Namibians unwelcoming to black tourists, YouTuber claims
A content creator has put Namibia in the spotlight after she claimed that Namibians are unwelcoming to tourists - to the point of being racist.
In a YouTube video titled ‘Why We Wouldn't Visit Namibia Again: An honest travel vlog’, Yolenda ‘Yolz’ Jawe described the people she encountered in Namibia as unfriendly.
“Any time we greeted humans, we either got a blank stare or no smile or no response at all. But that did not take away from [the] beautiful [Fish River Canyon].”
Travelling with her five-year-old son and husband, Jawe said while at a certain restaurant, they were reportedly stared at and made to feel unwelcome.
“It is such a shame that, especially as black people in our African continent, tourists are not very welcomed; not just by our white counterparts, but also by our very own black people.”
She said she also felt extremely uncomfortable while filming footage for her YouTube channel.
“Filming this was extremely uncomfortable because people made us feel different.... and any time people saw us going into our cars, they looked in, almost as though they are asking questions of ‘did they steal it?’
“Is this how it is in Namibia, or is it because we are black? It really leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
“This is not a place we would visit often. If anything, we would probably come back to experience the dunes and the desert - not the people - because it’s just so unwelcome, so unfriendly,” Jawe, who has a combined 360 000 followers across all her platforms, said.
Difficult to take action
Gitta Paetzold, CEO of the Hospitality Association of Namibia, said she saw the video.
“It is worrying, but nowhere is evidence for the allegations of discrimination, so it is very difficult to take action.
“[Content creators] have great influence on the public, so something like this must be addressed and if it is true, steps should be taken to act against the allegation of racism.
“On the other hand, something like this can also be seen as defamation, especially where specific places are mentioned, and action may also be taken against it.”
Delphine Ilunga, owner of Furaha Tours and Safaris and chairperson of the Tour and Safari Association of Namibia (TASA), said the video portrays a bad image of Namibia’s tourism industry.
“This is not about Namibian people not being friendly or unwelcoming. In my opinion, it is more about people lacking education. Maybe [they were] shocked [to] they see a black family touring around Namibia. We need to understand that tourism is for everyone.”
In a YouTube video titled ‘Why We Wouldn't Visit Namibia Again: An honest travel vlog’, Yolenda ‘Yolz’ Jawe described the people she encountered in Namibia as unfriendly.
“Any time we greeted humans, we either got a blank stare or no smile or no response at all. But that did not take away from [the] beautiful [Fish River Canyon].”
Travelling with her five-year-old son and husband, Jawe said while at a certain restaurant, they were reportedly stared at and made to feel unwelcome.
“It is such a shame that, especially as black people in our African continent, tourists are not very welcomed; not just by our white counterparts, but also by our very own black people.”
She said she also felt extremely uncomfortable while filming footage for her YouTube channel.
“Filming this was extremely uncomfortable because people made us feel different.... and any time people saw us going into our cars, they looked in, almost as though they are asking questions of ‘did they steal it?’
“Is this how it is in Namibia, or is it because we are black? It really leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
“This is not a place we would visit often. If anything, we would probably come back to experience the dunes and the desert - not the people - because it’s just so unwelcome, so unfriendly,” Jawe, who has a combined 360 000 followers across all her platforms, said.
Difficult to take action
Gitta Paetzold, CEO of the Hospitality Association of Namibia, said she saw the video.
“It is worrying, but nowhere is evidence for the allegations of discrimination, so it is very difficult to take action.
“[Content creators] have great influence on the public, so something like this must be addressed and if it is true, steps should be taken to act against the allegation of racism.
“On the other hand, something like this can also be seen as defamation, especially where specific places are mentioned, and action may also be taken against it.”
Delphine Ilunga, owner of Furaha Tours and Safaris and chairperson of the Tour and Safari Association of Namibia (TASA), said the video portrays a bad image of Namibia’s tourism industry.
“This is not about Namibian people not being friendly or unwelcoming. In my opinion, it is more about people lacking education. Maybe [they were] shocked [to] they see a black family touring around Namibia. We need to understand that tourism is for everyone.”
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