Africa next?

Ree, the only place I have seen Maggie post other than once on one of my topics in the past few weeks was on Phinished conference - she is laboring to complete her degree, and we may just no hear from her till she thinks she has that part finished to her (and her professors') satisfaction! We wish her well!

Defenitely. GOOD LUCK, Maggie! Terry, early December I'm going to London with Chris as a sort of birthday present (it's my favourite city in the world), but somehow I also have to manage a stopover in Glasgow to deliver a painting to the Scot who commissioned it for his new house. AFter that I've got a Cyprus trip planned for February; I was there 5 years ago, and have always wanted to go back to show the girls. So, that's what we're going to do next. In about May or so I want to take a long weekend sometime to go to London with sa - a mummy-big-girl thing, to go see a musical together, because she's a music/dance nut. And in June or July a train journey to friends in Germany, because Elza loves trains. That means we'll probably be in Africa late summer or early autumn when the year's studies have been completed. Have you got any trips planned for the next year?

Hi I'm back! Thanks for the concern. Yes, I am laboring on the thesis. Ree, I'm working on some Namibia data right now. Once it's in a decent state I'll send you a copy for your comments. I'm doing an overview on the language situation in sub_Saharan Africa and the languages used in education - a massive table! But there's also a couple of Namibia papers I've been working on. Sounds like you've got some fun travelling to do Ree! I always wanted to go to Cyprus.

I'd love to read your work on Namibia, that would be very interesting. But the stuff on sub-Saharan Africa and the languages would interest me a great deal as well - that is, if YOU don't mind. I love learning languages, and finding context in and around them, as well their history and the way they evolve continuously. It's just fascinating.

What languages are you fluent in Reehead?

Afrikaans, English, German, Flemish, Dutch. The last 2 don't count though, because it doesn't take much to learn them when you know Afrikaans and German. I speak some Herero, but it's slowly going, because I never practice it anymore. I also know a little zulu from when I visited the Ndebele artists (all women) of the Natal in South AFrica - that's a REALLY beautiful language. I'm trying to locate a zulu person here who can teach me more, but so far haven't had ANY luck. Nama is also a very nice language, with a rather erotic way of expressing things - I know a little of that. Next year I'll be studying Latin as part of my Law course, and that I'm alr ady working on. It's great, and a language that I WANT to become fluent in. And I want to learn Greek. How about you? Do you like languages, Terry, or are you more a person for numbers? I wonder why people who are good in languages are normally not SO good in numbers and vice versa.

Wow! I'm impressed Ree! I'm trying to work on my French right now so I can feel more comfortable in Mali next year. I find it so difficult to learn languages out of context. They also seem to disappear if I'm not using them. I never did learn Latin at school, but I think I'd find it really hard because it's abstract rather than concrete. In the sense that I can't hear it everyday, and just have to learn lists of words. I tried that with Greek which I did a year of at college and had a really hard tim learning lists of words. Maybe I just have a memory problem!!! In the table I've just done Namibia (to my surprise!!) came out as the most linguistically diverse in sub-Saharan Africa using the formula of 'largest language group as a percentage of the total population'. My listing has 28 languages for Namibia! That's just to whet your appetite - more later.

How embarassing. All I know is a tiny bit of high school French. Hey, but Ree Ree didnt' list French in her list so I feel a little better. I think you have to travel and use languages to learn them.

Some Hawaiian, more Spanish but not enough, and a few words in Japanese, Welsh (I can read it more than I can ever hope to speak it)...but like most Americans I am monolingual...*sigh*

Terry, I think if each state in the US spoke a different language, we would be better linguists. In Europe that is the case and they have to learn amost by osmosis if they move about the continent at all. How lovely that must be! Gi speaks several languages, as well as writes in them proficiently.

That's right. If one grows up with alot of different languages around, then learning them is just something you DO - you don't think about it. And that's the key to learning languages, I think; you mustn't think it, you must feel it. In Namibia EVERYBODY speaks at least 2 or 3 languages - most people (especially the black people) speak more. With people who grow up in countries where only one language dominates it must be far more difficult to develop an ear for languages - therefore one has to rely he vily on memory when learning a new language, and that must be pretty tricky, I imagine. Also pronunciation must be so much more difficult when your ear is not accustomed to unfamiliar forms of speech. When I learn a new language now the vocabulary and pronunciation comes really quickly, because for most words I can find a word with a similar meaning in another language, and with a sound that can remind me of how the new word will sound - and so make an association without much effort at all. Even now with Latin. Terry, you're right: I don't speak French. I like the language, but everybody learns French and German and Italian and so on. I know only ordinary sorts of languages; I've decided taht from now on I only want to learn more unusual ones.

But I would imagine picking up French would be a breeze for you.

Did you learn a click language Ree? We used a few Xhosa and Zulu words in phonetics - even learnt a Zulu click song.

Oh, the famous Miriam Makeba song! I love that one, and she is one of my favourite singers. Zulu is SUCH a musical language that all the clicks just happen in rhythm. I don't know any Xhosa though. The most fascinating click language is Bushman though. I don't know it, but have heard it alot, and a bushman girl told me that how the click is pronounced also determines the meaning. The Namas and Khoikhois also speak a click lanuage. Nama is very earthy and quite sensual. They live in the Namib desert and in the spring they go and dig in the sand for !Naras (! is how they write their clicks, whereas the Bushmen use ! or #). A !Nara is is a type of wild melon, with thorns on its skin, and they use the sweet-tasting pulp, which has a strong herbal smell and taste, to make soup, sweets, jam and even pancakes with. Often they also dry the seeds in the sun and sell it to dealers in to ns on the coast, who export them as a delicacy. Well, in their tribal culture, they have a song of praise that they sing to the !Nara around the fire at night before going out to look for them in the morning. I can't quite remember the words, but in English it goes something like this: You round food With many thorns You many-breasted Foster mother of our children Even if I am far away I will think of you You food of my ancestors I will never forget you. I think it is a beautiful way of expressing the significance of the fruit in their tribal existence.

It is beautiful. Hawaiian has chants to the food (and gods responsible for providing them)are almost as eloquent. Perhaps John could reel one off for us when he is finished his radio program today... I do not have any handy and am not sure where in this library of mine I might find one.

Interesting! I don't know Miriam Makeba and although we can 'sing' the song I don't know what it means!!! (dangerous that!) It's been passed on by one generation of phonetics students to another - so it's probably corrupted! (chinese whispers). I've not heard of that kind of melon. Have you tried it?

