Dark Memories of Windhoek and Swakopmund....

Earlier this year i wrote my dissertation on a group whom had caught my eye watching the documentary series "Tropics of Capricorn"...I know, i know, i got my idea from tv- lets just say it was my food for thought! The Herero of Namibia (Former German South West Africa) were descibed as victims trapped in their horrific past, haunted by the memories of genocide inflicted on them during German colonisation. Many apparentley still walking around donning the clothing of their oppressors over 100 years on from the genocide- men in German military uniforms and women in European Victorian style long dress.It has even been described as a practise run for the holocaust. This id imagine would put a curious look on anyones face, as it did mine, and was definatley something i wanted to research and analyse further...

German colonial administration in south west Africa created a rupture in the moral fabric of Herero society. The affects of the genocide broke down their kinship, economic and political systems and forced many to flee across the border into Angola and Botswana which was to create the wide diasporas that still exist today. I am curious as to whether those Herero who fled may have crossed though Rundu, where we will be located, as it is situated next to one of the most important routes which connects Namibia to Angola and many other African countries.

When the Germans acquired former south west Africa over the British empire they employed colonial methods to divide and rule together with an utter disregard of native custom and tradition, and insistence on the doctrine of the absolute supremacy of any white man over any black. South west Africa was a good source for land, but the Germans were in a very paradoxical situation where they had to come in as colonisers and rent or buy land from people they were meant to be colonising. The Hereros chief at the time, Chief Maherero, did all he could to ensure no land was sold to the Germans however there were some who made sales to European settlers. Europeans confiscated cattle that strayed onto their territory, while holy cattle would be redeemed by a repayment of 4 or 5 ordinary cattle which were used for stocking the settlers farms. The German traders were creating debt bondage between themselves and the Herero and then used the 1903 credit ordinance to demand repayment and forcibly steal cattle.

 Increased resentment led to chief Samual Maherero leading the Herero rebellion which was responded to by German General Von Trothas extermination order for all Herero to be driven into the Kalahari desert and shot or left to starve. Thousands were put into concentration camps in Windhoek (the capital where we shall fly into) and Swakomund on the coast, forced to work on building projects and unload ships, subjected to cold temperatures, beatings, exhaustion, rape and little food. Some were put in another camp on shark island to eliminate them from the landscape entirely.It was here that many mixed children whom were born from the rapes were medically experimented on. Herero society was completely destroyed by 1905: they’d been left propertyless, landless and leaderless, and legislation was passed to ensure the eternity of this condition.


The 1904 genocide is a strong marker on the Herero identity of today.Even now, the act of genocide has been denied by the Germans, yet memories remain persistent of the crimes committed on the Herero during 1904-8 and remembrance marches continue each year despite the Germans lack of acknowledgement.  There is a whole array of consecutive commemorations referring to the various stages of the Herero- German war during 1904.However, there are two statues that exist in Namibia, both of which stand to commemorate the fallen German soldiers during African resistance. Public memory in Namibia tends to commend the independence of Namibia rather than draw any attention to the period of German colonisation, this is because there is an inequality between those with the means of broadcasting certain memories and making them public and those without.

 In 2004 the German ambassador finally gave a formal long sought after apology for the period of colonisation. It bought together Herero not only from Namibia, but also from the diasporas in Botswana and south Africa. This meant the forging of ties with the people who had fled Namibia in 1904 and after, and who claimed to experience their collective Herero identity for the first times in their lives at this point. The Herero are now employing legal discourses designed by the west to pursue claims for reparations.

As for the clothing..yes its true, supposidley Herero women do wear the amazing floor lengh long dress made from 12 meters of fabric. The long dress remained popular among herero women, but in Botswana, they employ it to differentiate themselves from Tswana women, to assert own identity making the dress take on new meanings.Its become a marker of womanhood  representing knowledge and strengh. I know i for sure would love to come across the Herero on our travels, i can only hope!

