Browsing by Author "Karapo, Herbrt K."

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    The liberation struggle inside Namibia 1966-1989: A regional perspective from the Kavango regions
    (University of Namibia Press, 2015) Karapo, Herbrt K.
    The armed nationalist struggle for independence in Namibia lasted over 20 years, leaving Namibians with a broad awareness of prominent historical landmarks and battles associated with the war, which are marked by national monuments or commemorative events. It is in this way that states manage memory. However, this chapter seeks to provide an alternative perspective by focusing on the changing impact of the conflict over time on one geographically defined community. The Kavango regions are located in the northeastern part of Namibia, but this chapter will focus particularly on the traditional territory of uKwangali, situated in the Kavango West Region in the Mpungu and Nkurenkuru constituencies. The emphasis on the western part of the Kavango regions is because the district shares a regional border with the former ‘Homeland’ of ‘Ovamboland’ in the west of the district, which was the main theatre of war during the period under discussion.1 It is argued here that the Kavango was another important area of conflict, but that the events that took place there are less well known to the Namibian public. Documenting and collecting the living memories of the inhabitants of the Kavango regions fills a gap in the national historiography of Namibia, so as to include the previously unexplored micro-politics, experiences and contributions of the people of this area during the Namibian armed struggle for independence.