Yes, the !Nara also grew on my grandfather's farm. It needs almost no water to grow. The taste is indeed a strong, herbal one, but we used to peel it, stick in the freezer for a few hours, then put sugar on before eating it. VERY refreshing when you hit 42�C.

mmm sounds nice.

It sure is. Except if you confuse it with a wild watermelon - which is more bitter than ANYTHING one can imagine. Once I picked up a wild watermelon in the field, thinking it was a !Nara, because they look pretty much the same. It was hot, I had no more water, so I made a hole in the skin, and started to drink the juice. I literally couldn't breathe, and started gasping - that's how bitter it was.

ooh nasty. Our girls liked 'green' mangoes - do they grow in namibia too?

No, we don't have those. What is the difference between 'green' mangoes and other mangoes? We don't have any kind of mangoes - unless we grow them with care in the garden; the climate is far too dry for them to grow like they do in most other parts in Africa. But, because they grow so easily in other parts. we import them very cheaply.

Sorry, green mangoes are just unripe ones. Are they sour! - but the the girls ( and m9st of the local kids) loved them. They still won't eat ripe ones!

;=}

OH! That's weird, Maggie! Why won't they eat ripe mangoes?? No, actually I know already. Because kids are just weird. My grandma always got upset because we'd never eat oranges from the trees - only lemons and limes. I think I'd DIE if I had to do that now.

What's the wierdest thing you've ever eaten????

Meat - just kiddin' Has anyone eaten snails (*shiver*) or frogs ? Can any plant you can think of eating be nearly as disgusting as eating special animals? (Gawd, this should teach me getting vegetarian...)

I've had snails - they're quite good. But when I found out they were snails I didn't like them anymore. And frogs I've not had. In Namibia you get these really huge ants, called 'balla-biter' ants. When I was a kid I used to eat them with red hot peppers from the tree. It was the worst sour and burn together imaginable, and I loved it. I also stole onions from my grandma's garden, and ate them raw. My 3 year-old is like that too. The more spicey a thing, the bigger the chance she'll eat it.

We had fried grasshoppers (?locusts?) in Cameroon, they tasted a bit like crispy bacon? They also had these huge grubs which they fried. I declined. I've never had frogs or snails, although we used to eat Whelks when I was a kid which are sort of sea snails. Do they count? I only remember them tasting salty.

Anyone ever eat coagualted raw pig blood? I have by mistake (thought it was something else at a baby luau) and it is the nastiest thing I can recall eating. Ate raw limpets, also at a luau. I refuse to eat the raw crab or raw sea urchin since they are bottom scavengers who eat decayed "stuff" off the bottom of the tide pools...Eeesh! (I know - so do Lobsters!!!)

Oh, how utterly FOUL!!! Both of you! PEW! Go wash out yer gobs!

Sorry I started it!!!! Now what else can we talk about?

Wash out their gobs? What in creation is a gob? (so they'll at least know what to wash) Or do I dare ask?

(Terry, I think it is your mouth, with which you gobble vittles...but not entirely sure, especially when it comes from our little Ree...*grin*) Did you never have your mouth washed out with soap?!

The mouth it is. Terry, honestly! You can be so filthy-minded at times ...

I guess our colloquial ENGLISH just isn't understood! I did wash my daughters mouth out once when I'd said I would if she swore again at me, and she did, so I had to!

What! You mean a clean cut kid like me?

For a clean cut kid you're pretty hairy, Terry!! Maggie, that's cool! My mum always says, Never threaten them with the kind of punishment you can't carry out, 'cos they WILL find out and make best use of the factI' It sure works with mine! At this stage the most effective punishment is to take their Tom&Jerry tv time away in the evenings. But I must admit that bribery also works wonders....

Better still, do not threaten...Promise! It worked for me, and he knew it! TV is great deprevation and so is scrubbing the porch...an extra time!

OK, hairily uncut kid then.

...but cute, nonetheless...*smile*

Yep. Terry's cool.

It must be the mouldy cheese you keep sending him that is HIS *cute* secret

Hey! That happened only once - when I sent the video, that is. And I bet he fed it to Tami's cat!!!

No, I ate it except the moldy parts. I didn't feed it to the cats. It was delicious.

What kind of cheese was it? (Other than mouldy...)

Some kind of very good Swiss cheese, it had a name that evades me.

(I figured as much.) Were there holes in it? (The Swiss are very good at this sort of thing, and they made oodles of varieties...I am sure it was delicious!)

OK guys(and gals), back to Namibia - Riette, some questions for you to help my research. A while back you said Ovambo is the predominate group. I found that in my listings it's called Kwanyama ( and also Ochikwanyama, Kuanyama, Humba, Kwanjama, Kwancama, Otjimbo, and Owanbo) Is Ovambo the correct Namibian name for the language? Does it mean both people and language? I also have it listed as an 'official' language whereas Herero is not. What do you think? I also can't find any figures for numbers in N mibia, apart from 421,000 in Angola. Is it mainly a second language or are there lots of mother tongue speakers? That'll do for now. Thanks a bundle.

WEW! The Ovambo people and their language are officially called 'Ovambo' in Namibia. Herero is indeed not recognized as an official language, and as far as I'm aware only Ovambo is an official black African language. I think that when Ovambo is spoken it is mainly as a mother tongue. It is recognized as an official language because of the sheer number of Ovambo people in Namibia, not necessarily because it is universally known. I have quite a long article on the Ovambo here, but unfortunately it doesn't contain numbers either. Shall I post it anyway?

If you don't mind posting it then yes, please (I'll email you). I wonder if there's a site somewhere with figures. I tried Unesco.org and it's an interesting place to visit! (Unesco I meant). I have a facinating book on hand at the mement by Putz called Discrimination through language in Africa, perspectives on the Namibian experience, published by Mouton de Gruyter, 1995. Another place you might like to try sometime is oneworld.(org?) Its a platform for lots of NGOs (non-governmental organisations) and is an absolute fund of knowledge about all sorts of things from environmental issues, to countries, languages etc. I'm in a foul mood I just spent all afternoon reformatting my hard disk, lost all my links, although my data's backed up. Now I need to learn to use my new Zip drive properly! Grrrr

Visto gives you 20mbs of disk space with which to store files, you may want to use this as one of your backup sources also. Link from http://www.spring.net to Visto.

Thanks Terry, I'll follow that up. I'm getting paranoid about my research data now - it's getting to critical mass stage!!!

That's good though! It's better to have to sift through material than suffering from lack thereof.

