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Assignment: Namibia: The price of genocide

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Namibia: The price of genocide

01/04/2021 GMT

BBC World Service - Assignment, Namibia: The price of genocide

How can Germany make up for its colonial atrocities in Namibia?

In talks being watched by former colonies all over the world, Germany and Namibia are seeking ways to heal the wounds of colonialism. Can they reach a deal Namibians will accept?

More than a century after its brutal colonisation of Namibia, including what it now accepts was the genocide of the Herero and Nama peoples, Germany is negotiating with the country’s government to heal the wounds of the past. The eventual deal may set a precedent for what other nations expect from former colonisers. But how do you make up for the destruction of entire societies? Germany has agreed to apologise - but Namibia also wants some form of material compensation. What should that be, and who should benefit? Namibians are now divided about how the talks are being conducted - and some in the country’s German-speaking minority, descendants of the original colonists, question the very idea of compensation. Tim Whewell travels to Namibia to ask how far full reconciliation - with Germany, and within the country - is possible. 

Producer and presenter: Tim Whewell
Editor: Bridget Harney

(Image: Laidlaw Peringanda at the Swakopmund Genocide Memorial. Credit: Tim Whewell/BBC)

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