#Namibian man

[dadsinsuits]

Peya Mushelenga

[ratsname]

Really felt it when the singing man said:

"Hello, welcome, why don't you take a seat? Get comfortable, relax, take a second if you need to. Now what's bothering you? Well, why don't we start at the beginning. Growing up, how was your relationship with the fundamentals of conscious existence? Did you have xenon orchid sinews spilling down the outer center of your blooming Escher/Mandelbrot head? And how about claustrophilic tendrils clapping caskets closed on seven-knuckle thumbs, did you get along well with the Gideon Bugler pineal glands? Your projector eyes casting sci-fi's on your STR'd strands? Tell me about your nerve to steal nerves of steel from under Bacchus' bloody nose. Did Namibian Himbas tie-dye you, your ears pierced with a Phineas Gage flagpole, did you die before your day? Thursday traction, Tuesday titration, my hope is to assess through my objective report of your subjective conjecture. Whether this proprietary bled of expertise and seasoning works as well as this transorbital ice pick. Holistic ballistics, you got a better idea? It's about the best we could come up with, what, you think ideas spread because they're good? No, they spread because people like them. So now here we are once again, holding as it were, a mirror up to your mirror. I guess it's just something people do"

[sayokou]

men cannot be lesbians. (no im not talking about GNC lesbians) no real lesbian, elder or young, is saying men can be lesbians. gender non conformity has always been apart of lesbian history, and always will be, but not men.

and here are some arguments yall lesbian "men" love:

- "read Stone Butch Blues" Stone Butch Blues was actually NOT about being a man, you read the book instead of repeating misinformation spread by others who also haven't read the book

- "leslie feinberg was a man" so close! ze wasn't a man at all. "I am female-bodied, I am a butch lesbian, a transgender lesbian-referring to me as "she/her" is appropriate, particularly in a non-trans setting in which referring to me as "he" would appear to resolve the social contradiction between my birth sex and gender expression and render my transgender expression invisible." this in no way is saying leslie identified as a man. to finish off this quote: " I like the gender neutral pronoun "ze/hir" because it makes it impossible to hold on to gender/sex/sexuality assumptions about a person you're about to meet or you've just met. And in an all trans setting, referring to me as "he/him" honors my gender expression in the same way that referring to my sister drag queens as "she/her" does." [forgive me if i used 'ze' incorrectly]

- "trans men feel safe in this space, away from xyz" and what about the lesbians who use the lesbian community as a safe space away from men? why do they have to compromise their safe space for the sake of a man?

- "trans men feel an attachment" and that's totally fine! it's okay to feel an attachment to a community you've been apart of for a long time. but there is a difference between attachment and identification. wanting to aide the lesbian community is totally fine, welcomed even! but this does not equate to identification.

- "gender is complex" as someone with a complex gender identity, i agree! but again, i am talking about men 'being' lesbians. not about gnc/gender complex lesbians.

- "it's not your business what a trans person identifies as" when it gets to said person invading my community, they make it my business. the same way it would be if a cis person claimed to be t4t

- https://africasacountry.com/2014/03/africa-has-always-been-more-queer-than-generally-acknowledged "see! it exists outside of america!"

wrong again! "Whereas the term ‘male lesbians’ is an attempt at translating the Hausa (e.g. Northern Nigerian) for ‘passive’ male partners or ‘yan kifi, who have sex with each other, ‘lesbian men’ in Namibia designate women who play the dominant ‘butch’ role in a same-sex relationship. Even though the terms ‘butch’ and ‘femme’ are not known in (Namibian) Damara culture, the various sexual practices and dress codes find some resonance in the admittedly Western butch-femme dyad." as you can see, the term 'lesbian man' is a place holder for the term 'butch' seeing as that term does not exist in those cultures, aka, lesbian 'men' are not a thing and this debate is solely american

I am in no way belittling trans people or the things the trans community has done for the LGBTQ+ community. This post is strictly saying men cannot be lesbians, again, men not gnc lesbians.

[executethyself35]

Oc Masterlist

(inspired by @xxluckystrike's)

Bianca "B" Hernandez

she/her, estp-a, 1918, staff sergeant

Having Gone from Cuba to New York was insane for a small child. Constantly butting heads with her mother, and becoming a U.S. citizen was the last straw. Bianca was working various odd jobs and couch surfing from one friends to another's when the U.S. decided to officially enter the war. She had nothing going on really in her life and the military wanted people, so she joined up. There was also the fact that she knew it would piss her mother off. So, now she's making friends, maybe falling in love with someone, and dragging herself all over the Southern U.S. and Europe. What could go wrong?

SHIP: Bill Guarnere

FIC: Let's See How Far We've Come

OC TAG: #b vibes

Playlist:

Zipporah "Zippo" Fieldman

she/her, estp-a, 1914, technician 5th grade, sniper

Being born in Russia during the Great War, and living as an adult in 1930s San Francisco causes someone to harden emotionally, even more so as an older sister. Zipporah was working for her father at his deli shop, and going to the local synagogue whenever she could, when the war broke out. Having decided that if she was gonna live through a second world war, she was going to fight in it. Now, she's going all over the place, going from the Southern U.S. to almost all of occupied Europe, and making friends along the way, maybe even fall for the guy who she couldn't stand at first.

SHIP: Joe Liebgott

FIC: Let's See How Far We've Come

OC TAG: #zippo vibes

Playlist:

Olive-Marie "Ollie" LeBeau

she/her, enfj-t, 1921, technician 3rd grade, nurse/medic

Born in New Orleans, Olive-Marie lived a happy humble life, until her father passed when she was 10. Her mother met a wealthy French man and they fell in love. From then after, her life became different. Her new step-father tried his best to be a good father figure to Olive-Marie and her older brother, while also taking care of his own children. Her mother on the other hand had finally gotten the social status she wanted and it went to her head, she didn't become a complete asshole though. It was a party her family was attending where she would meet the man she would come to loathe and her finacee, Roland Marrow. Forcing her to date him first because his family had wealth and both parents wanted their children to settle down. Olive-Marie didn't want to settle down though, especially not with a man who was cheating on her 24/7. When the war broke out Olive-Marie wanted to join up and become a nurse, but her family didn't want her too. Then they heard Roland was joining up and decided to make Olive-Marie become engaged to him so she wouldn't run rampant out there. Now, she's out here across Southern U.S. and Europe, saving people, making friends, and falling for her fellow medic, while saying fuck you to her finacee.