Ree - on the subject of languages. Try http:///www.kli.org/KLIhome.html and tell me what you think..... I think it's a challenge! I also found http:///www.linguasphere.org/ which I think you may enjoy. i tried some of the spin off links from there too. Good luck!

Thanks, Maggie. I'm trying it, but neither of the two links work. Can you check the urls again?

Ree, try them with just two // http://www.kli.org/KLIhome.html http:///www.linguasphere.org/ That is why I usually copy and paste URLs so that does not happen!

http://www.linguasphere.org/ SORRY!!!

Thanks Marcia, I hadn't noticed the slip up.

No problem *smile* After working on a web page (my first independent one) all day, I learned to look carefully at what they need to have in place before you can access the site to which you want to go.

WOW; is this your webpage, Maggie? I need more time to go into all the links, but it looks really cool! And this is the stuff you're writing a thesis on?

No, it isn't my web page - haven't got round to it yet!!! :-) Linguasphere is a great site for language related materials. My thesis is on language and education in sub'saharan africa with particular focus on Mali. Did you try http://www.oneworld.org its another good spin off site for country info. You could also try http://www.africanews.org which is a newsgathering service. I use it to keep up to date on the countries I'm interested in. Well, what about Klingon then? Is it 'outlandish' enough for you???????

Namibia Voting Ends, Nujoma Expected to Win WINDHOEK, Namibia (Reuters) - Voting in Namibia's presidential and parliamentary elections officially ended Wednesday amid questions about voting irregularities. Voting at most of the southwestern African nation's 900 polling stations ended at 2 p.m. EST although those still in lines at that hour would be allowed to vote. ``Officially, voting in the 1999 election is over,'' Electoral Commission spokesman Peter Mietzner told reporters. Vote counting would begin at 1 a.m. EST Thursday with the first result coming later in the day. Political observers expect the ruling SWAPO and President Sam Nujoma to win comfortably, although the government has faced criticism. Earlier, opposition leaders cried foul in the elections but voting officials shrugged off the protests as ``some hiccups.'' Independent observers said they were investigating the complaints. The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) said it had received reports of irregularities, including people voting more than once, from its observers and opposition party officials in 24 polling stations across northern Namibia. ``There are allegations that many people were able to vote more than once,'' NSHR director Phil ya Nangoloh told Reuters. Opposition leaders said their party officials were barred from many polling stations in the Caprivi Strip and Owamboland. ``It was not isolated cases, but a trend to refuse COD agents entry into polling stations,'' Elizabeth Amukugo, a spokesman for the opposition Congress of Democrats, told reporters. If the reports are confirmed, Nangoloh said the elections in the affected areas should be re-run. ``If that is true how can an election in those polling stations be free and fair?'' Owamboland is a stronghold of Nujoma's ruling SWAPO party which used its overwhelming majority in the last parliament to remove a two-term limit from the constitution to allow Nujoma to stand again. NUJOMA EXPECTED TO RETAIN PRESIDENCY While Nujoma, 70, is widely expected to retain the presidency, voters are angry at his government's failure to dent a 35 percent unemployment rate, rising corruption and involvement in a protracted war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Opposition parties say another two-thirds majority would allow SWAPO to further tailor the constitution to its advantage. Director of Elections Joram Rukambe said some opposition officials did not have the correct papers when they tried to enter the polling station. ``There was nothing intentional to bar people from these facilities,'' he told reporters. ``Here and there we have experienced some hiccups,'' Rukambe said, but he believed there was confidence in the electoral system. Opposition leaders have also complained that ink used to mark voters' thumbs could be washed off, allowing multiple voting. Rukambe admitted there had been problems with the ink, but said it was not widespread. The opposition has also questioned the accuracy of the voters' roll which showed a sharp rise in the number registered. Uhuru Dempers, director of the independent Namibia NGO Forum, said they were trying to verify the allegations and would make a report Friday. Dempers said he was encouraged by the high voter turnout, expected to exceed the 54 percent recorded in the last election in 1994, but opposition parties say the voters' list contains dead people, incorrect names and duplications. About 878,000 Namibians are eligible to vote, out of a population of 1.7 million people, up sharply from the 654,000 registered voters in 1994. A member of an international election observer group agreed the voters' list might not be accurate. ``It does seem quite high, but I don't think it's part of a massive conspiracy,'' the observer said.

Send Page Chef Gets Life for Cooking Wife WINDHOEK, Namibia (Reuters) - A German chef was given life imprisonment in Namibia for murdering his wife, dismembering her body and cooking her bones before hiding them in the roof of their house. Namibia's High Court sentenced Thomas Florin, a 32-year-old unemployed chef and carpenter, after convicting him of killing his 30-year-old wife Monika last year in their home in the coastal resort of Swakopmund. The judge said Florin should spend at least 15 years behind bars before being eligible for parole and added eight weeks to the sentence for violating a human corpse. ``You removed the flesh from the bones and discarded it together with the internal organs,'' the newspaper The Namibian reported the judge as saying when sentencing Florin on Wednesday. ``Then you cooked the skeletal remains to minimize the rotting and concealed them in the ceiling of your house,'' the judge said. Prosecutors told the court that Florin killed his wife after she threatened to leave him and take their two infant children back to Germany. Friends tipped off police after her disappearance and Florin was arrested in the capital, Windhoek, on his way to the airport. He was initially charged with wrongfully transporting 10 live tortoises, and the judge added a further four weeks to his sentence for the illegal possession of wildlife products.

I can see why you put that here rather than the other conference, Marcia - YUK!

I thought about "news outside the spring"...but I thought it would be best understood by people who have been there and know the culture...rather than causing racist comments and tarring the entire populace with the same brush. I am awaiting Ree's comments.

I'm sorry, but I can't seem to keep from chuckling!

Received this today, thought you might be interested. From: Basler Afrika Bibliographien Basler Afrika Bibliographien (BAB) - Southern Africa Library and Namibia Resource Centre in Switzerland - has a new homepage: http://www.baslerafrika.ch Initially, our catalogue of periodicals is accessible whilst the full catalogue will be available shortly.

Thanks for posting that, Maggie...I am hoping Ree will see it and post again on the conferences. We miss her!

Oh, and Ree, if I offended you by my post about the nasty man who killed his wofe, I meant nothing personal. In fact, more British seem to do that than anyone esle I know, and I am half English!!!

Post 109 - probably reflects not Namibian customs, but rather German ingenuity in disposing of evidence. I seem to faintly remember having seen something about this case on the telly. I can understand killing somebody in a rage, but acts as organized as this, the effort invested... Enough about this. 15 years and twelve weeks. Does anybody have knowledge of the state the Namibian correction system is in?

