Every sausage has two sides

A. Hoffmann writes:Mr. Fredericks (“Why the big fuss about NEEEF?”, Republikein 5.9.2016), a sausage has always two sides.To explain my stand let me tell you that I am a child of German immigrants who have left Germany in 1956/1958 to look for greener pastures after having been through World War II.My father was 17 when he was forcefully taken out of school and was forced to serve the German army. After the war, when he was lucky enough to be able to return home after 8 terrible long months in Russian captivity he swore to himself never to be hungry again. This has driven him to work so hard and become who he was later in life.His mother fed him back to health, as he was terribly undernourished after he returned home from Russia. He started to work and similarly attended evening classes in accounting to upgrade his education. He then was given the opportunity by his boss to emigrate from Germany to the former South West Africa to work here.He came here with nothing but his suitcase with some clothes and has worked long hours, gained the trust and respect of his boss and when the opportunity arose to take over a small but similar business at the coast he grabbed the opportunity, at first with support of his former boss, but later on his own.Step by step he built up his business becoming well-known in Walvis Bay and Swakopmund. My mother has supported him where she could.An 8 hour working day was unheard of for him and he spent long hours to try and widen his knowledge about the products he sold. He always had good relationships with his workers – one of them even named his first-born son after my father I remember the get-togethers we yearly had on the 24th of December, when traditionally we “Germans” celebrate Christmas, after my father closed his business at lunch time. After closure us family and all of the about 15 workers sat together, talked and sang Christmas songs – our workers in Oshiwambo and we in German. The song “Silent night” is universal. When my sister and I were small we accompanied the men with our C-flutes.We never went on holidays. My father hardly took a day off. The only days he took off was Christmas day and Easter Sunday. The only holiday we as a family had together was one week in 1976 when we visited some guest farms in the northern part of Namibia.The normal time for my father to come home during the week was around 21:00. By 1974 my father had built his own business building without getting grants or loans from anybody using only the money he has worked for so hard. He could do that because we led a humble lifestyle where we had what we needed, but my father never drove a luxury car and our house was pure middle class without much luxuries.My parents joined the Rotary Club and my father was chairman of the Walvis Bay Chamber of Commerce for many years, thus serving the town of Walvis Bay and the community in need for many years.In the year 2000 he had to close his business due to ill health and died two years later at the age of only 72. I dare say, that he has worked himself to death.When we asked two of his long-term workers to help carrying the coffin into and out of the church at his memorial service they were honoured to do so. We still have contact with some of my father’s ex-workers and the only way they talk of my father is with high respect. I have written my father’s story as an example of many people of his kind. People who have worked and served this country in all honesty and with no special grants or statuses like the “former disadvantaged”, “Struggle Kids” and alike and who have stolen nothing. They were not given money to start their own businesses from their former or present governments but had to work hard and get to the top on their own.To simply state that all whites, especially those immigrated from Germany are criminals that have stolen land and did whatever bad to this country is grossly misleading, an open insult and falsifying of facts in an unacceptable manner.

Every sausage has two sides

Kommentaar

Republikein 2025-05-07

Meld asseblief aan om kommentaar te lewer

Every sausage has two sides

Kommentaar

Republikein 2025-05-07

Meld asseblief aan om kommentaar te lewer

MELD AAN

Advertensie