SHIP: Eugene Roe

FIC: Let's See How Far We've Come

OC TAG: #ollie vibes

Playlist:

Torrance "Torrie" Stylinski:

she/her, enfp-t, 1921, 2nd lieutenant

Born in London, England, to an Irish mother and Namibian father, Torrance is their eldest child. Her parents divorced when she was 10 and her mother took Torrance and her little sister to Ireland, where she lived up until her grandfather died when she was 15. This caused her grandmother to uproot Torrance's entire family to Hattiesburg, Mississippi. When the U.S. went to war, Torrance joined up because she wanted to and she needed to get away from her mother, who was trying to set her up with a local boy. Now, she's shocking people with British accent, explaining English slang, and making jokes with her friends and the guy she likes, all across the Southern U.S. and Europe.

SHIP: George Luz

FIC: Let's See How Far We've Come

OC TAG: #torrie vibes

Playlist:

Marselle Rosaliano

she/her, enfj-t, 1922, private first class, nurse/medic

Born into a mob family in Alpine, New Jersey, Marselle had a very happy life. She had a happy life with her two younger brothers, and then finding out her best friend Rose and her younger sister Lavanda were her half sisters, made her even more happy. She also had a girlfriend named Lacey, and that relationship did not end well. Marselle was working at a department store and living in the apartment above her brothers sub shop, when Pearl Harbor happened. Marselle decided that she wanted to become a nurse and join the military. Now, Marselle is out in the Southern U.S. and Europe, being absolutely confused by all the innuendos her friends are making, and not understanding that the guy she has a huge crush on is flirting with her.

SHIP: Skip Muck

FIC: Let's See How Far We've Come

OC TAG: #marselle vibes

Playlist:

Elizabeth "Eliza" Thomlin

she/her, estp-t, 1923, corporal, nurse/medic

Being born into a religious cult as the 5th of nine children, in Asheville, North Carolina, Elizabeth had a terrible childhood. Supposed to be born with a twin like her other siblings, Elizabeth twin had died in the womb, this causing her mother to spiral. Elizabeth also being the only child born with red hair and green eyes, she was deemed the "devil child" of her family. Elizabeth's mother hated her and told her and showed it everyday, and father allowed it to happen. Elizabeth was homeschooled up until she was 14 and her father decided to put her into school because she was constantly getting into trouble at home. In her sophomore year of high school she meets her best friend Anna. Right before her and Anna's junior year, Elizabeth moved out and moved in with Anna and her Mother. After she moved out, Elizabeth started acting out once again, living her life on the edge. But, she didn't have any sense of direction in what she wanted to do with her life, and that's when the war broke out. When it broke out, Elizabeth wanted to join up to get away from whatever her life currently was and saw a sense of purpose in joining up. She also new of the risk of death and was willing for it. So now Elizabeth is going around the Southern U.S., where she lived most of her life, and Europe. Making friends, going back and forth between two companies, and falling for a man she claims to hate, who she has just as much a reputation as he does.

SHIP: Ronald Speirs

FIC: Let's See How Far We've Come

OC TAG: #eliza vibes

Playlist:

Mary McCullen

she/her, estp-t, 1921, sergeant, mortar squad

Born in Washington State, to two devout Irish Catholics, with her fathers moto being "Fit God in whenever you can". Having gone to church every week up until her father passed when she was 12, in a motorcycle accident. That changed something in her, she hates motorcycles now and hates going to church. Mary's mother said that going to church would make her feel closer to her father, and that was the last thing Mary wanted, a reminder. When the war broke out, Mary was in a void, her eldest brother was in prison for arson, she was helping take care of her older sister's kid, and she needed to get out, so she joined up. As of late, she's getting used to the heat of the Southern U.S. and then the whiplash of the weather in Europe. With her close friends and the idiot she's falling for, she's getting better mentally, but also taking one toll after another.

SHIP: Donald Malarkey

FIC: Let's See How Far We've Come

OC TAG: #mary vibes

Playlist:

Julia "Jules" Vasquez-Rodriguez

she/her, estp-a, 1923, private first class

Growing up in The Bronx and having two older brothers who bully you ruthlessly, makes you a little mean. The baby to her three full siblings, but the middle child including her 4 younger half siblings, Julia deals with craziness often. Julia had moved out of her childhood home to an apartment in Philadelphia at 17 for work, where she met the one person she would consider her best friend for life, Joe Toye. Julia met him while she was moving in and was having issues with her groceries, since then they were close. She watched him leave when the war broke out, while she sat there working at a boutique. Julia finally had enough of sitting around and doing nothing while her best friend was running around all over Europe, so she joined the airborne. Now she's in the same predicament as the other replacements, not being treated with respect, until she gets put Easy Company. Now she's got more friends than she ever had, and she might finally realize that she's in love with her best friend.

SHIP: Joe Toye

FIC: Let's See How Far We've Come

OC TAG: #julia vibes

Playlist:

Allison "Allie" Harten

she/her, entj-a, 1917, 1st lieutenant, intelligence officer

The eldest daughter to an army man, and a traditional mother, Allison is all her father. All Allison wanted to do throughout her life was join the military, since she had no brothers and wanted to continue the family tradition, having both her father and grandfather being in the army. And all her mother wanted Allison to do was be a stay at home wife and never work. Allison never wanted to do that, she knew she would settle down, but not right now, she has a life to live. And once she turned 18 in 1935, she joined the army, having gotten into a non full in combat position thanks to a family friend of her grandfathers. But, once the war broke out and a new division opened up, Allison was interested, especially when she heard it was an elite one. So Allison joined the airborne, but she was the only woman. This made her decide that she was gonna start a women's division, no matter how small it was, she was going to prove that women belonged in the military. Now, she's ordering around the others, dealing with Sobel's incompetence, and trying not to murder anyone. And, she's going around Europe collecting info, and trying, but failing miserably at not falling in love with a certain cigar smoking sergeant.

