Dear First Lady of the Republic of Namibia
(Open Letter to Mrs M. Geingos)
Let me use this opportunity to applaud you for a well-articulated article in the New Era newspaper about the need to be kind to one another. It is a great piece of opinions, well-thought and nicely articulated. I am very sure that your intent is truly great and that is what every person in a position as yours would want to see.
I however have a different perspective; there seems to be so much that you missed before appealing to your people to be kind to one another.
Here is my take:
We are too hungry, poor and unemployed to be kind. Kindness comes only when one’s physiological needs are met. You are speaking from a self-actualization stage point of view. That is a place of comfort and one can actually do or say as they desire and everything is easily doable when you are there.
We are depressed and stressed because we can’t get opportunities in Namibia. The resources are all allocated to elites and relatives. How can you expect someone who has never seen, touched or directly benefited from a diamond that is mined in his birth country but elites’ kids have all the mining rights to be kind? How can you expect someone who sleeps on an empty stomach to be kind?
How will a person who graduated with an Honors Degree but can’t find work because jobs are reserved for relatives to be kind?
How will a person who on numerous occasions presented a business plan to DBN but always turned down with unnecessary collateral demands with no government assistance be kind?
How can a poor child that is systematically denied access to university because of a poor English symbol, funding, etc., be kind?
How can a woman who sleeps with open eyes due to high rates of GBV in their impoverished location be kind? You guys sleep in guarded residences!
How will a person whose only uncle or aunt that was a breadwinner passed on in the state hospital due to oxygen shortage be kind?
Kindness is a byproduct of good governance; good governance is showcased by transparency and sharing of opportunities and resources. Who owns mining licences in Namibia, who owns fishing quotas in Namibia, who gets agri-loans in Namibia, who gets punished for corruption in Namibia, who gets free scholarships in Namibia?
WE ARE NOT READY TO BE KIND! Those biblical fake theories must end. Lead to kindness, don’t just preach kindness. Kindness is infectious. Its level in the society is the projection of its leaders and their antics.
Kind to who, for who, and for what?
Until such time everyone gets the same benefits as those claiming to be kind, this shall remain a futuristic goal that we will always read on the internet but non-existent.
Let’s start with sharing what we have with the have-nots, let’s share opportunities, resources and stop corruption that made some people “more Namibian than others.”
Kindness is for the wealthy; poverty and kindness don’t get along, unless you lead the change that is required, your appeal will remain under the RUG!
Faithfully yours
Unkind Poor Controversial
(Editor’s comment: This open letter to the First Lady of Namibia Madam Monica Geingos was picked up from social media. It is a well expressed opinion of someone who is speaking from the point of view of the hundreds of thousands of Namibians who are living in the shacks and villages across this southern African country. Since the letter carries a powerful and honest message, it is reproduced here with no one’s permission.)
In the photo: Namibia’s own beautiful First Lady Mrs Monica Geingos to whom the letter is addressed.
