Namibia achieved political independence, but renowned visual artist and cultural activist Ndasuunye Shikongeni, popularly known as Papa Shikongeni, believes the younger generation still faces a different challenge: freeing the mind, reclaiming their culture, and preserving the history of those who came before.
As the nation prepares to celebrate its liberation heroes tomorrow, Shikongeni said the best way to honour those who fought for freedom is for the younger generation to safeguard the country's culture, uphold its history, and create a legacy for future generations.
He was speaking in an interview with New Era at Hosea Kutako International Airport on Thursday, while waiting for the return of the remains of Namibians who died during the liberation struggle, which is more than a homecoming for their families.
According to Shikongeni, it is also a reminder that a nation cannot honour its heroes if it forgets the culture, history and values for which they made the ultimate sacrifice.
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Shikongeni was part of the Ondonga delegation that travelled recently to Cape Town, South Africa, to participate in the identification and reclamation of the remains of Namibians held at the Iziko Museum.
He represented the Ondonga Kingdom as part of a wider effort involving various Namibian communities.
For him, the journey brought the past into direct conversation with the present.
He said the process of returning the remains was rooted in cultural heritage and the liberation struggle, with preparations having started years earlier.
"This is a negotiation between the Namibian and South African governments in the spirit of cultural heritage and also in the spirit of veterans of the liberation struggle," Shikongeni said.
But beyond the physical return of the remains, he believes the process carries an important lesson for young Namibians, knowing where they come from is essential to understanding where they are going.
Cultural practices
During the delegation's activities in South Africa, cultural rituals were performed as part of the process of reconnecting the remains with their families and ancestral land.
Shikongeni said these practices should not be dismissed simply because not everyone understands them.
He explained that, within the African cultural context, rituals are a way to communicate with and show respect to ancestors.
"For us, the ancestors are alive, and we don't pray to ancestors. We never pray in Africa. We communicate. We ask," he said.
The rituals, he explained, were intended to establish a connection between the living, the deceased and the ancestral land.
"For us, the ritual was there to make sure that our ancestors who were there... recognise their family," he said.
His explanation highlights what he sees as a wider problem facing Namibia: a growing distance between younger generations and their cultural heritage.
Shikongeni believes that understanding traditional practices is important because culture carries the values, identity and history of communities from one generation to another.
For him, the repatriation process therefore became more than the recovery of human remains. It became an opportunity to reconnect people with their history.
Youth
Shikongeni diverts the focus from the heroes of yesterday to the young people who will determine the country's future.
He believes heroism should not be regarded as something that belongs only to the liberation generation.
Instead, young Namibians must ask themselves what contribution they are making to their country and what they will leave behind for future generations.
"The heroes are with the new generation, the generation of digital, the generation of democracy, the generation of materialism," he said.
Then comes his challenge to young Namibians.
"What is your hero? How are you going to be a hero? What is your grandchild going to look at you for? What was your legacy?" he asked.
For Shikongeni, these questions are central to the meaning of Heroes' Day.
He said the young people of today may not have fought the liberation struggle, but they have their own responsibilities.
Their struggle, he suggests, includes protecting Namibia's culture, strengthening its identity, preserving its history and using modern tools to educate future generations.
"This is your time to free culture within your technology," he said.
Cultural independence
Shikongeni believes Namibia's independence should not only be measured by political freedom.
He argues that young people also need to understand their cultural identity and protect it from being lost.
He warned that many Namibians have become disconnected from their own cultures, norms and values.
"We have lost our identity, our cultures, our dignity, our norms and values," he said.
His concern is that a generation that does not know its history may struggle to understand the sacrifices that made the present possible.
"Our elders went to fight for what? For the land and to liberate," he said, challenging today's youth to consider what they are doing for generations yet to come.
For Shikongeni, cultural independence means being confident about one's history and traditions while still embracing modern education, democracy and technology.
Archives
One of the strongest messages from the interview is his call for Namibia to make its history accessible to young people.
Shikongeni believes many young people struggle to identify historical figures because the stories of the country's heroes have not been sufficiently taught and preserved in ways that speak to them.
"If they were mentioned in the history books, there would be no questions today," he said.
He called for stronger documentation of Namibia's history and argued that such documentation should become a living educational resource rather than information stored away and forgotten.
"Documentary must become an archive. But not an archive under a table. It must become an asset to the young generation," he said.
He also called for a major museum where Namibia's history could be preserved and presented using digital technology.
Such an institution, he believes, could help children and young people learn about the people who fought for the country's freedom and understand the sacrifices behind the independence they enjoy today.
For Shikongeni, preserving history is therefore not simply about looking backwards. It is about preparing future generations.
Building heroes
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Shikongeni rejects the idea that heroism ended with independence.
He points to the younger people who joined the liberation struggle and sacrificed their youth for a better future, saying that the same spirit of service should guide today's generation.
"The warrior starts with your youth. The youth is the one that stands up," he said.
He believes today's young people must recognise that they are beneficiaries of sacrifices made by earlier generations, but they are also responsible for ensuring that the next generation inherits something meaningful.
That responsibility includes preserving cultural knowledge that is at risk of disappearing as older generations pass away.
Shikongeni warned that knowledge and heroism can die with elders if younger people do not take an interest in learning from them.
One Heroes' Day
Shikongeni believes Heroes' Day should become a stronger symbol of national unity, bringing Namibians together to remember the sacrifices that made independence possible.
"It is time for the Namibian people to understand that we are who we are. And for who we are, it's time for us to unite," he said.
He called for a universal celebration that brings together Namibians across generations and ethnic communities.
"We must find a way where we celebrate all together. There must become one universal celebration for all Namibians. Then you talk about one Namibia, one nation."
He said Heroes' Day should therefore not only be about remembering those who died for Namibia. It should also be about asking what the living are doing with the freedom they inherited.