SHIP: Bull Randleman

FIC: Let's See How Far We've Come

OC TAG: #allie vibes

Playlist:

[tma-entity-song-poll]

Battle of the Fear Bands B2R4: The Corruption

BlackBoxWarrior:

“A song about a man struggling with his health (be it mental or physical). The song makes the treatment seem inhumane and just as terrifying as the initial problem. It’s almost like he’s getting sicker and sicker but just won’t die.”

Thermodynamic Lawyer:

““Disease is her primary language” - every line of this is filled with rot and disease and bugs and it’s 100% corruption.”

Lyrics below the line!

BlackBoxWarrior - OKULTRA:

Well he collapsed with Stevens-Johnson Syndrome on the E.R. floor Panic attacked, anaphylactic and ataxic The way he spun his butterfly risked all six his phalanges Roman candles at both ends in his synapses And the method with which he recycled his humors Trojan Horse'd his Blood-Brain Barrier and raised the LD-50, yes, yes And through flight-or-fight revelation shame the Black Box Warrior He skipped this town and headed straight down history Shields himself from reason in a Kevlar baby-blue Tuxedo Quilted from the finest fibers, flesh, and fiberglass, and flowers His ego a mosquito, evil incarnate good incognito Pops placebos for libido, screaming, "Bless the torpedoes"

For what? For what? For what it's worth If it was going to kill you boy, it would have by now For what? For what? For what it's worth There's no more looking back, it's looking up or looking down

Well, he was wearing stolen rubber shoes and wrapped a poison ivy noose Around his Lotus jugular when they came Well, they found him with a map to every victim of his love And a tattoo of a blue jay on his face And they waited for his vital signs to lie and let a flatline cry A hymn out in Hungarian Harmonic But he cocked his noggin, through his stoma sang, "For auld lang syne" "Happy birthday to the succulents, I'll die your hydroponics" His rib cage was a hornet's nest, palpitations set the beat His vagus nerve a turk's head knot, an axel hitch, a carrick bend He wondered if Christ Consciousness would charge a cancellation fee Auf wiedersehn, au revoir, he gripped his wits right by their ends

For what? For what? For what it's worth If it was going to kill you boy, it would have by now For what? For what? For what it's worth There's no more looking back, it's looking up or looking down

Hello, welcome, why don't you take a seat? Get comfortable, relax, take a second if you need to Now what's bothering you? Well, why don't we start at the beginning Growing up, how was your relationship with the fundamentals of conscious existence? Did you have xenon orchid sinews spilling down the outer center of your Blooming Escher/Mandelbrot head? And how about claustrophilic tendrils clapping caskets closed on seven-knuckle thumbs Did you get along well with the Gideon Bugler pineal glands? Your projector eyes casting sci-fi's on your STR'd strands? Tell me about your nerve to steal nerves of steel from under Bacchus' bloody nose Did Namibian Himbas tie-dye you, your ears pierced with a Phineas Gage flagpole Did you die before your day? Thursday traction, Tuesday titration My hope is to assess through my objective report of Your subjective conjecture Whether this proprietary bled of expertise and seasoning works as well as this Transorbital ice pick Holistic ballistics, you got a better idea? It's about the best we could come up with, what, you think ideas spread because they're good? No, they spread because people like them So now here we are once again, holding As it were, a mirror up to your mirror I guess it's just something people do

A bloody knife to split your infrastructure, wine to rev your motor function Coital machinations of the dead Well, you mainline your animus, karate chop your abacus And learn to be an animal instead But I never did think you better than this, your modus operandi causes Nazi/Skoptzyism and suicide Why to thine own self be true when it is you who are the problem Not the things you do but something sick inside Lithium and Dialectics, boy you really is defective CBT don't seem effective for that Cluster B, accept it Offer up your innocence, please ignore the side effects You've lost your mind and almost lost your life before So you'll be fine

For what? For what? For what it's worth If it was going to kill you boy, it would have by now For what? For what? For what it's worth There's no more looking back, and why would you want to look back? I mean, it's no good looking back, so try to look forward now For what? For what? For what it's worth If they were going to get you boy, they would have by now For what? For what? For what it's worth There's no more looking back, it's looking up or looking down…

Thermodynamic Lawyer Esq, G.F.D:

(I hold myself in contempt) Tearing the hair off a black baboon's skull Here's a bitch with some four-thousand names Vomiting lies through her theremin throat As some businessmen pick at her brains Pulls back skinny lips to reveal a proboscis Seems Seth Brindle's at it again Tears pages from spines as she judges the cover And shamelessly spoils the end Blood vessels drying and curling inside are Unfurling from out of her wrists Well, she wrings out a snake and collects all its poison Intending to learn it to hiss Foams at the mouth with a head full of acid And giving some poor illness the blame Knocking the pieces the fuck off the chessboard Insisting that she's won the game So all that I see absolute entropy As the chemical bonds fall apart Well, it seems she broke me But I swear she could not break my heart She could not break my heart, oh lord Makes up excuses for throbbing black bruises And uses them to her advantage Never came down from her last trip, oh Jesus Disease is her primary language Garbled and gruesome, her words so absurd Like a herd of transmissions from Apollo 13 No apology, I request misery So no rest 'til I've twisted her chest round my knee So squeal like a trolley wheel, cry like a baby With autism strapped to a ceiling fan Soil your visage with mucus and twisting of features unable to stand Buckle your knees looking up at me And beg me to spare thee the back of my hand For the sake of humanity, die of your blight We're blessed, you're barren as Mojave sands So all that I see absolute entropy As the chemical bonds fall apart Well, it seems she broke me But I swear she could not break my heart, whoa Now all that I see absolute entropy As the chemical bonds fall apart Well, it seems she broke me But I swear, she can go fucking die (kill yourself) You can go fucking die (kill yourself) Go fucking die (kill yourself) Kill yourself and go die

[ptseti]

FIDEL CASTRO: MAN OF THE MASSES IN AFRICA

In the 1970s and 80s, Fidel Castro sent 350,000 Cuban soldiers, civilians and doctors to support the African liberation struggle, especially in Angola 🇦🇴 , Namibia, Mozambique 🇲🇿 , Guinea Bissau , Cape Verde 🇨🇻 , and Sao Tome and Principal 🇸🇹 . The Cuban effort eventually hastened the demise of apartheid in South Africa. More than 3,000 Cubans died fighting for Africa.

