I’m not one to complain. After all, I am British, I come from a land where it is preferred to suffer than to ruffle feathers and where every problem is faced with a stiff upper lip. Regardless of this fact, I warn you that I am about to lodge a couple of complaints based on my observations and personal feelings after living in this country for the last 5 months.

I was born and bred in London, England, and I’ve lived there my entire life. I’m a fully fledged British citizen, red passport, free healthcare and bad teeth – the works. Oh, and I also happen to be black. Shocked? I don’t blame you. I mean, “there’s no way [I] can be from England, look at [me]!”*. It would be absolutely insane for somebody from London to “escape from Africa and come all the way back!”*. But there you have it folks, I’m a person of colour that comes from Royal Britannia, and who has a bee in his bonnet (you see that? Only a British person would say that) about…well, about Namibia and the treatment I’ve received in the Land of the Brave.

You see, nobody in this country seems to believe I’m British, for some reason, a black person coming from England is an impossible concept in the minds of most Namibians I’ve met, white or black. However, being Black British has put me in a unique position. I am able to see both sides of Africa; White Africa and Black Africa, Luderitz and Location, Swakopmund and Shabeen, and this has given me a unique perspective on the great colour divide.

I’ve noticed that some Afrikaaners in this country seem to hold a limited view on the capabilities of black people, especially when that black person is me. Now, I don’t want to lie to you, a 6ft tall dark skinned black male won’t inspire confidence in most people, let alone the members of a country still smarted by apartheid. But does this really mean that I have to be looked at with suspicion every time I walk into Edgar’s? Don’t get me wrong, if I was walking around with an empty bag touching every garment I could see while trying to hide my face from the security guards, then by all means, scrutinise the hell out of me, I deserve it. But if I walk in and begin to look at the shirts on offer, I do not need an overzealous young shop assistant asking me if I need help whilst trying to catch the eye of the muscle at the door, nor do I need a trainee clerk to follow me around inconspicuously as I browse, staying within 2 metres of me at all times. And no, I’m not being paranoid, this has actually happened, on numerous occasions, in numerous different clothes shops and each time I have to remind myself that there’s nothing I can do. Is it too much to expect to be judged by the content of my character, and not the colour of my skin or passport?

And why are things like this? It’s because of you. Yes you. Black Africa, I’m talking to you. It’s your fault. There, I said it, what are you gonna do about it? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about Black Africa as a whole, please don’t think I’m referring to every single Black African on this continent. No, I’m talking to you, the Herero at the trafficstop who won’t let people through without something to pad his pocket. I’m talking to you, the Ovambo in the flashy car blaring out kwaito at 11 in the morning on a quiet street. I’m especially talking to you, the Damara whose only source of income is mugging the Afrikaaners in the previous paragraph. You, who act surprised when you get fired from your job for turning up late and drunk every day for a week. You, whose temper flares when offered help with something simple. You, who expect the world to be given to you on a silver platter without you raising a finger. You are single-handedly destroying any chance the decent, hardworking black population of this country has of succeeding, and what’s worse is, you refuse to take the blame.

I’m not going to pretend that apartheid didn’t happen. It was a horrible, despicable way to treat human beings, and nothing has benefited Southern Africa more than getting rid of it. I understand that the memory is hard to bury, especially for those who were forced to live through it. What I don’t understand however, is why some black Africans feel that the way to get rid of this memory is to treat the white race with suspicion and hostility. What’s worse is, I fear the current generation of black youths, the children born into the new, free Namibia, have seen this ingrained secret hatred their parents harbour, and have decided to vocalise it, treating all Afrikaaners with hostility without reason. This, in turn, causes Afrikaaners to instantly assume they are to be treated badly by the black population of this country, which does nothing to help the relationship between white and black.

In short, to my western eyes it is both sides reluctance to forget the past and move into the future that is causing the rift between black and white.

*I made neither of these sentences up. Both are direct quotes from two different people I’ve met here.

The Buchter News would like to make it known that this article comes from an independent source and in no way represents the views of The Buchter News itself.

After just under two months of frantic rehearsing, song learning, line memorising, costume making and play promoting I had experienced the same steep learning curve that my young cast had received and standing backstage on the night of the performance with a group of excited African animals, anxiously peeping through the stage curtains at the gathering crowd, I was just as nervous as they were.

It was with a huge amount of pride then that I watched the group of 26 learners take to the stage on Thursday 16th July to act and sing with as much enthusiasm as they could muster. Dressed in monochrome and wearing colourful handmade masks depicting a variety of African animals, the entire cast put their hearts and souls into their performance.

Whilst I may not be the most objective source on the nights show, having worked with the cast from the auditions right through to the performance, what I can say with absolute certainty is that the group of students that took part in the production are a fantastic and fun bunch and have made my job a privilege. Despite missed rehearsals, botched lines and a noisy (sometimes irrepressible) backstage room, my first experience of directing has been a thoroughly enjoyable one and I wish every cast member the very best in the future.

