Namibia's Exile Children

I have a friend by the name of Kim who was born in South Africa but has lived with her husband and family in Namibia for a very long time.  On March 21st she posted Happy 23rd Independence day Namibia with the following photo.  

It was her post that piqued my interest in the relatively new country of Namibia.  In researching their independence from South Africa, I discovered what a recent and violent history the young country has had.  Additionally the biggest problem now is the repatriation of the children of the freedom fighters commonly called "Exile Children" because they were born in exile camps outside of the former South West Africa.  

Rachel Valentina Nghiwete's autobiography, "The Exile Child" talks about the harsh life she and thousands of other children were born into, being the offspring of Namibian freedom fighters known as SWAPO (South West Africa's Peoples Organization) fighting under the banner of PLAN (People's Liberation Army of Namibia).  

  
  The issue now is the future of these children, many of which are orphans who were uprooted from the exile location and plopped down in Namibia, without their parents, in the name of repatriation.  800 of them are camped illegally in the capital of Windhoek, demanding help for food, housing and jobs.  Some of these children are quite young and I cannot imagine what they are going through, trying to survive and grow up.  Government assistance is mandatory for these kids that had no choice in their lives.

Sadly the most recent news reports has the children arrested for their demonstrations and demands. 4/16/13

   And once again 4/24/2013!

The exile children or "struggle kids" as the government refers to them, have been fighting for jobs and housing since 2008.  The group NEKA (Namibia Exile Kids Association) has done little to end the plight of these children.  Hopefully the continued demonstrations will bring about a resolution.