(BTW, the level of ingenuity mentioned above is indicated if you compare the amout of thought and work invested to the result = 0 .)

I noted that I said he killed his wofe...Must not confuse wife with Wolf. Yup - definitely premeditated...

Received this today, thought it might be of interest to someone Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2000 From: Martine Prins, Univ. Wuerzburg Namibia Workshop in Germany. We hereby would like to announce that a Namibia- workshop will be organised in Wuerzburg/Germany, June 29-30, 2000. The workshop will elaborate on the topic Namibia: developments in the former homelands since independence. We cordially invite under-graduates, graduates and postgraduates working in the social sciences and interested in Namibia to attend the workshop. Participants will have the possibility to present their own work in an informal setting, which will prompt further discussion. For more information: Martine Prins or Eberhard Rothfuss Bayerische Julius-Maximilians Universitet Wuerzburg Department of Geography Am Hubland 97074 Wuerzburg Germany Tel: + 49 931 888 5551 Fax: + 49 931 888 5556

Thanks, Maggie. It is always hoped that Ri�tte will see this and post something...even just to let us know she is alright...

W�rzburg is not too far from Frankfurt... Dunno, two hundred kilometers maybe. ;=}

Is that another spelling for the place which was connected with Martin Luther? Lotsa really great Universities in your environs!

Uh, which place? Wartburg (hehe: wart-burg!), maybe? That's in Eastern Germany. Luther came through my area, too, when he went to the disputation in, where was that, Worms? He was accompanied by a man of the emperor, who was there to secure his security on the journey. This man's ceremonial bihander is kept in the county museum in the city they slept in.

I thought he ate worms...You know, the Diet ....never mind...(Yes, I do know better!) The emperor made him sleep with man with a bihander?! Alexander, that word is not in my dictionary and I am ever curious. What is a bihander?

Latest Namibia news from the United Nations: NAMIBIA: Border unrest affects immunization Insecurity along Namibia's northern border with Angola has affected polio immunization efforts and sparked fears about a renewed polio outbreak in the country, 'The Namibian' said on Thursday. Director of Primary Health Care, Maggy Nghatanga said: "The fighting will contribute negatively to the immunization programme. We visited Rundu three weeks ago and our health workers are really frightened to go into remote areas for the immunization of the children." She said that long established health services between Divundu and Kongolo in the north had been closed because of the insecurity in the region. Nghatanga said that at present Namibia was polio free and that Angolan children entering the country were immunised before being sent to the Osire refugee camp. She said that last year a 65 percent immunization figure was recorded, but "insecurity in the northeast would worsen these figures." NAMIBIA: Citizens want more protection Citizens of Gciriku in eastern Kavango have demanded that the Namibian Government restore security in their area, news reports said on Thursday. About 500 people on Wednesday marched to the Gciriku tribal office at Ndiyona, 100 km east of Rundu in northern Namibia, calling for urgent action to end cross-border raids by suspected UNITA rebels. According to 'The Namibian' the Gciriku area, which stretches for 90 km along the Kavango river, has borne the brunt of the attacks over the past three months. NAMIBIA: Accused Caprivi secessionist dies Alleged Caprivi secessionist Steven Mamili died in a Windhoek hospital at the weekend after apparently collapsing at Grootfontein prison where he had been in detention since August last year, an official of the Namibian Society for Human Rights (NSHR) confirmed to IRIN on Thursday. Mamili, 41, a former talk show host for the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation, was among the first group of about 100 political refugees from the northeastern Caprivi Strip who crossed into Botswana at the end of 1998. They claimed they feared for their lives because of their association with the secessionist movement led by Mishake Muyongo and Chief Boniface Mamili. For a detailed report see: http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/sa/countrystories/namibia/20000224.htm

Received this today and thought it might be of interest to this topic. From H-NET List for African History and Culture From: David Nolan, U.S. Military Academy "Bergdama" is an archaic term for the "click-language" speaking Damara people of north-central Namibia. They definitely exist both as a concept and on the ground. Physically, the Damara have the same general characteristics as other "black" Africans. Thus the uninitiated would not be able to distinguish a Damara from a Bantu-speaking Ovambo or Herero. Traditionally, the Damara were less economically developed than the millet-growing Ovambos living along the central Namibia-Angola border and the cattle herding Hereros of central Namibia (as well as their cousins, the Himbas of the far northwest). The Damaras traditionally raise goats and donkeys (for food) in the barren mountains (thus "berg" in Bergdama)northwest of Windhoek, west of Etosha National Park, and east of the Skeleton Coast. Unlike the Ovambo and Herero, the Damara speak a dialect of Khoisan, Namadamara, they share with the Nama people of southern Namibia. The Nama are descendants of the Khoi Khoi ("Hottentot") pastoralists that once populated the whole region. As a group, the Nama have lighter skin tones and quasi-oriental features, and thus look quite different from both the Damara and the Bantu-speaking peoples. In other words, the Damara and the Nama speak the same language, but appear physically distinct from each other. The Damara and Herero look the same, but speak entirely different languages. Based on my travels in Damaraland, Namaland and Hereroland in the early 1990's, I can verify that these generalizations correspond fairly closely with reality. One theory is that the Damara represent the genetic, if not the cultural, leading edge of the Western Bantu migration who adopted a Khoisan language, but did not extensively intermarry with the Khoi Khois. The Xhosa in South Africa, who have incorporated many Khoisan sounds into their own Bantu-based language, represent a similar phenomenon. Given their unique linguistic status, the Damara people have a relatively well-developed sense of ethnic identity and are not shy about advocating their political interests within Namibia's democratic system. In the past, they tended to support the opposition DTA party, although I do not know how the voting went in Damaraland in the 1999 elections. On the other hand, the most prominent Damara politician is Hage Geingob, Namibia's prime minister and a prominent leader of the dominant SWAPO party. The conventional wisdom in Namibia, however, is that as Geingob is not an Ovambo, he can never hope to succeed Sam Nujoma as president. Such is the nature of "tribalist" politics, even in as enlightened a place as Namibia (or the U.S.).

Very interesting, Maggie! Btw, I awoke to the horrific BBC hourly news this morning about a mother giving birth in a tree top due to floods in Mozambique. I most assuredly would not have survived - nor would my son have! I cannot get the image out of my head! I see American and France and UK have sent aid and money (very little by comparison to other things they spend money on...)