Further resources

Practise for the holocaust:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1314399/Hitlers-Holocaust-blueprint-Africa-concentration-camps-used-advance-racial-theories.html

Shark Island Concentration camp:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shark_Island,_Namibia

The Apology:

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,1298060,00.html

St Andrews Church Cake Sale for VSO

GX-er's out in force

     After two eventful baking days, we were armed with Victoria sponge, madeira, chocolate biscuit cake, iced gem, chocolate walnut, sprinkle and butterfly cupcakes, scones and almond shortbread... off to the Sunday family church service we go!
     
    Once we had set up our table in the church hall with the help of my dad and my little niece Jemima we went through to the Church and attended the morning service. Reverend Brian Reed introduced Jemima and i to the rest of the church and told them about my Global xchange Namibia/Newcastle programme and how we will be selling cakes after the service to raise funds for voluntary Services Overseas. Everyone was incredibly welcoming.

Preparing the table

    
     During the service, we sang hymns, talked about harvest and being grateful for all the food that God has provided. Reverend Brian asked everyone their favourite food; mine being a good Thai green Curry (of course) and Jemima's being 'meat' in general! It was at this point that a few prayers were read; one which rings in my head was a prayer for all the people in Africa at the moment 
without food which was very touching. 

" We dare not ask you bless our harvest feast

Till it is spread for poorest and for least,

We dare not bring our harvest gifts to you

Unless our hungry brothers share them too.

Not only at ti time, Lord;everyday

Those whom you love are dying while we pray.

Teach us to do with less, and so to share

From our abundance more than we can spare."

   

     After the service it was time for Jemima and I to get serving! The scones, the Victoria sponge and Chocolate biscuit cake were definatly sure winners of the morning. Everyone was very generous donating their change to VSO. With everyone's help at St Andrews church we managed to raise £53.00 for the charity in the space of half an hour, which was amazing.

     A massive thankyou to my niece Jemima, my sister Lorraine and my mum for helping bake the cakes for the church and to Reverend Brian Reed and everyone at St Andrews church, Barming. This means we have now reached a fundraising total of £815 for VSO! Jemima you were a star on the cake sale! My little helper :D

                                                               

Reflections on the the fundraising stretch...

   With approximately 3 weeks left until I leave for Namibia with my GX team, some last minute nerves and concerns set in. How do i pack for two completely different climates in one case? And, am i going to miss home too much over the 6 months programme? But then i remind myself of why i applied for Global xchange. Its going to give me the chance to experience working with a charity concerned about international development and poverty. Ultimately, I'm hoping that i will be able to help people and potentially contribute towards improving lives.
  Although i haven't yet set off on the placement, i feel as though the journey has already long begun. Aside from my assessment day back in February early this year, and my August training weekend where i met lots of other excited volunteers, my fundraising has been well underway for a couple of months now. I didn't have a required fundraising target, however i wanted to try and see how much i could raise anyway. The only fundraising i had taken part in prior to this was a talent show organised by my 6th form tutor group years ago. This had involved me jumping around the stage with a hairbrush for a microphone, and dressed in union jack socks and an orange wig as Geri Halliwell for a spice girls performance. Not my finest moment in life! But between all our embarrassing performance efforts we did raise a fair amount for children in Need!
   So i figured a good start would be to set up a justgiving site where i set a personal fundraising target of £1000. I thought it was best to aim high, although i didn't imagine to get past £70! so I felt quite daunted once id set that target, particularly when u see 'Eden has reached 0%'- Time to start brainstorming some fundraising ideas i thought!

1. I deliberated with my best friend and we decided that together we could climb Snowdon in the North Wales and ask for sponsorship. I then added this to my just giving page so people knew what my fundraising efforts were.

2. Spread the word- I regularly posted my Justgiving site to my facebook profile stating my Snowdon climb and making people aware of the charity

3. I posted letters and sent emails to friends and family explaining the efforts of the charity, the GX programme, what i would be doing etc

4. I called my local council and had them send me forms to apply for a street permit to hold a collection in town. I managed to raise £82.21 with just two buckets on the high street. Tube stations are also great, but for London tube stations you need to apply just over a month in advance, and you also need to get them to send you the application form to fill out!