After the Cuban and their Angolan, Namibian and ANC allies decisively defeated the then feared South African defence forces in Angola, it brought independence not only to Angola and Namibia, but also accelerated the death of apartheid itself in South Africa.

About 600 Cuban soldiers, including 70 doctors, went to Guinea Bissau to help the African guerrillas for 10 years before “independence” from the Portuguese came in 1974. Cuba fought in Ethiopia on the side of Colonel Mengistu Haile Miriam’s troops in the Ogaden campaign in 1978 against an invasion by Somalia. In 1965, Cuba sent the legendary Che Guevara and fighters to Kibamba, near Fizi, in DRCongo’s province of South Kivu, to help the supporters of Patrice Lumumba.

Then came Mozambique and Angola where the biggest Cuban action in Africa was staged against apartheid South African troops backed by America and its Western allies. Castro takes up the story in his memoirs: “ While Cuba was in Angola, and Angola was being invaded by South Africa, the USA made arrangements to transfer to South Africa–racist, fascist South Africa–several atomic bombs, similar to those it exploded in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”

[nyateisback]

Im back! After like a month but it my defence it felt longer

About mee:

21 years old adult

Catboy

Namibian 🇳🇦

Horny blog @nyatestillhorny

Photography blog @nyatesphotographyplace

Will add as I see fit

GMT+2 Central African Time

Cis pan poly man he/him/they

Interests:

Vehicles,logistics,emergency services and practices, emergency medicine, photography,music (guitar), geopolitics, engineering,coding,art,reading, psychology

[dear-indies]

Who are you favourite lbgtq+ faceclaims currently?

Maxine Peake (1974) - not sure on labels but she has signed and interacted with a lot of Queers for Palestine content.

Sara Ramirez (1975) Mexican, some Irish - is non-binary (they/them).

Haaz Sleiman (1976) Lebanese - is gay.

Ser Anzoategui (1979) Argentinian and Paraguayan - is non-binary (they/them).

Angelica Ross (1980) African-American - is a trans woman.

Beth Ditto (1981) - is queer.

Yolanda Bonnell (1982) Ojibwe, White / Indian - is two-spirit and queer (she/they) - is open about having OCD and ADHD.

Asia Kate Dillon (1984) Ashkenazi Jewish / Unspecified - non-binary and pansexual (they/them).

Ravyn Ariah Wngz (1984) Mohawk, Tanzanian, Afro-Bermudian - is a two-spirit trans woman (she/her).

Kristin Chirico (1984) - is questioning their gender, “encompassing a lot of things” but is not yet sure if she’s non-binary or a gender non-confirming woman and uses they/her - openly bisexual and demisexual and has OCD, ADHD, dyslexia, and asthma.

Eréndira Ibarra (1985) Mexican - is bisexual.

Mihaela Drăgan (1986) Romani - is queer.

Eugene Lee Yang (1986) Korean - is gay.

Bob the Drag Queen (1986) African-American - is polyamorous, pansexual and non-binary (he/her).

Pidgeon Pagonis (1986) Mexican and Greek - is intersex and non-binary (they/them).

Ericka Hart (1986) African-American - is non-binary femme, queer, and polyamorous (she/they).

Alba Flores (1986) Romani, Spanish [including Andalusian] - is a lesbian.

Lido Pimienta (1986) Colombian [Wayuu, Afro-Colombian] - is queer.

Whitney Greyton / wittnsass (1986) Black South African / Namibian - is queer (she/they).

Munroe Bergdorf (1987) Afro Jamaican / English - is a trans woman.

Michaela Coel (1987) Ghanaian - is aromantic.

Erika Ishii (1987) Japanese - is genderfluid (she/they/any).

Juliana Huxtable (1987) African-American - is a trans woman.

Sasha Velour (1987) Russian Jewish / Ukrainian, other - is genderfluid (she/they when not in drag, she while in drag).

Pearl Mackie (1987) West Indian / White - is bisexual.

Mercury Stardust (1987) - is a trans woman.

Joel Kim Booster (1988) Korean - is gay and has bipolar disorder.

Mary Lambert (1989) - is a lesbian.

Shea Couleé / Jaren Kyei Merrell (1989) African-American - non-binary (they but she/her while in drag).

Laith Ashley (1989) Afro Dominican - is an asexual trans man.

Arrows Fitz (1990) African-American - is non-binary (he/they/she/it).

Katie Findlay (1990) English, Hongkonger, Portuguese-Macanese, Scottish - is queer (they/them).

Poppy Liu (1990) Chinese - is non-binary (she/they).

Vico Ortiz (1991) Puerto Rican - is non-binary (they/them).

Jari Jones (1991) African-American / Filipino - is a trans woman.

Emma D’Arcy (1992) - is non-binary (they/them).

Rivkah Reyes (1992) Filipinx-Jewish - is non-binary and queer (they/she, but mostly they) and has bipolar disorder.

Hari Nef (1992) Ashkenazi Jewish - is a trans woman.

Bobbi Salvör Menuez (1993) - is trans non-binary (they/them).

Naomi McPherson / MUNA (1993) West Indian and Irish - is queer and nonbinary (they/them).

Josette Maskin / MUNA (1994) Jewish - is queer and nonbinary (she/they).

Theo Tiedemann (1994) Asian - is trans non-binary and gay (he/they).

Arsema Thomas (1994) Nigerian / Ethiopian - is non-binary (she/they).

Kehlani (1995) African-American, French, Blackfoot, Cherokee, Spanish, Mexican, Filipino, Scottish, English, German, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, Welsh, Cornish, Irish, Choctaw - non-binary womxn, lesbian and polyamorous - she/they.

Jasmin Savoy Brown (1994) African-American / White - is queer.