Mmm I saw that one too. It appears she was winched off just after - with a medic to cut the cord. Unbelievable. Yes, action is being taken, but our military are still dragging their feet. There was something on further rising of the flood earlier. I've got to the point where I can't watch.

I immediately thought of you and your anguish last night. My heart and head were stricken by the scope of this misery, and I knew what you were feeling last night. I shall avoid wtching the news and turning on the BBC first thing in the morning. I just can't handle it.

I'm glad I'm not alone!

I am sure you are not. It has even made our local evening news telecasts. You do what you can, then shut out the rest because it is just destructive after that. Big *hugs* for caring so much!

From UN IRIN news service NAMIBIA: Rocket attacks in Rundu At least two of four 122 mm rockets fired from Angola on Sunday landed near the high-density residential area of Sauyemwa, just one km from the tense northern Namibian border town of Rundu, 'The Namibian' reported this week. No one was injured in the attacks. The newspaper said the other two rockets, allegedly fired by Angolan UNITA rebels, hit an open space near a hut on the southern side of the Kehemu settlement on the outskirts of Rundu. The report added that when the shelling started, people who had gathered at a recreational spot near the town fled the "Rundu Beach". A Namibian Defence Force (NDF) spokesman confirmed the explosions, but added: "There is nothing like war here in Rundu. Explosions don't mean people are fighting." Meanwhile, suspected UNITA rebels reportedly shot dead and robbed two people last Friday along the Trans-Caprivi highway when they attacked a government vehicle in the country's far northeast, 'The Namibian' said. An NDF spokesman told the newspaper that a group of between 10 and 20 attackers were involved in the incident. The report said the attack brings to 12 the number of known people shot dead in suspected UNITA attacks since Namibia allowed Angolan government forces to operate from its territory last November.

NAMIBIA: Nujoma, new cabinet, sworn in JOHANNESBURG, 21 March (IRIN) - As Namibia marked the 10th anniversary of its independence on Tuesday, President Sam Nujoma was sworn in for a controversial third five-year term. At televised ceremonies in the capital, Windhoek, attended by South African President Thabo Mbeki and several other visiting heads of state, members of a new cabinet named at the weekend were also sworn in following the sweeping victory in last December's elections of Nujoma's ruling South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO). Among the dignitaries was the former Finnish president, Martti Ahtisaari, who helped steer Namibia to independence from South Africa in 1990 when he oversaw one of the most successful peacekeeping operations of the United Nations. Ahtisaari said that he was "delighted" to be back in Namibia to see the achievements made over the last 10 years. In his inauguration address, Nujoma, 70, said: "The main objectives over the next five years for my government will be to accelerate the process of job creation by increasing support for small and medium scale enterprises." Nujoma, who has been in power since independence, also said his government had to tackle the spread of HIV/AIDS, unemployment, and access to better health care, education, water and electricity. Nujoma sought a controversial third term after his party removed a two-term limit from the constitution last year. In December he won 77 percent of the votes in the presidential race. SWAPO won 76 percent of the parliamentary seats, well above the two-thirds majority needed to change the constitution. "The main goal of my government is for Namibians to achieve the standard of living comparable to that of developed countries by the year 2030," Nujoma said. Analysts in Namibia told IRIN that the costly deployment of Namibian troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the decision last November to allow neighbouring Angola to use Namibian border bases to launch attacks against UNITA rebels had undermined confidence in Nujoma's government. [ENDS] IRIN-SA - Tel: +2711 880 4633 Fax: +2711 880 1421 e-mail: irin-sa@irin.org.za [This item is delivered in the English service of the UN's IRIN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations. For further information, free subscriptions, or to change your keywords, contact e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org or Web: http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN . If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer.]

Do you know anything about this new governement? Will it be an improvment on what they had before?

NAMIBIA: Amnesty International cites human rights abuses Amnesty International this week accused the Namibian and Angolan security forces, as well as the Angolan rebel movement, UNITA, of violating the rights of people in the volatile northern Namibian towns bordering war-torn Angola. Amnesty said civilians on both sides of the Okavango river, which forms the border between southeastern Angola and much of northeastern Namibia, had been subjected to extra-judicial killings, torture, arbitrary arrests, forcible deportations and beatings. The report is a sequel to a two-week investigation in the area by Amnesty's researchers last month. It said some civilians have "disappeared" without trace, while those suspected of assisting UNITA or of being illegal immigrants had been handed back to the Angolan authorities apparently without being given the opportunity to request asylum. "Civilian life has been disrupted." the report said. For full details of the report, see: http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/sa/countrystories/namibia/20000323.htm NAMIBIA: Nujoma sworn in for controversial third term As Namibia marked the 10th anniversary of its independence on Tuesday, President Sam Nujoma was sworn in for a controversial third five-year term. At televised ceremonies in the capital, Windhoek, attended by South African President Thabo Mbeki and several other visiting heads of state, members of a new cabinet named at the weekend were also sworn in following the sweeping victory in last December's elections of Nujoma's ruling South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO). Among the dignitaries was the former Finnish president, Martti Ahtisaari, who helped steer Namibia to independence from South Africa in 1990 when he oversaw one of the most successful peacekeeping operations of the United Nations. Ahtisaari said that he was "delighted" to be back in Namibia to see the achievements made over the last 10 years. In his inauguration address, Nujoma, 70, said: "The main objectives over the next five years for my government will be to accelerate the process of job creation by increasing support for small and medium scale enterprises." Nujoma, who has been in power since independence, also said his government had to tackle the spread of HIV/AIDS, unemployment, and access to better health care, education, water and electricity. Nujoma sought a controversial third term after his party removed a two-term limit from the constitution last year. In December he won 77 percent of the votes in the presidential race. SWAPO won 76 percent of the parliamentary seats, well above the two-thirds majority needed to change the constitution. Analysts in Namibia told IRIN that the costly deployment of Namibian troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the decision last November to allow neighbouring Angola to use Namibian border bases to launch attacks against UNITA rebels had undermined confidence in Nujoma's government. A list of the new cabinet and explanations of the changes Nujoma made can be seen at http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/

The business up north is a spectacular disaster - God knows how the government is going to get out of that one.

Hi Ree

Ree, welcome back to your topic. Every time we have been posting bad news from Namibia, I think of you most sorrowfully. It must be a frightening time back there. Have you relatives still living there? If so, are they alright?

Please tell us about your last sejour there.

