Namibia’s Ovaherero, Nama slam exclusion from Germany deal

Affected communities in Namibia reject an agreement that saw Germany formally recognise colonial-era massacres as genocide, say true reconciliation will not be achieved without their participation.

Windhoek, Namibia – The news left Laidlaw Peringanda angry and disappointed. “If the German government wants to reconcile, they need to give us our dignity back,” said the 47-year-old. “But that can’t happen as long as they are excluding us.” Peringanda, the chairperson of the Namibian Genocide Association, was referring to Germany’s announcement last week that it would acknowledge the colonial era massacres against the Ovaherero and Nama people in modern-day Namibia as genocide.