By Nathaniel Hill
Captives taken after the Herero rebellion were either killed or subjected to appalling brutality (Image Source)
On May 28, 2021 Germany became the first colonial-era regime to recognize its destruction of colonial subjects as "genocide". From 1904 to 1908, Germany killed hundreds of the thousands of ethnic Herero and Nama in a genocidal campaign of extermination, imprisonment, and deportation. The descendants of the Herero and Nama have long attempted to gain reparations and recognition from the German government. Germany's recognition of the Herero and Nama Genocide comes with a financial aid package of $1.34 Billion paid to the Namibian government over thirty years.
Herero and Nama descendants of the genocide survivors remain unsatisfied with the German apology calling it "hollow" because it refuses to pay reparations to the Herero and Nama. Questions over the size of the payment, as well the lack of consultation with local communities by the German authorities have caused outrage in Namibia. Furthermore, Germans in Namibia still control vast amounts of land and resources and still deny that a genocide ever took place. There is clearly more work to be done to gain proper and adequate reparations for the Herero and Nama people.
Please read Genocide Watch's Namibia Country Report