Lauren Jauregui (1996) Cuban [Spanish, possibly other], likely some Basque - is bisexual.

Leo Sheng (1996) Chinese - is a trans man.

Ally Beardsley (1996) - is non-binary (they/them).

Quintessa Swindell (1997) African-American / White - is non-binary (they/he).

Kaiit (1997) Papuan / Gunditjmara, Torres Strait Islander - is non-binary (she/he/they).

070 Shake (1997) Dominican - doesn’t like to put labels on her sexuality.

Celeste O'Connor (1998) Kenyan - is non-binary (they/them).

Chella Man (1998) Hongkonger and Jewish - is deaf, trans genderqueer and pansexual (he/they).

Clairo (1998) - is bisexual and has juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

Ethel Cain (1998) - is a trans bisexual woman.

Zoe Terakes (2000) - is trans masc non-binary guy (they/he).

Celia Rose Gooding (2000) African-American - is bisexual and gray asexual (she/they) - also saw somewhere they don’t like being called a woman.

Ari Notartomaso (2001) - is non-binary (they/he).

Morgan Davies (2001) - is a trans man.

Aaron Rose Philip (2001) Afro-Antiguan - is a trans woman who has cerebral palsy.

Bobby Sanchez (?) Peruvian [Quechua] - is two-spirit and trans, uses she/her sometimes they/they).

Ellie Kim / SuperKnova (?) Korean - is genderfluid, transgender woman (she/her).

Nori Reed (?) Korean / Unspecified - is non-binary (she/her).

Of course all these have spoken up for Palestine!

[listen-to-the-inner-walrus]

I dont think anyone else has noticed this tho im sure you have (namely the people acting like clowns in the titanic tag, not you) but the 19yr old did not want to go on that sub, he was terrified and only did it to make his dad happy..idk.. it is very tragic and upsetting and even more so that people seem to ignore this and keep going on their weird jokes about the entire thing, saying how they all wanted to go when no, the 19yr old did not want to at all. I think going down was totally uncalled for, I think stock rush got four people killed and he is terrible for that and deserved what happened to him, i think it is sick he turned a mass grave site into a tourist attraction for bored rich people..but I think people just heard the word rich for these other four and just right away assumed they deserved to die when idk...I did some reading on each of them and they, aside from the obvious ick of being rich, seemed like decent people who made a very very poor choice and trusted the wrong person which led to them dying. the paul guy was (correct me if im wrong) a well respected titanic researcher for over 30yrs, the british man was trying to make flying more sustainable for the planet and such (again correct me if wrong) and the dad and son seemed to do a lot of charity work and were overall kind people..but yeah they seemed like far better people then most celebs people love so the entire thing rubs me wrongly, two things can coexist, the entire thing was wrong and not ok and stock was sick for what he did and his death was justified, but I also have a hard time believing the other four truly deserved to die (Sorry this is random just wanted to hear your thoughts!) :)

ive written the reply to this about five times now because i also struggle with my feelings based around what happened.

on one hand, i do genuinely feel for them, especially suleman dawood who was a 19-year-old kid. i think youd have to lack a heart to not feel for him.

on the other, i fully understand where people are coming from when they dont give a shit about them. two of them were billionaires and the other two were multi-millionaires. i come from a working class background and a single-parent family so it is difficult to feel bad for someone with that much money dying because of a decision they made.

but that doesnt mean i dont feel bad for them, because i do. five human beings died and i just naturally feel for them even though my conscious brain struggles to keep up with that emotion.

and as youve said, some of them seemed to genuinely do good things.

sulemans father shahzada funded mental healthcare for pakistani citizens during covid-19 and was looking into renewable energy.

paul-henri nargeolet had been involved in underwater searches for rms carpathia as well as a flight recorded from a plane that crashed though both were unsuccessful. hed also found a roman wreck as well as an aircraft that had crashed in 1979, giving some closure to the families of those who had perished. he has done a lot of important research on the titanic.

iirc hamish hardings company action aviation has helped the indian government and a namibian cheetah conservation company to reintroduce cheetahs to india, which is objectively a very good thing.

its difficult to parse through how you feel about the disaster because people are messy, and they do both good and bad things.

i dont think i know enough about any of the four adults aboard to say whether the good theyve done outweighed the bad, and whether other people even care about that when it comes to their feelings about this.

the one i know for sure that i dont feel bad for is stockton rush because this was entirely his fault.

im not gonna get into the weeds as to why exactly titan was badly designed, but to save money and for "simplicity", he employed some experimental techniques like the use of carbon fibre and the pressure pod (i hope i have the right word here) being cylindrical. he ignored regulations and laws, he used expire carbon fibre, and he turned a mass gravesite into a tourist spot.

and i hate him even more for how he designed oceangate. the way they work is that each dive would technically be research-based, but to fund it (even though rush is a multi-millionaire), they would allow people to buy tickets to come along. and i hate this more than if it was just tourism because the way hes tied them together has made it harder to criticise the dives because they have done important research.

i definitely he misled people because if you dont know about this sort of vessel, youre likely to defer to someone who helped to develop it.

however, i would err on the side of both harding and nargeolet knowing how unsafe it was. nargeolet had done countless dives just like it and he was in this world where people were saying this isnt safe. we also know that harding knew because his friend victor vescovo, who found the deepest shipwreck in the world (the samuel b roberts), told him that it was unsafe, but harding went anyway.

ive kinda just been rambling in my reply because i do feel torn about it. people died and i struggle not to feel for them, even if my logical brain is arguing with that. i think many people struggle to believe anyone deserves to die because were humans and we are meant to care about each other. its how we survived as a species for so long. but there are people in this world where if they died, the world would objectively be a better place.

at the end of the day, im not the authority on how anyone feels about this and i dont begrudge anyone for their feelings. the world is not black and white, and so much exists in the morally grey area.

youre entitled to feel however you do, anon. dont let others make you feel bad about it.

[beardedmrbean]

Austrian officials on Tuesday reported that airport staff found 85 geckos, two snakes, and two scorpions in the luggage of a traveler who had arrived on a plane from Ethiopia.