Introduced in 1935 the drink was originally intended for medicinal purposes and was used in WWII as an antiseptic, before being drunk as a digestif alcohol. Little wonder then, that Jägermeister is an acquired taste, although, thankfully for the liquor manufacturers, it is a taste that has been acquired by the majority of the population of Lüderitz.

Myth Busters: contrary to popular belief Jagermeister does not contain elks blood but that doesn’t stop us from giving it a 9 out of 10- we will never drink this potent liquid again without thinking of the Buchters!

In the past all those slightly-too- personal questions that you couldn’t talk to anyone about were left unanswered and ignored but not anymore: welcome to Health Education Response, or HER, an anonymous advice line that is happy to answer all your questions on sexual health.

Set up by Rashid Khan, a Peace Corps Volunteer based in Keetmanshoop, the service directs your SMS’d questions to one of a group of health volunteers from across Namibia. HER is totally anonymous as your SMS will pass through a computer before being redirected, preventing any volunteer from having access to your cell phone number.

“The service is designed for young people who have questions about their sexual health” said one volunteer who works for the service, “but people of all ages are welcome to send us their queries as well.

HER specialises in sexual health questions and cannot answer any queries related to relationships, religion and so on. The SMS number is 0814133315.

I woke up one day and I realised that there were many things about my life I was not satisfied with or better still, there were challenges that were threatening my soul. And I said to myself, “Why should anyone envy me and want to be in my shoes.” No one knows how far I’ve come, they don’t know what lies ahead of me, and neither do they know how dissatisfied I get with myself from time to time.

People don’t know the troubles that you’ve had or the price you had to pay to get to where you are. All they want to know is that they wish they were like you.

Why should you wish you were in anybody’s shoes when you hardly know how they fit? When you’ve worn your shoes for a while, they take the shape of your feet and align to the way you walk. If you were to wear my shoes, you will not be comfortable in them.

So I’ve stopped wishing that I am in someone else shoes because they might not fit; rather I thank God for my shoes, because they fit! I have learnt to be the best in what I do, and I know no-one can replace me anywhere & in any sphere. I am an original, my God is not in the cloning business He makes originals. Make the best of what you do; besides you have this beautiful life to live ONLY ONCE so Live it to the fullest.

The fellowship is designed to promote unity and teamwork amongst churches and church leaders as they contribute to the community development in their catchment area. In the past it was observed that there was lack of unity between the different church groups and it was decided that churches should not be forced to work in isolation, particularly in the current uncertain economic climate.

Ministers of the fellowship have offered their services in contributing to development projects that will benefit the local community and are eager to act as servants of God in participating in town events. It is hoped that the fellowship will be looked at as a beacon of help and unity within the Lüderitz community.

For more information contact the Lüderitz Ministers Fellowship on 063 202573 or at ministersfellowship@ymail.com

Music blared from loudspeakers, a long, white-clothed catwalk extended into the hall and the queue to get into the building was large and rowdy enough to rival that of a popular club- all in the name of pre-teen glamour! Once inside, the crowd sat in a state of nervous anticipation, chattering, laughing and sipping cool drinks.

However, when 17 sets of naked legs appeared below the curtain on stage the youthful crowds conversations turned to screams of adoration. Suddenly the curtains lifted and there stood the female contestants, clad in bikini’s and smothered in golden body glitter, dancing and strutting for all their worth.

This was followed by the potential Mr Diaz’s, also dressed in nothing but their boxers, who pranced up and down the catwalk, flexing their preteen muscles with as much attitude as Naomi Campbell.

If the annual Miss Luderitz High event is the beauty queen of the Bucht then Mr and Mrs Diaz Primary School are her glamorous younger siblings and, despite the fact that the majority of both crowd and contestants were under the age of 12 and far too young to know what sex appeal is, this was an incredibly event and people continued to stream into the packed school hall throughout the night.

Following the swimwear round contestants walked down the catwalk in clothes by Street House (the evenings sponsors), their own outfits and finally formal wear. Entertainment was provided by Twinkle and local artist Superman.

Congratulations to Ronaldo Roelf, who was crowned Mr Diaz, and Otillie Tobias who now reigns as Miss Diaz 2009.

Student Epidemiologist Brooke Nichols conducted research on the impact that alcohol consumption can have on the level of people with HIV/AIDS whilst visiting Lüderitz last winter. Using data from the Ministry of Health to indicate the spread of HIV/AIDS victims, and her own research on the location and number of bars, bottle stores and shebeens in Lüderitz, Nichols was able to conclude that areas containing one or more shebeen tended to have a significantly higher prevalence of the disease.