5. I walked into all my local supermarkets and found out the name of who to write to about holding a collection, and then sent out Global xchange headed letters asking permission and explaining the cause (I had to follow up with phone calls, but found they book up far in advance. I didn't get in early enough before my programme, but they have offered to help upon my return )

6. I took a couple of VSO cardboard collection boxed and asked to display them in cafes, staff rooms or pubs. (Many shops wont take collection boxes and you have to go through head office if they are a chain). In one box i received £20 in donations.

7. I used the Internet to locate local schools and wrote to their headmasters about the charity and whether they would hold a 'non uniform' mufti day. (I had to follow up with phone calls again, and it can be very frustrating getting through the front line of receptionists and PA's- Unfortunately this was unsuccessful for me, but it can be done if you persist!

8. I called the local Reverend and asked if i could meet with him and discuss the charity I'm supporting and give him some of the VSO cardboard collection boxes. When we met, I asked about different events going on at the church and then asked if i could have a table in the hall at their family service to do a bake sale for VSO.

   So far with everyones support i have raised £762. Most of this has been raised through sponsorship for my climb, collection boxes, the street collection and donations from spreading the word about VSO. Fundraising has been a massive learning curve! You have to be ready for alot of 'No's' but if you keep at it, you'll be surprised. Donations come out of the most unexpected places. It is really heart warming when you receive sponsorship for personal challenges, and when people recognise the good work of VSO and want to support their efforts.Its an incredibly positive experience because it also encourages you to get out there in your local community, start talking to people about what you are doing, making you an active citizen. You grow in confidence about what you are supporting and it helps put the rest of your journey with global xchange into perspective.So, to future GX volunteers- it can be done! And its most definitely something to be proud of! Well as long as you don't accidentally poison anyone at your bake sale!...Mine is this weekend, so i shall have to let you know in an upcoming post! Lets get baking!

Snowdon Charity Climb !!!!

From Kent to Cardiff...

The mission begins. Packed off like a donkey with all the essentials plus waterproofs and hiking boots I set off to Wales. Cab to Barming station (thought id savor some energy for the climb), an hours train ride into London Victoria and a 3 hour coach ride into Cardiff.

Feeeewwww! Had finally reached base at my friend Kateys house, was definitely time for a curry!!! Over the next couple of days the realisation sunk in that we still had an incredible distance to cover to reach Snowdon in the North of Wales. Trains were becoming incredibly complex and neither of us could drive. Joined by Matt Friday night, we all deliberated over the situation with a Nandos chicken roulette. Can I just say that meal is the biggest disappointment! Your told they present you with a plate of different spiced chicken wings. So, your all sat there analysing the chicken with every bite praying someone else will burn their mouth off with extra hot!….only to find out it’s a swizz, and they all taste medium! So, between the disappointment and the meat sweats, somehow Katey and I managed to persuade Matt to take part in our Snowdon charity climb and be our designated driver.

From Cardiff to Snowdonia National Park, Wales...

We set off Sunday morning on the 4 hour drive from Cardiff to Snowdon. It was pretty breathtaking entering Snowdonia national park. Driving through the winding roads, in every direction you saw mountain after mountain. The peaks all hidden by the clouds. We kept trying to guess which one might be Snowdon, but each time proved wrong as we turned the corner and saw an even bigger mountain. I have to admit, we were all bricking it and wandering what on earth we’d got ourselves into! As we travelled higher, the air became extremely cold, so we were quite grateful for all the layers we had packed in our bags. Kate and I took a quick dash for the loos and put on every item of clothing we had, feeling very much like Mr Blobby!

We decided to take the PYG track up Snowdon, which meant starting our route through the Gap in the wall at the back of the car park. Sounded very much like we were about to enter Narnia or something! I’d been told  by this man that we climb for 40 minutes until we see the lake, and that the mountain ahead is not Snowdon, so DON’T CLIMB UP IT and instead make sure we veer left! At this point I asked him for a map haha don’t think he was too impressed :S So we set off…mapless…but we were definitely all smiles at this point, the     track not too challenging, starting with a nice flat piece of concrete…but that quickly changed!

