Former President and Founding Father of the Namibian nation, Dr. Sam Nujoma, recently verbalized his xenophobia for Caucasians; specifically the British, American, and German people. Nujoma who allegedly made xenophobic remarks in the past continued this trend with the following comments at a recent election rally for ruling party, Swapo.

Nujoma accused whites of having “provoked us for too long”, having no respect for the truth, and being poisonous like a mamba snake.  Furthermore, he stated that the American and British people and governments are criminals, adding: “ngele mwa mono omwInglisa dhengeni komutse” which translates from Oshiwambo to “If you see an English person club him/her to the head.”

Dr. Nujoma urged Namibian youth to be educated in order not to be misled by American and British imperialists and called on Namibians to be ready to fight against imperialists.

I do not deny that the U.S. and England make unpopular political decisions that have a global impact however I find it amazing that someone of Dr. Nujoma’s position and influence could paint a negative portrayal of an entire race of people with a single brushstroke.  This situation reminds me of the adage, “with great power comes great responsibility.”  Clearly Nujoma would rather use his power to incite a nation to hate than reconciliation. 

I find it interesting that Nujoma’s comments are directed at white people that are essentially periphery players in Namibian politics.  Nujoma’s resentment seems misplaced as he is harboring malcontent towards the British due to their colonization of Zimbabwe, a nation, which earned its democratic freedom almost 30 years ago.  Additionally, his dislike of the German population dates back to the German-Herero War that took place in the early 1900s.  Yet, considering that Namibia won its freedom from an apartheid government less than 2 decades ago one would think that Nujoma might air his frustration with the white Afrikaner population who subjugated an entire population to apartheid policies, permitted human suffering, and repressed generations of Africans from realizing their full potential. 

Despite Nujoma’s irrational tirade I do agree that the Namibian youth should insist on education to promote free thinkers who seek the truth.  The time has come for a future generation to take control of their lives and persevere to get the best possible education that Namibia can provide them. 

Three weeks away from home and I return to find that the family dog, a midsize mutt, magically morphed into a toy dog. He raced up to me upon my return and jumped on my legs with such recognition that I stared down at him with suspicion. Could it be… Brave? Did he miraculously transform into a tiny lap dog?

Alas, no. This dog resides with the neighbor who also lives on the homestead and he has appointed me his newest BFF. After petting the dog, rubbing his ears, and giving him some much-needed attention I returned to my house. Moments later I realized that this attention resulted in a stalker of the four-legged variety. Despite my attempts to shoo him away I finally closed the door on his sad little whimpers. I began working at my kitchen table when I heard bizarre scratching noises outside the window.

My thought was that I would have to chase yet another donkey out of the yard, therefore I pulled open my curtains expecting to find a braying jackass, however, to my surprise, I found that the fracas was from the insistent dog. He ran around the house and was leaping in the air trying to get my attention at the window. I think he is even more persistent than some Namibian men, “No means no, buddy!”

Though his futile attempts were for naught, I can only suppose that he found another way into my house and is now burrowing in the ceiling with his newfound friend, BJ the rat.

As I am apparently Africa’s newest dog whisperer I am under the assumption that it is because dogs realize that a) I will not beat them and b) I am not interested in eating them for dinner; 2 strong qualities that place me high on the list.

Update on BJ the rat: The rag that acted as a barrier for a section of the ceiling mysteriously disappeared. I can only assume that BJ slowly ate the rag in a desperate attempt to escape. However, the hole is currently only large enough for lizards to enter the house as I learned yesterday when I entered my bedroom to find a large lizard lounging on my wall. He quickly scampered back into the ceiling and has not returned. BJ must have eaten him for dinner.