Here's a review of some books about Namibia, several of them sound quite interesting. BASLER AFRIKA BIBLIOGRAPHIEN (BAB) Namibia Resource Centre - Southern Africa Library in Switzerland PO Box 2037, CH 4001 Basel NAMIBIA BIBLIOGRAPHICAL UPDATE No 3:2000 Compiled 8.5.2000 by Dag Henrichsen ISSN 1422-9900 This update covers monographs, periodicals, unpublished theses, papers and other materials as received by the BAB Namibia Resource Centre only.It is selective and annotations do not imply a comprehensive treatment of the title. For more detailed information kindly contact Dag Henrichsen at The NAMIBIA BIBLIOGRAPHICAL UPDATE is issued since February 1997 and approximately once a month. Backissues can be consulted on our webpage: http://www.baslerafrika.ch REFERENCE & GENERAL WORKS Richard B. Lee & Richard Daly The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Hunters and Gathers Cambridge (University Press), 1999, 511p., maps, ill., index ISBN 0 521 57109 X This encyclopedia, 'by leading experts', contains ethnographic case studies and thematic essays. Megan Biesele & Kxao Royal -/o/oo write about the Ju/'hoansi (pp.205-209) but forget, as is often the case with Bushmen in Namibia, those many Ju/'hoansi living on farms and in resettlement camps. The discussions amongst anthropologists about the relevance and directions of their research, including reference to the socalled Kalahari debate, are briefly touched on in the introduction and in some of the thematic essays. Axel J. Halbach Namibia. Wirtschaft, Politik, Gesellschaft nach zehn Jahren Unabhaengigkeit Windhoek & Bonn (Namibia Wiss. Gesellschaft & Weltforum-Verlag), 2000, 244p., maps, tab. ISBN 99916 40 15 0/ 3 8039 0494 3 This is a broadly scetched socio-economic analysis of Namibias politics, economy and society since 1990. This first detailed review on the 10 years after independence is written by an author who has analysed Namibian developments since the past 30 years. Whilst his long research experience and knowledge with regard to Namibia is an important asset, his analysis of the Namibian society still is imformed by the ethnic paradigms of past regimes. However, the book provides a wealth of information, especially with respect to the economic changes and politices after 1990, the state budget and monatary politics. The author does'nt say much on Namibias foreign policy which in any case lacks any serious research whilst his analysis of international and regional trade is very useful. The merit of this book lies in its general framework, providing overviews combined with structural analyses, specific discussions and detailed information. Trends and events until March 2000 are considered. The usefulness of the book would have been greatly enhanced and would make it a real reference work if the publishers would have added an index. Gretchen Walsh The ambiguos adventure continues ... researching Africa on the Internet In Africana Bulletin (Boston University African Studies Center), No 54, April 2000, pp 2-3. The brief article focuses on Namibia which according to the author 'is particularly well served by academic web sites'. The web sites of the National Library of Namibia and Basler Afrika Bibliographien are critically looked at. ARCHAEOLOGY Tilman Lenssen-Erz & Marie-Theres Erz Brandberg. Der Bilderberg Namibias. Kunst und Geschichte einer Urlandschaft Stuttgart (Thorbecke), 2000, 127p., maps, ill., tab. ISBN 3 7995 9030 7 This is the first overview for a general readership on the fascinating history and archaeology of the Brandberg area. The authors, expert archaeologists of the area, have not only produced readable texts on complex and controversial archaeological and historical issues concerning the nature and interpretations of rock paintings and engravings. The publishers have also produced a beautiful book, incorporating the textual and visual levels very appropriately. It remains to be asked when an Namibian audience, including school children, will be able to hold in their hands a book of such splendid and well researched quality in order to sense the historical treasures at the Brandberg? Strange is the fact that the book includes a map on modern Namibia which shows some of the former ethnic homelands instead of the modern regions. BOTANY Ben-Reik van Wyk & Nigel Gericke People's plants. A guide to useful plants of southern Africa Pretoria (Briza Publications), 2000, 351p., ill., index ISBN 1 875093 18 2 This is a fascinating book on useful plants, as foods & drinks, for health & beauty, for skills & crafts. Plants listed are given in various(local) names and their contemporary and historical useage is briefly described and illustrated. Unfortunately, the book does not include maps which makes it difficult to locate principal areas of plant distribution. Numerous references to Namibian plants and usages. ECONOMY Sylvanus I. Ikhide & Kava Katjomuise Estimating the demand for money in Namibia Windhoek (Bank of Namibia, Occasional paper), 1999 (?), 24p. The paper analyses the changes in real money balances since 1990, income and interest rates aswell as monetary policies. Hein Moellers Ein neues Leben. Ein Selbsthilfeprojekt in Katutura In afrika sued (Bonn), Nr 1/2000, November-Februar 2000, pp 30-31 ISSN 0947 8353 This article presents a self-help project Greenwell Recycle Innovation Project of eight women in Katutura. The Project produces utensils like pots, vessels and furniture for everyday use made from scrap material. Ussif Rashid Sumaila Impact of management scenarios and fishing gear selectivity on the potential economic gains from Namibian hake Bergen (Chr. Michelsen Institute), Working Paper 1999:3, 26p., tab. ISSN 0804 3639 'This paper develops a model for Namibian hake, which incorporates the biology, gear selectivity and the economics of the hake fisheries in a framework that allows the analysis of gear impacts on the potential economic gains from the resource.' The author provides figures on the standing biomass, catch sizes and proportions. 2000 Huntinamibia Windhoek (Venture Publications & Namibia Professional Hunting Association), 2000, 52p., ill. Annual magazine for the promotion of Namibia as 'a hunter's paradise'. This edition includes articles from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, the Namibia Professional Hunting Association and several individual authors, on topics like game species, trophy hunting and conservation, legal requirements, hunting techniques (including bow-hunting) and personal hunting adventures.Not surprisingly, the edition includes an article on 'The Bushman Hunter', lamenting that 'it is almost impossible to find a Bushman clan completely dependent on old values and traditions to make a living.' By contrast, the magazine includes a list of some 400 names and addresses of hunting professionals registered with the Namibian Professional Hunting Association. HISTORY & ANTHROPOLOGY Carol Beckwith & Angela Fisher Afrika. Kulte, Feste, Rituale Munich (Bucher), 1999, 2 vols, 360p.; 384p, ill., maps ISBN 3 7658 1243 9 This expensive, glossy coffeetable book by world-renowned photographers, originally published for the US market in 1999 under the title 'African Ceremonies', deserves some serious scrutinization with regard to the portrayal of 'Africa'. The hundreds of photographs in the two volumes, full of colour and manipulation to an extend that I had to close the books regularly after a few pages, invent the Idea Of Africa in a way that Mudimbe would perhaps hardly believe would be possible. Needless to say, the Africa of this book is rural, colourful, mysterious, ethnic, and different, and is composed of bodies, blood and earth. A myth. African ceremonies obviously do not take place in any cities or in New York, for example. For the Namibian audience is might come as a surprising fact that 'Bushmen', a principal building bloc of such books, are totally absent! This according to my knowledge is a novum in all the coffetable books of such type. Volume one includes a chapter on 'Himba marriage' (pp 286-301). Volume two includes a chapter on 'Himba healing treatments' (pp. 196-211) and portrays the female healer Katjambia Inge Brinkman & Axel Fleisch (eds) Grandmother's footsteps. Oral tradition and south-east Angolan narratives on the colonial encounter Cologne (Ruediger Koeppe Verlag), 1999, 255p., ill, maps, index. ISBN 3 89645 056 6 This is an important collection of oral narratives from people from south-east Angola who now live as immigrants in Kavango, north-east Namibia. Their narratives, presented here in interview from and in local languages together with an English translation, focus on Portuguese colonialism in Angola, often the arrival of Portuguese in Angola: Chief Diongo Cao, the one who brought slavery and colonialism; Hearken to the suffering the Portuguese inflicted upon you!; How the Angolan people acquired wisdom; Then they came with priests and guns; etc. The interviews/narratives provide a fascinating inside into popular constructions of history, strongly influenced by the oral liberation histories as performed/distributed by the Angolan liberation movements. The analytic introduction to the interviews/narratives discusses these issues aswell as the linguistic context of the texts. Budack, Kuno Raubmord 1912. Die 'Falk- und Sommer-Morde'. Ein Beitrag zur Kriminalgeschichte von Deutsch-Suedwestafrika Windhoek, 1999, 276p., ill., map, index ISBN 99916 50 18 0 This book tells the dramatic story of the murder of a German police officer, two African women and an African youth, in 1912 by two German men, Falk and Sommer. The author has conducted extensive research and presents detailed narratives of the investigations by the government, the police and a string of private helpers, both settlers and Africans, the trail and death sentence of the murders in Windhoek. The narrative is illustrated with many historical photographs, many from private archives. The book does not intend to contextualise the murder and investigations into a broader picture of court rulings, murder and death sentences during the German colonial period. Yet it follows, as it typical of 'Suedwester Historiographie', a somewhat hidden agenda with respect to crucial aspects of German colonialism in