I am presently doing a book called
"Troubled Waters" with my Grade 10 class. It is by a Namibian writer named
Joseph Dilscho. It begins with an old African story that moved me and made me think about
where I am:
‘When God created Southern African soil he not only
deposited on it green trees and lush grass, but above it he placed a totally clear sky
with a bright sun looking down. He gave it a climate not too hot and not too cold, cool in
the evenings and warm in the day. He placed on the land magnificent wildlife....elephants
and lions and rhinos....gemsbok, springbok, impala, zebras, giraffes and buffalo....all
raising families, feeding and playing. Around the land he poured great waters to protect
the animals and wet the soil. Then he said, "I should put something underneath the
soil." There he placed gold and diamonds and uranium. Seeing what God had done, a
member of the Heavenly Host exclaimed, "Why give this one area so much......it is too
beautiful." God looked down on the soon-to-be troubled waters and replied,
"Wait until you see what the people I put there are
going to do to each other."’
Namibia is a beautiful country with a history of
oppression and strife. The apartheid regime was lifted in 1990 when they won independence
from South Africa. Yet, 5 years later, the remnants of apartheid remain in subtle yet
serious ways. As the Namibian people work together to establish harmony and equality, the
peaceful beauty that surrounds them remains a constant and continuing reminder of who they
are and where they have come from.