Officers detained the man on suspicion of criminal smuggling of the animals, which were said to be in a "very poor state of health."

What happened at the airport

The Austrian Finance and Customs Ministry announced details of the discovery, saying customs officials were already aware of the passenger after carrying out a risk assessment.

They detained the 50-year-old Czech citizen as he left the baggage reclamation area via the green channel for passengers with nothing to declare.

The officials found the animals in three transport boxes concealed inside several bags belonging to the man.

The reptiles were of an estimated €47,000 ($51,000) value.

Upon questioning, he said the geckos were not particularly valuable and that he had planned to feed them to his snakes.

The creatures were said to have been in a "very bad" condition and were already showing signs of dehydration.

The prices for geckos on the reptile market range from €250 up to some €600, while snakes and scorpions of the species picked up cost around €250 each.

Animals handed over to zoo

Finance and Customs Minister Magnus Brunne praised customs officials' experience and expertise in carrying out the search.

As well as protecting the animals, he said, such work also helps protect the interests of responsible companies dealing in reptiles against criminal smugglers' business model.

For safety, and so that experts could check on the exact species of each animal, the customs staff handed the reptiles over to Vienna's Schönbrunn Zoo.

There were several gecko species — including the rare Namib gecko — as well as the scorpions and the Namibian house snakes. The zoo reported that all had recovered well from their ordeal.

[mintincense]

World Athletics puts limit on testosterone in female athletes' blood

as you may have already heard, the World Athletics Council has issued new guidelines where female athletes' testosterone must be below a certain margin for them to be able to compete.

the statement explicitly mentions that this was done in the efforts to ban trans women "who have been through male puberty" from competing.

however, as the statement said "there are currently no transgender athletes competing internationally in athletics". so, despite the media's framing, this ban seems to affect cis women who are/may be intersex much more, at present, than trans women.

athletes such as Caster Semenya, Christine Mboma and Francine Niyonsaba, who are cis women that are intersex, have previously ran into issues with similar guidelines, as their naturally elevated testosterone levels have been framed as an "unfair" advantage.

it seems that natural advantages, such as height or producing less lactic acid than most, are okay or even celebrated as long as you're white (and/or a man).

sources/futher reading:

World Athletics Council decides on Russia, Belarus and female eligibility

World Athletics bans trans women from female sports

Namibian medallist Christine Mboma reopens athletics 'intersex' debate

“I am a woman and I am fast”: what Caster Semenya’s story says about gender and race in sports

We celebrated Michael Phelps’s genetic differences. Why punish Caster Semenya for hers?

[the-amber-droid-dreams]

[ID1 : A gif of a waving progress pride flag and Namibia flag

ID2 : A photograph of a black man with his fist help up against a background of pride flags. Captioned : "Namibia's sodomy law declared unconstitutional. The Namibian High Court has ruled in favor of Friedel Dausab, striking down the discriminatory sodomy law." END ID]

June 21, 2024 - Namibia's high court has declared the "sodomy law" that criminalised gay sex unconstitutional!

Namibia inherited the apartheid-era law banning “sodomy” and “unnatural offences” when it gained independence from South Africa in 1990. [link]

[jamethinks]

oc, lore dump and random side character of the day:

I mentioned in the depths of my tags that Nightfall lives with a friend who is from Ostania so this is about her. Her name is Sunshine Normann, a trauma nurse at Berlint General Hospital. She's an Afro-Jewish Westalian and one of the first kids raised under the WCPP (WISE child protection program).

She is the daughter of two iconic and influential spies from WISE (note: during their run there wasn't much of a WISE but). Her mother was Agent Plague, a skilled pharmacist with an extensive knowledge of drugs and botany which she would use to poison and kill her targets. Her father was Agent Prime, often regarded as the first true WISE agent and the predecessor of Twilight. He's known best for developing the PRIME method, the approach that is taught to all modern agents. He was a Namibian refugee in Westalis who was forced to live in Ostania and serve in the military where he began perfecting his skills and eventually working with the WIA to take down Ostania from the inside.

Prime and Plague both worked along side Agent Nighthawk aka Eric Normann aka the unnamed old dude spy aka the random side character of the day. He was a detective who was recruited by the WIA where he would have met and worked with them. He became very close to them and considered Prime his best friend. He had a wife back in Westalis and she is normally the one who would foster any lost children WISE found (including Nightfall)

One day, Prime and Plague were assassinated by the SSS and Plague at the time was pregantatee. The baby survived and Eric decided to adopt her and briefly retired to live with his wife and raise her. Once the war broke out (again) he returned to Ostania and left her in Westalis.

Sunshine (or Sunny for short) is a quite dangerous girl. She inherited her father's skill and mother's intelligence. She was also raised to be a spy in a way. By the age of three she was firing pistols and by 10 she could take down a 300 pound 7 foot man with ease. She is still a master spy to this day but once she was a teen she decided to become a nurse instead so she can help people and save lives. She isn't actually too fond of war and finds it pointless. She believes all her parents fought tirelessly so she can live a free and happy life so that she will.

She's objectively the second best spy WISE has she just doesn't do anything. Sylvia considers her a waste of resources (not really) and is always annoyed when she shows up. Sunny has no regard for the insane level of privacy and secrecy WISE tries to maintain and regularly strolls into every safe house with no fear. She also only returned to Ostania to work at BGH to help with Operation Strix as she didn't need Twilight going around fucking up anybody's psyche.

Twilight and her have a fun dynamic. She obviously had a crush on him as a teen (don't worry he ignored her) and he was afraid of her because one say while training they fought and he got his ass handed to him. It's because of her why he's so calculated when he fights. He boldly assumed a 5'0 13 year old wouldn't be that strong but boy was he dead wrong.

She is considered Nightfall's best friend but Nightfall only considers her a pain in the ass. She is very caring and gentle towards her since they were essentially sisters for a minute. She takes good care of all of Nightfall's cats and treats her bazillions wounds whenever she over does it on a mission. She also defends Nightfall from all the others who call her cruel and selfish.

