'Leave us alone or let us die'
About 300 people are expected to gather at Marula Game Ranch with everything they own to “start a new life” on the Russian-owned farms.
Landless communities living along the Skaap River in central Namibia are threatening to move onto the four farms leased to Russian oligarch Rashid Sardarov by 10 December to coincide with International Human Rights Day.
A spokesperson for the groups, Reverend Lazarus /Awaseb, said at a press briefing last week that the farm invasion would be the start of a campaign to “regain the dignity” of the communities currently stuck in corridors in the Dordabis area.
“Dignity is intertwined with a sense of belonging,” said /Awaseb, adding that the community needs to “return to this land in order to start the process of belonging, owning life, bettering same and preparing a future for our children to come”.
He said he expected more than 300 people from Stinkwater, Dordabis, Aris and Autabib to converge at the entrance of Marula Game Lodge owned by Sardarov to “start a life there”.
“We will be there with everything we own; our animals, even our chickens,” said /Awaseb.
He said the people are linked to the land by three generations and that the graveyards of their ancestors are there.
The communities strongly object to the allocation of the farms to the Russian billionaire.
The minister of land reform, Utoni Nujoma, had controversially signed a purchase agreement for the four farms - Farm Rainhoff No. 23 (5027.9 ha), Farm Kameelboom No. 119 (5917.4 ha), Farm Wolffsgrund No. 122 (5982.1 ha) and Portion C of Farm Smaldeel No. 124 (457.7 ha) – in mid-September. He then leased them to Sardarov for 99 years.
/Awaseb said with the Russian deal Nujoma wrongly insinuated that poor Namibians' dignity could only be redeemed by working for foreign billionaires.
He said the community's dignity could only be restored by land ownership. He said Nujoma should resign as minister and work for Sardarov instead.
“He[ Nujoma] will be paid better than what our government is paying him currently and he will be working for a billionaire. It is only fair; if the others are good for a job then he is as good for employment at the Russian businesses,” /Awaseb said.
He called on the Special Reserve Force not to intervene in the planned land grab, which he said would be peaceful. The communities should either be “left alone” or “be killed” on the farms, he added.
He also called on support from neighbouring farms, the international community, and state agencies.
CATHERINE SASMAN
A spokesperson for the groups, Reverend Lazarus /Awaseb, said at a press briefing last week that the farm invasion would be the start of a campaign to “regain the dignity” of the communities currently stuck in corridors in the Dordabis area.
“Dignity is intertwined with a sense of belonging,” said /Awaseb, adding that the community needs to “return to this land in order to start the process of belonging, owning life, bettering same and preparing a future for our children to come”.
He said he expected more than 300 people from Stinkwater, Dordabis, Aris and Autabib to converge at the entrance of Marula Game Lodge owned by Sardarov to “start a life there”.
“We will be there with everything we own; our animals, even our chickens,” said /Awaseb.
He said the people are linked to the land by three generations and that the graveyards of their ancestors are there.
The communities strongly object to the allocation of the farms to the Russian billionaire.
The minister of land reform, Utoni Nujoma, had controversially signed a purchase agreement for the four farms - Farm Rainhoff No. 23 (5027.9 ha), Farm Kameelboom No. 119 (5917.4 ha), Farm Wolffsgrund No. 122 (5982.1 ha) and Portion C of Farm Smaldeel No. 124 (457.7 ha) – in mid-September. He then leased them to Sardarov for 99 years.
/Awaseb said with the Russian deal Nujoma wrongly insinuated that poor Namibians' dignity could only be redeemed by working for foreign billionaires.
He said the community's dignity could only be restored by land ownership. He said Nujoma should resign as minister and work for Sardarov instead.
“He[ Nujoma] will be paid better than what our government is paying him currently and he will be working for a billionaire. It is only fair; if the others are good for a job then he is as good for employment at the Russian businesses,” /Awaseb said.
He called on the Special Reserve Force not to intervene in the planned land grab, which he said would be peaceful. The communities should either be “left alone” or “be killed” on the farms, he added.
He also called on support from neighbouring farms, the international community, and state agencies.
CATHERINE SASMAN
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