Namibia. Thus the author intends to show that the small police contingent in the colony dealt effectively with the difficult investigations of the cases and that the colonial court and the governor stressed the impartiality of the law when issuing the 'same' sentence for German murders as it would have done for African murders. It is not clear why this is felt by the author to 'beg respect' from the reader for the colonial police (p. x) or should be regarded as a 'civilizing' (zivilisatorische) role of the police in German South West Africa. The author dedicates the book to the imperial police of GSWA and it is hard to belief that this is an ironic dedication. As he explains, his dedication is offered to those 'officers and officials, who acted for impartial justice and order (Gerechtigkeit) for everyone irrespectively of pressure and interest groups.' One wonders, why the book does not include a brief chapter on the general history of the imperial police, or the courts in Windhoek, in order to allow readers to get a more balanced picture of the role and doings of these institutions, instead of this 'dedicated work of respect'? As is often the case with such books from Namibia, they reveal much about the ideological constructions of German ethnicity. Dick Lord Vlamgat. The story of the Mirage F1 in the South African Air Force Weltevreden Park (Covos-Day Books), 2000, 321p., ill., map, index ISBN 0 620 24116 0 This book is not dedicated to the German colonial police but 'the men and women who flew and supported the Mirage F1 during its 22 years of service to the nation.' The book attempts to reconstruct the history of South African Air Force (SAAF) activities throughout southern Africa, including the Namibian and Angolan war areas. As an insider of 'the bushwar' in northern Namibia, the author narrates numerous personal and institutional details on SAAF operations from Ondangua, Grootfontein, Rundu and Ruacana into Angola, and detailed war operations against SWAPO, MPLA and Zambian camps from the late 1970s onwards and during the intensive war phase in southern Angola between 1986 and 1988. As such, the book also contains information on SWAPOs air defence system in southern Angola and on its war machinary in general. The narrative contain much on the social history of the SAAF and its air force bases in Namibia, with some interesting details on personalized forms of dealing with violence and war. Language is an important aspect in this book which reveals much of past and current (white male) thinking and stereotyping. The book has no footnotes and needs serious scrutinazation of its information and interpretations, as do all Covos-Day Books which are mostly written by former 'war veterans'. The book contains important photographs on SAAF activities. LITERATURE Joy Hooi-Narimas & Nick Snatcross Chewing the bones. Junior Secondary English Literature Anthology Windhoek (Gamsberg Macmillan), 1999, 218p., ill. ISBN 99916 0 169 X This anthology is aimed at learners in grades 8 and 9 and include a couple of Namibian authors and their short-stories and poems. It is accompanied by a teacher's book with the same title, 43p., ISBN 99916 0 170 3. PHOTOGRAPHY Rory Bester & Barbara Buntman Bushman(ia) and Photographic Intervention in African Arts, Vol XXX11, No 4, Winter 1999, pp 50-59 This article looks critically at the contribution of photography to the exoticization of cultural identity and the spectacularizing history of Bushmen. It analyses Paul Weinbergs photographic documentations on Khoisan people as an 'important intervention with the photographic history of Bushman(ia)', as a counter-attempt to the romantic stereotype. However, Weinbergs photographs are revealed as 'producing 'victims' for an audience expecting subjugation', despite Weinbergs attempts of representation of difference. As such, Khoisan communities 'are bound to remain colonized subjects, generalized and abstracted by someone else's camera.' POLITICS Amnesty International (AI) Angola and Namibia. Human rights abuses in the border area AI March 2000, AI Index: AFR O3/01/00, 19p. The report critically analyses the human rights violations and abuses along the border between Angola and Namibia since December 1999. It is based on a visit by AI researchers to the Kavango region in January and February and additional information issued by the National Human Rights Society in Windhoek. It includes reports of extrajudicial executions by the Angolan Army FAA, arbitrary shootings by the Namibian NDF and Special Field Force, attacks and killings by UNITA, the refugee situation in Kavango and the Osire camp, deportations and torture, and the issue of child soldiers. Cristiana Fiamingo Namibia, ovvero delle ambiguit=E0 d'una democrazia In Afriche e Orienti (Bologna), No 4, inverno 1999, pp.19-25 Analysis of the parliamentary and presidential elections of December 1999, explanations for voting behavior and an indepth outline of the socalled Caprivi crisis. Hanns Lessing Biltong und Pap. Wahlen in Namibia zementieren Swapo-Herrschaft In afrika sued (Bonn), Nr 1/2000, November-Februar 2000, pp 8-10 ISSN 0947 8353 The author who teaches at the Theological Seminar in Windhoek analysis the December elections, the election campaign, and new lines of social polarisation. He stresses the fact that 'the exil slogan 'One Namibia, one Nation' is less and less implemented.' The Caprivi question entrenched the social and political polarisation as well as the 'military complex'. Tom Lodge Heavy handed democracy. SWAPO's victory in Namibia In Southern Africa Report (Toronto), vol 15, No 2, 2nd quarter 2000, pp26-29, ill. ISSN 0820 5582 Another analysis of the parliamentary and presidential elections in late 1999, the election campaign and voting behaviour. In contrast to other analysis, Lodge looks at the election manifestos of both SWAPO and CoD. Andre du Pisani, interviewed by Rolf-Henning Hintze Abweichende Meinung nicht als legitim verstanden In afrika sued (Bonn), Nr 1/2000, November-Februar 2000, pp 10-12 ISSN 0947 8353 The political scientist at UNAM, Andre du Pisani, analyses the recent presidential and parliamentary elections and provides insights into electoral shifts. John Saul Liberation without democracy? Rethinking the experiences of the southern African Liberation Movements In Jonathan Hyslop: African Democracy in the era of globalisation Johannesburg (Witwatersrand University Press), 1999, pp.167-178. ISBN 1 86814 331 7 This is a stimulating essay on 'an issues that has haunted the process of southern African liberation ever since the 'thirty years' war' to realise such liberation from white minority rule ... 'liberation without democracy?'. Saul starts by analysing Namibia which 'perhaps, provides the worst-cast scenario with respect to the question we are asking' and looks at other southern African countries. Saul does not provide new research on Namibia since the publication of his book, together with Colin Leys, 'Namibia's Liberation Struggle' (1994). Wolfgang Werner Die Landfrage in Namibia: Eine Bilanz nach zehn Jahren Unabhaengigkeit In Afrikanischer Heimatkalender (Windhoek), 2000, pp.39-46, ill. ISSN 0400 714X Very brief survey of the land issue, land politics and land laws in Namibia after 10 years of independence. Werner, who has published several of these surveys before, raises critical questions with regard to the importance of the land issue as is attested to by researchers and some pressure groups, whilst the low key-status it takes in the political agenda of the government point to a different political agenda. Werner is sceptical of the potential of a land reform to combat rural poverty. SOCIOLOGY & GEOGRAPHY Olivier Graefe Territoires urbains, pouvoirs locaux et gestion fonciere en Namibe. Oshakati, Ongwediva, Ondangwa et Rundu. Des collectivites urbaines en gestation Unpublished PhD thesis, Universite de Paris X-Nanterre, Departement de Geographie, 2000, 365p., maps, tab, fig. This is a thoroughly researched thesis which 'focuses on the making of local communities' in four towns in northern Namibia. 'After presenting the political context in which the four towns have emerged - including a history of urbanization of northern Namibia - the author analyses the establishment of the new local authorities ... He stresses their relations of dependence and subordination with the central power and the competition they face with other local powers, whether old or new. ... Land management has been taken as an indicator of territorial recompositions. The thesis throws light on the practices, strategies and logics displayed by political and institutional powers and city-dwellers to control and appropriate land. It shows how the relation between men and land evolves as well as the evolution of the social relations when land is at stake. Overlapping territories are being shaped by alliances and antagonisms that are liable to change.' The thesis is accompanied by many maps and illustrations and has to be regarded as an important contribution to the recent history on and current socio-geographical situation in northern Namibia. Inge Tvedten & Selma Nangulah Social relations of poverty: A case-study from Owambo, Namibia Bergen (Chr. Michelsen Institute), Report R 1999:5, 59p., tab., map. ISSN 0805 505X 'This study addresses urban poverty and the importance of social relations and networks ('social capital') in the coping strategies of the poor'. The case study refers to four shantytowns in Oshakati and two rural villages with extensive urban connections, Ompundja and Oniihende. A wealth of data is provided with the regard to the population structure, socio-economic characteristics like income, housing, education, health, nutrition, famly relations, female headed households, marginalization and social exclusion. The brief section on poverty in rural Owambo illustrates the rural-urban and rural-rural relations of poor people. The report is sensitive to the different perceptions of poverty. ANNUAL REPORTS Namwater Annual Report, Windhoek, 1998/1999, 22p. Basler Afrika Bibliographien Namibia Resource Centre & Southern Africa Library PO Box 2037 CH 4001 Basel Switzerland http://www.baslerafrika.ch Tel.: + 41 61 228 93 33 Fax: + 41 61 228 93 30 email: bab@bluewin.ch