 I felt like one of the pocket sized children in ‘honey I shrunk the kids’ trying to climb up the huge rugged rock steps. As you turned the corners you were often caught by huge gusts of wind which were trying to push you back, so it was a case of laying low until it passed. The views were spectacular, despite the appalling weather conditions, especially when we reached the first resting point where you caught first sight of the lake. 

We continued over the wooden steps, so far the path still relatively easy to make out, but the further we got, the harder it became. The terrain became more rugged and it was hard to find your footing. As the wind picked up there were definite points I reckon me and Kate looked like massive nature lovers hugging the rocks! But this was more a case of holding on for dear life! Although there was one part we had to cross which just looked like steep flat slate with water cascading down it and there was nothing to hold on to, so you had to pass it as quick and safely as you could before the wind came! 

We were up there in the mountains for hours, the weather conditions getting worse  as remnants of hurricane Katia lured nearer, making the climb treacherous. There was a definite point where we all turned to one another and agreed that we didn’t want to die today and were proud of what we had achieved.

Snowdon was black and the summit was hidden in thick dark clouds looking terrifying, already reaching near 6pm, with no torch, it wasn’t safe to continue. At probably around 2500-3000 feet, it was time to come back down!

The climb down was just as exhausting, our legs were shaking by the end of it, but we were incredibly proud once we had made it back down to the gap in the wall, and grateful for the warm car and some nice pub grub before the four hour drive back to Cardiff!

So far with everyone’s support in donations and sponsorship I have raised £651 for VSO, which I am incredibly pleased with. Thankyou to all you guys! And a massive thank you to Katey and Matt for taking part in the charity climb, and hats off to Matt for taking one for the team and driving us back shattered after that climb! Couldn’t have done it without you!

You can still donate at www.justgiving.com/eden-vance

Maidstone street collection!!!

   After much organisation with Maidstone council, I finally had my street collection permit for Saturday 20th August 2011. So, it was finally time to hit the streets of Maidstone armed with collection buckets, VSO balloons, leaflets and my VSO charity sign for advertisement. 

   It was quite daunting as id never done anything like this before, but once a few members of the public came and spoke to me about the charity and offered their donations, all my fears disappeared. It was a great experience overall. It gave me a chance to speak to locals about what I was doing and they often shared stories of friends doing similar work, or offered their best wishes for the coming months.


   I have to say my only enemies for the day were myself, managing to fall down the stairs with my collection bucket in the middle of McDonalds! And the wasps, who seemed to love my green Global xchange t-shirt and orange balloons SO MUCH that they kindly attacked me all day! I vaguely recall dropping my signpost at one point about to do a runner down the high street away from one over friendly so and so!


   But what an enjoyable day overall! AND most importantly, I was incredibly pleased to have raised £82.21 for VSO!!! Thankyou Maidstone town centre!!! And a big thanks to Alan and my folks for supporting me on the day :)

Global Xchange Training weekend finally arrives!!!

   So there I was back in my old hometown of London, but more than ever, looking like a tourist with my map to find the training venue! Thought I did quite well, but didn’t realise the biggest challenge would be getting in the gate! After walking round the estate next to it thinking “there must be an easier way in!” i realised I was being a complete doughnut when I saw a girl simply buzz herself through. Whoops! I'll just skip in behind then! 


   I’ll never forget approaching reception and seeing a sea of faces all drinking and socialising to my left- “oh dear lord, is that the other GX volunteers? There’s so many! And great, I’m late, weldone Eden!” Those initial fears were soon put to rest though when I realised what a lovely bunch they all were. Everyone was extremely friendly and just excited to know who you were, what you do, where your from- and more importantly….‘Are you going to the same destination as me!?’