Sunny was friends with Sylvia's daughter. Sylvia's daughter was obviously older and would treat her like a little baby. Would take her on long walks and teach her stuff and was just in general a sweetheart. Sunny was destroyed when she passed because she really loved her. She tries to take care of Sylvia since she knows how crushed and depressed she was (and still is). Sylvia has a bit of a hard time with her since she does remind her a lot of her daughter which Sunny understands and keeps her distance.

[tma-entity-song-poll]

Battle of the Fear Bands B2R3: The Corruption

Entomologists:

BlackBoxWarrior:

“A song about a man struggling with his health (be it mental or physical). The song makes the treatment seem inhumane and just as terrifying as the initial problem. It’s almost like he’s getting sicker and sicker but just won’t die.”

Lyrics below the line!

Entomologists:

I hear, humming Buzzing, buzzing Today marks one long dream Burrowed deep inside Sallowing faces Leaving me behind They talk about me, see? I can hear them They call their friends Entomologists Knock on wood, but I'd rather stay alone And isolate intuition from unknown You've bent my world, now, I'll never figure out What it means, when I see, infestations in my dreams Today marks two long dreams Festering away Sallowing bodies Crawling on all fours They talk about me They get in real close They call themselves Metamorphosis Knock on wood, but I'd rather stay alone And isolate intuition from unknown You've bent my world, now, I'll never figure out What it means, when I see, infestations in my dreams

BlackBoxWarrior - OKULTRA:

Well he collapsed with Stevens-Johnson Syndrome on the E.R. floor Panic attacked, anaphylactic and ataxic The way he spun his butterfly risked all six his phalanges Roman candles at both ends in his synapses And the method with which he recycled his humors Trojan Horse'd his Blood-Brain Barrier and raised the LD-50, yes, yes And through flight-or-fight revelation shame the Black Box Warrior He skipped this town and headed straight down history Shields himself from reason in a Kevlar baby-blue Tuxedo Quilted from the finest fibers, flesh, and fiberglass, and flowers His ego a mosquito, evil incarnate good incognito Pops placebos for libido, screaming, "Bless the torpedoes"

For what? For what? For what it's worth If it was going to kill you boy, it would have by now For what? For what? For what it's worth There's no more looking back, it's looking up or looking down

Well, he was wearing stolen rubber shoes and wrapped a poison ivy noose Around his Lotus jugular when they came Well, they found him with a map to every victim of his love And a tattoo of a blue jay on his face And they waited for his vital signs to lie and let a flatline cry A hymn out in Hungarian Harmonic But he cocked his noggin, through his stoma sang, "For auld lang syne" "Happy birthday to the succulents, I'll die your hydroponics" His rib cage was a hornet's nest, palpitations set the beat His vagus nerve a turk's head knot, an axel hitch, a carrick bend He wondered if Christ Consciousness would charge a cancellation fee Auf wiedersehn, au revoir, he gripped his wits right by their ends

For what? For what? For what it's worth If it was going to kill you boy, it would have by now For what? For what? For what it's worth There's no more looking back, it's looking up or looking down

Hello, welcome, why don't you take a seat? Get comfortable, relax, take a second if you need to Now what's bothering you? Well, why don't we start at the beginning Growing up, how was your relationship with the fundamentals of conscious existence? Did you have xenon orchid sinews spilling down the outer center of your Blooming Escher/Mandelbrot head? And how about claustrophilic tendrils clapping caskets closed on seven-knuckle thumbs Did you get along well with the Gideon Bugler pineal glands? Your projector eyes casting sci-fi's on your STR'd strands? Tell me about your nerve to steal nerves of steel from under Bacchus' bloody nose Did Namibian Himbas tie-dye you, your ears pierced with a Phineas Gage flagpole Did you die before your day? Thursday traction, Tuesday titration My hope is to assess through my objective report of Your subjective conjecture Whether this proprietary bled of expertise and seasoning works as well as this Transorbital ice pick Holistic ballistics, you got a better idea? It's about the best we could come up with, what, you think ideas spread because they're good? No, they spread because people like them So now here we are once again, holding As it were, a mirror up to your mirror I guess it's just something people do

A bloody knife to split your infrastructure, wine to rev your motor function Coital machinations of the dead Well, you mainline your animus, karate chop your abacus And learn to be an animal instead But I never did think you better than this, your modus operandi causes Nazi/Skoptzyism and suicide Why to thine own self be true when it is you who are the problem Not the things you do but something sick inside Lithium and Dialectics, boy you really is defective CBT don't seem effective for that Cluster B, accept it Offer up your innocence, please ignore the side effects You've lost your mind and almost lost your life before So you'll be fine For what? For what? For what it's worth If it was going to kill you boy, it would have by now For what? For what? For what it's worth There's no more looking back, and why would you want to look back? I mean, it's no good looking back, so try to look forward now For what? For what? For what it's worth If they were going to get you boy, they would have by now For what? For what? For what it's worth There's no more looking back, it's looking up or looking down…

[simplicius-simplicissimus]

Out of Africa (Jenseits von Afrika)

David Livingstone

The name “David Livingstone” is closely linked to the Victoria Falls because he discovered this natural wonder of the earth. But not only that - he is one of the white people who is still fondly remembered in Africa. Zambia's first president Kenneth Kaunda once described Livingstone as "Africa's first freedom fighter" in 1964 (when Zambia gained independence). Livingstone witnessed the massacre of 400 blacks by Arab slave traders. A diary entry by Livingstone about this event, later published by the journalist Morton Stanley, contributed significantly to the closure of the most important slave trading center in East Africa on the island of Zanzibar. Great Britain forced the ruling Sultan to do so by force of arms. Livingstone's pioneering work, his love for this continent and his fight against the slave trade are the reasons why he is revered in Africa - even the bus driver who drove us to a boat trip on the Zambezi in Victoria Falls expressed this reverence in his words.

His goals - to prove that the Zambezi could be used as a transport route and to find the source of the Nile - Livingstone could never achieve. However, his achievement is that he brought Africa closer to the Europeans. His descriptions, his observations and his notes about animals, plants and people expanded knowledge about the previously largely unknown continent. We traveled to Africa because of the animals and the unique landscapes. We got to know many ordinary, but satisfied and friendly people who presented their country and their way of life to us with pride and often with humor (“you get an African massage when driving over the bumpy African roads”). But we also saw the negative side of the coin: poverty and people who will do almost anything to survive.