--Namibia's Quiver Tree Forest-- If you are travelling in the south of Namibia, be sure to stop and see this natural forest of more than 300 trees growing in an arid area where little else will grow. The forest was declared a national museum in June 1955. These trees (actually not a tree, but an aloe plant - Aloe Dichotoma) are one of the most interesting and characteristic plants of the very hot and dry parts of Namibia. The plant is called a Quiver Tree, because some Bushmen and Hottentot tribes used the tough pliable bark and branches to make quivers for their arrows. Read more about Namibia's Quiver Tree Forest at, http://www.africa.com/namibia/ttd_sa_qt.phtml From ULUNDI http://www.africa.com

Wow! Have you seen any quiver trees? Amazing adaptability. Need to post that in Bioregions. Shall you or shall I? Please, allow me to snitch it for Geo!

Thank you for doing it! I've never seen these, but sounds incredible.

AfriCam / Agfa Awards 1999 AGFA Wildlife & Environment Awards Thomas Dressler's "Quiver Trees" http://www.africam.com/mirror/special_content/agfa/1999/44.html

AfriCam / Agfa Awards 1999 AGFA Wildlife & Environment Awards The beauty around us (Scenic and Plants) 2nd: Theo Allofs' "Quiver Trees at Sunset" http://www.africam.com/mirror/special_content/agfa/1999/16.html

wonderful pix!!!! Are these pix free to use???? (i.e. on home pages?)

They are on the website I have listed above. Check there for copyright sstipulations and such. They are striking and it is easy to see why they won prizes for photography../

I checked and I'm not convinced they are ...

try it out and see what happens