Namibia, May 24th, 2021- On the occasion of Africa Day on May 25th, Sidenio Acosta, Cuban Ambassador to Namibia, accompanied by a representation of the Cuban State Mission in this country, paid a visit to the Museum of Independence of Namibia, located in the capital Windhoek.
The Cuban visitors were received by Genhart Gurirab, Principal Historian of the Museum. Gurirab offered a guided tour through the different exhibition rooms.
The Namibian historian recalled the atrocities experienced by the population of his country under German colonialism and the illegal South African occupation indistinctly. Among them are sadly known the German concentration camps and the Cassinga Massacre, perpetrated by the South African army against this Namibian civilian refugee camp, located in the south of Angola.
Gurirab explained the struggles for the liberation of Namibia against both colonial regimes. The delegation was able to appreciate the sacrifices of the Namibian people to achieve their independence and the international solidarity received to achieve this goal. In this regard, the room dedicated to collaboration between Angolan, Namibian and Cuban troops in southern Angola, which led to the definitive defeat of South African apartheid in Cuito Cuanavale in 1988, stands out.
In that space, several photographs of fighters of the PLAN, the armed wing of SWAPO, with Cuban internationalists are notable, as well as an image of a meeting between Sam Nujoma, Founding Father and Founding President of Namibia, and Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro.
Also displayed in the Museum are graphic materials of the support given to the struggle for the liberation of Namibia by other African, Asian and former Soviet Union countries.
Similarly, photographs of young Namibian students in Cuban schools on the Isla de la Juventud highlight, a process initiated with children and adolescents who survived the Cassinga Massacre. Some of those images were donated by the Cuban Embassy in 2017.
Gurirab also explained the process of implementation of Resolution 435 of the UN Security Council, which established the holding of free elections in Namibia and which was executed after the victory of Cuito Cuanavale.
For his part, Ambassador Sidenio Acosta, on behalf of the Cuban delegation, thanked Gurirab for the detailed journey through the history of Namibia. In the same way, he highlighted the historical ties of brotherhood that unite Cuba and Namibia. Likewise, he emphasised the importance of the African continent in the formation of Cuban nationality and the celebrations, which are therefore held in Cuba on May 25.
The Namibian Independence Museum is located about 100 meters from the bigining of Fidel Castro Street. It was inaugurated by President Hifikepunye Pohamba in 2014. The place for its location was chosen by President Nujoma, because in that site was placed one of the concentration camps of the German colonizers against the Namibian population.
