"The Struggle"

When Occupy Wall Street was happening, I was definitely caught up in the romantic notion of people's power.  I went down to Zucotti Park with the best of them to see for myself and I even sent pizzas to the park through the internet.  (I actually thought that was a pretty neat way to support the cause.  The pizza shop around the corner did it and would donate a pie for each one bought, if I remember correctly.)

I was getting swept up in the whole idea of it, but tried to remain questioning and critical of ideas brought up.  When I went there, we walked through the park, and I slowly realized that I was not stepping over empty sleeping bags.  There were people sleeping in them.  This was around noon.  One guy poked his head out of his sleeping bag, lit a joint, looked at me and said, "Man, can you give me a job?"  Instantly, the bubble was burst and I hurried out of the park.

Namibia is experiencing its own little Occupy Wall Street right now, except the people are occupying a seemingly empty field in front of the ruling party's headquarters in Windhoek.  The ruling party is located in the former Black Township on the outskirts of town and they are proving to be very interesting in their handlings of this 'occupation.'  Here is an article from the government newspaper.

'Struggle Kids' Saga Continues

These struggle kids were all born to parents outside of Namibia - mainly in the refugee camps of Angola - who fought in the liberation struggle.  They have come from all over Namibia, mostly walking, to hold the government to task on their promises.  Now, they have addressed the ruling party with their grievances, but they say they are a political party and not the government.  Rightly so, if you ask me.  The government has addressed the struggle kids and says that they should go home and put their energies to better use in their home communities - my  thoughts exactly.

Have a read of the article and let me know what you think.


More soon