   ‘Mingle mingle mingle’ was our first icebreaker game that night. We had to wander round the garden mumbling ‘mingle mingle mingle mingle mingle’ (felt like a complete numpty at that point may I add!) and when a number was called out, we'd have to get into groups of that size and find three things we all had in common. Aside from being volunteers, it was surprisingly difficult. People were from all different backgrounds, were from all areas of the country (infact, a few had travelled to UK especially), some had been to university, some had volunteered overseas for extended periods, others had never been abroad. These icebreakers continued all weekend and became a nice way that we all bonded and became friends. It was a really nice part of the weekend to break up the more serious parts of the training about international development, cultural awareness, the millennium goals and health and safety whilst overseas.


                    Our culture can sound incredibly peculiar too!


So heres a couple of descriptions we were given about a culture. The idea was to guess what culture or group of people they may be about.


“They have a ritual involving the use of certain garments, only worn in certain seasons. The robing and disrobing of this garment and the timing of this, has a great cultural significance in the hospitality ritual.” 


For some reason I guessed Mongolia, but no this is us in the UK!


“Almost the entire population is addicted to a plant substance which they drink with water and other animal or plant substances. They speak openly about this addiction apparently without shame, and have evolved certain rituals around its use.”


Again, I guessed a group from the Amazon. But its actually the UK with our tea drinking obsession!


                        Getting the balance of learning and doing


   We carried out a little role play where half of the group acted as villagers in a foreign country, pretending to was their clothes, nurse their child and just sitting watching passers-by. The other half of the group came in as volunteers asking probing questions about the culture, trying to learn more about them. This method can come across incredibly pushy, nosey and unfriendly making people feel uncomfortable in their own home. We can learn more from participant observation, something we actually learnt from Malinowski's in social anthropology. Participant observation is a mode of being in the social world which allows us to ‘do’ and ‘learn.’ We can gain a close and intimate familiarity with a given group of individuals (such as a religious, occupational, or sub cultural group, or a particular community) and their practices through an intensive involvement with people in their natural environment, usually over an extended period of time. 


                              Don’t touch cute furry animals!


  Our Health and safety talk about getting diarrhoea, dysentery, cholera, Giardiasis, hepatitis A and B and Rabis in all honesty freaked a lot of us out. Particularly the description of how Rabbis sets in! So even though I'm the biggest animal lover, I will be avoiding all cute furry animals and will not accept pharmacists answer of “Sorry, the suppliers are all out of the Rabies vaccine!” I will track it down!



                     My favorite moments of the GX weekend


     My personal favourite moments of the weekend were the ‘Oliver’ style dinners, where we all sat on long bench tables having our supper. I half expected someone to say ‘Please sir can we have some more’- but if they did, it was only because the food was so damn good! I thought the bunk beds in our rooms were a nice touch. I’ve always wanted a sister to share my room with being mainly on my own so having Chantal, Angelina and Clara as roomies for the weekend was great! The secret friend idea by the GX coordinators was brilliant. We all had to pick a name out of the hat and that person became our secret friend whom we had to do nice things for over the weekend. At that point we were all sat in a circle facing one another and didn’t yet know each others names. So, there was a moment it seemed everyone was looking at their named paper and squinting to read everybody’s name badges to work out who theirs was! I decided to deliver a milky bar to my secret friends room and leg it just incase they were in. Still have no clue who mine was, as a few nice things were done over the weekend, all equally lovely, but I did enjoy that Cadburys dairy milk!


 The final task we did over the weekend, was to write on a sticky note a piece of advice we may give to another volunteer whilst they are on their 6 month placement, which we dropped in a bucket, mixed up and then selected a note back out to read to the group. The piece I read out was to get our family to write us a letter before we leave and take with us, so that when times get hard while we are away, we can read it and feel comforted. I had written “Don’t worry, when times get hard, speak to your  GX family, we all here to support one another, and are experiencing it together.” But my personal favorite that was read out was “Don’t worry, you wont catch rabbis!”


                                           Final thoughts 


   The GX training was rewarding in so many ways. For me, it put what I learnt on my degree into practise, its probably helped develop my communication skills in group settings, emphasised how rewarding it can be to share experiences with others, and be more confident in telling people about myself. And I’m sure there will be plenty more of this to come!