Nichols found that in places with less than 1 shabeen per 100 people the relative risk of developing HIV is 1.52, meaning that those living in a neighbourhood with a medium amount of shabeens makes one 52% more likely to contract HIV than those living in a neighbourhood with no shabeens. Furthermore areas containing more than 1 shabeen per 100 people had a relative risk of 1.87; in other words those people living in areas with a high number of shabeens were 87% more likely to have HIV than people living in neighbourhoods with no shabeens.

In addition Nichols also discovered that, whilst the HIV risk for men was high, it was much higher for women which she suggests is partially due to the problem of prostitution and ‘sugar daddying’ and partially due to the fact that the majority of migrants to Lüderitz are men with high HIV rates who constantly pass through the town, leaving the, largely static, female population under constant exposure to a high risk male population.

Interestingly the research did not find a correlation between bars and bottle stores to HIV prevalence suggesting that it is the informal layout and casual opening hours of shebeens that provoke such high levels of alcohol abuse and the unprotected sexual behaviour that it can lead to.

Whilst it is obviously difficult to control and prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, this research indicates that there are some measures that could be taken to reduce the number of people being infected by the disease, the most obvious of these being simply to reduce the number of shebeens in Lüderitz. Failing this however, Nichols also suggests providing free condoms and HIV pamphlets in shebeens and heavier policing of shebeen opening hours.

However, as with many developmental problems, the solution must come from a change in social attitudes at a grass roots level and responsible drinking and protected sex must be accepted as the norm before any major change can take place.

Nichols will be presenting her findings at a HIV conference in Cape Town this winter and her abstract is being published in the Journal for the International AIDS Society, and Reviews in Antiviral Therapy.

Thusrday 2nd July was an important and exciting day in many a nature conservationists calendar as it marked the official opening of Namibia’s first ever Marine Protected area- an area measuring just under 1 million hectares along the countries southern coastline aimed at conserving and protecting the abundant nature resources within.

Overseen by Swakopmundbased project NACOMA (Namibia Coast Conservation and Management) and partially funded by the World Wildlife Fund, the area comes in response to the depletion of fish stocks and wide scale ecosystem damage done over the past few years. A recent study stated that if we wish to continue to include fish as part of our diet then at least 30% of all world oceans need to be protected in order to conserve the remaining fish stocks. The new Marine Protected Area (MPA) hopes to contribute to this; stretching from Meob Bay down to Chamais Bay the MPA reaches 30k out to sea and covers all 18 of Namibia’s islands and islets.

The combination of the cold sea temperature and the movement of the Benguela current makes the Namibian coastline very rich in nutrients and able to support a wide variety of life. The area hopes to protect a number of endangered species, for example the Bank Cormorant, the Southern Right Whale, the Damara Tern and the Cape Gannet which breeds on only six islands in the world, three of which are in Namibia. Furthermore limitations on recreational fishing and trawling near the coastline will conserve important breeding and nursing grounds for the infamous Rock Lobster and migration routes and calving bays for Whales.

What does this mean for Lüderitz?

The new MPA will cover the entire Lüderitz coastline and the harbour has been declared an important Lobster Sanctuary which may limit recreational fishing to a small area of the coastline. In addition the buffer zone that the MPA will create covers a small area of Lüderitz’s port waters and commercial fishing in waters shallower than 200m will be strictly prohibited. Kelp cutting and mining on the islands is forbidden, as is anchoring on all islands within the buffer zone.

However, MPA authorities have stated that the conservation area is small enough so as to have a minimal impact on commercial fishing and that the buffer zone will not affect long liners or mid and deep water trawlers. In the future there are hopes that the entire Namibian coastline will be a Marine Protected Area but for now all eyes are on the Lüderitz coast to see the impacts that the conservation area will have.

Seeped in history The Buchter has documented influential news stories in Lüderitz; Namibia’s independence, the development of new infrastructure, business and buildings, presidential visits, festivals, national park openings and the rises and falls of the economy, as well as the equally important smaller stories- watching learners pass their exams, charities raise money, the development projects of local people, births, deaths and marriages and the general hustle and bustle of the ‘diamond in the desert’.

In recent years The Buchter News has evolved, becoming a full colour newsprint paper, going online and being part of some important local developments such as the opening of the Sperrgebiet National Park and the Waterfront Development. In the future the paper was looking to become the local paper not only for Lüderitz but for Rosh Pinah and eventually the entire Karas region. However, in the past month Free Press Namibia, the papers printers, was sold to a new company who have increased printing prices to almost double what we were previously paying. Kleine Kuppe, the printer that The Buchter was previously using, has also increased in price and is now as costly as the current printer. This news, combined with the loss of The Buchter News’s main sponsors earlier this year following the October ’08 credit crunch, has meant that there is a serious pressure on The Buchter’s rapidly depleting bank account. To make matters worse The Buchter News appears to no longer be of interest to many within Lüderitz and subscriptions and readership numbers have fallen since the initial close of Elizabeth Bay Mine in December. At the current rate that it is losing money, your local paper will be bankrupt within 4 months time. Is this the end of The Buchter News?

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