Good Evening:
Today I would like to talk about the politics between Namibia and Germany. Although Germany has not occupied Namibia for a hundred years, one can still see the impact. Once Namibia gained its independence, Germany and Namibia began talking about developing bilateral relations with “the basis of a joint understanding on the past.” Both countries participate in the negotiations, and Germany has taken action to formally apologize, but they denied any responsibility to material claims. The relations between Germany and Namibia are very complex and involve many political factors and cultural groups. There is also the political and media spotlight of the skeletal remains of Namibians in the German museums. This issue is complex because they must identify the skeletal remains and separate them from other skeletal remains. However, “In 2011 and 2014, the German Government helped locate the human remains,” so that they could have had proper burials. It’s a long and complicated process to repair the relationship between the two countries, but both sides are making progress and both are ready to move forward.
Bye for now,
Kimberly
Amt, Auswärtiges. “Federal Foreign Office – Addressing Germany and Namibia’s past and looking to the future .” German Federal Foreign Office. 4 Sept. 2018. 30 Mar. 2019 <https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/aussenpolitik/regionaleschwerpunkte/afrika/-/1991702>.