The tour guide and bus driver on our trip was such an ordinary and friendly man - and very proud of his Herero origins, which he often emphasized. From 1884 to 1915, Namibia was part of what was then the German Empire as German South West Africa. The Herero and Nama rose up against their colonial masters in 1904. This uprising was brutally suppressed by German troops under the command of Lothar von Trotha. Most of the Herero fled to the almost waterless Omaheke Desert. Trotha had it blocked off and chased away the refugees from the few waterholes that existed there, so that thousands of Herero, along with their families and herds of cattle, died of thirst. Trotha's actions are considered by scholars to be the first genocide of the 20th century. The Herero still remember this today with a day of remembrance. A strange scene: The Herero, whose ancestors were so harassed by Germans, now had the task of driving and accompanying a German tour group safely through Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia.

Germany has been working on a reconciliation agreement in this matter with Namibia for some time - which was pushed forward by Namibian President Hage Geingob, who died earlier this year. However, an official agreement with Namibia on “reparations payments” has not yet been reached. Africa is sometimes “complicated” - depending on which ethnic group is “in charge” in the country and sometimes does not necessarily focus on the interests of other ethnic groups.

The UN Genocide Convention of 1948 emerged as a direct reaction to the mass atrocities committed by the German Reich in World War II. The Soviet Union ensured that the destruction of entire layers or classes – later called sociocide – was not included in the definition. What is hardly known, however, is that Great Britain and France, but also the USA, Canada and Australia, as old colonial powers, ensured that the systematic cultural destruction of a group and the forced assimilation of indigenous peoples and national minorities were not included in the definition as well. It's easier to point the finger at others than to admit or deal with your own crimes. The Africans have regained sovereignty over their land - the indigenous peoples in America and Australia were less fortunate.

There is still a monument in Swakopmund today that commemorates the German soldiers who died in the 1904 conflict described above. Namibia has been independent from South Africa since 1990 - and I couldn't help but wonder why the monument hasn't been torn down long ago? Maybe because every death in a conflict is one too many? Swakopmund is generally a very “German” city - with many buildings, its flair and street names from the former colonial era. You go to the chic, expensive restaurants and cafes in Swakopmund and you almost only meet “white” customers there. “Blacks” often cannot afford this - which is why “blacks” almost exclusively serve “whites”. Inwardly I thought to myself: “Somehow not much has changed in this regard in the last hundred years!” It was a depressing situation for us. African countries are free today - but are they really independent? A statement from our tour guide: “We are still so dependent on South Africa. When truck drivers go on strike in South Africa, the shelves in Namibia's supermarkets are empty. When Namibia was still part of South Africa, life was even better.” The African continent has raw materials and quite clever people - but somehow they often can't get the horsepower on the road there. There is still a lot to do - and I think the ex-colonial powers have a special responsibility to help this continent which they have plundered for decades.

There are these “perfect days” - and our second day in Chobe National Park in Botswana was one of them. On the morning safari in an open off-road vehicle, we not only saw one of those red African sunrises - we also saw two male lions walking completely unperturbed, almost tactile, in front of us. In the afternoon we took a boat along the Chobe River and were able to observe many animals up close in their natural behavior: grazing water buffaloes, hippos and crocodiles dozing in the afternoon sun. There were also two elephant bulls who were playfully competing against each other. And an elephant matriarch who led her family swimming across the Chobe River. You don't see anything like that in a zoo. The icing on the cake was that our boat was steered to the perfect spot to photograph the sunset. All highly emotional moments.

The majestic Namib Desert stretches along the 1,500 km long Namibian coast (also called the “skeleton coast” because of the many whale skeletons there). The coast is therefore almost deserted (there are only 4 small coastal towns there - including Swakopmund)… and is lined with shipwrecks because there is often dense fog, treacherous currents and shifting sandbanks. The coast includes three national parks, each extending approximately 50 km inland: Namib Naukluft National Park, Dorob National Park (with Cape Cross) and Skeleton Coast Park. These are intended to preserve the unique nature there - probably out of wise foresight, because Namibia is one of the leading mining nations for diamonds, uranium, zinc and fluorspar. The Namib Desert was my first desert with a wide dune landscape. The wind creates an incredibly majestic and beautiful scenery there. Every picture taken is like a painting in sand colors.

Apart from Africa, there is probably no other continent where the wilderness is so well preserved and can be experienced up close. It's definitely not the last time we've been to Africa. Maybe that's the magic of this continent - once you've visited it, you come back with longing.

Der Name „David Livingstone“ ist eng mit den Victoria Falls verbunden, denn er entdeckte dieses Naturwunder der Erde. Aber nicht nur das - er ist einer der Weissen, an den man sich in Afrika immer noch gern erinnert. Sambias erster Präsident Kenneth Kaunda bezeichnete Livingstone 1964 einmal als „Africa's first freedom fighter“ (als Sambia seine Unabhängigkeit erlangte). Livingstone wurde Zeuge an der Massakrierung von 400 Schwarzen durch arabische Sklavenhändler. Ein vom Journalisten Morton Stanley später veröffentlichter Tagebucheintrag Livingstones über dieses Ereignis hat wesentlich dazu beigetragen, dass der wichtigste Sklavenhandelsplatz Ostafrikas auf der Insel Sansibar geschlossen wurde. Grossbritannien zwang den herrschenden Sultan mit Waffengewalt dazu. Livingstones Pionierarbeit, seine Liebe für diesen Kontinent und sein Kampf gegen den Sklavenhandel sind der Grund dafür, dass er in Afrika verehrt wird - selbst der Busfahrer, der uns in Victoria Falls zu einem Bootstrip auf dem Sambesi fuhr, lies diese Verehrung in seinen Worten spüren.

Seine Ziele - zu beweisen, dass der Sambesi als Verkehrsweg nutzbar sei, sowie die Nilquelle zu finden - konnte Livingstone nie erreichen. Sein Verdienst aber ist es, dass er den Europäern Afrika nahe brachte. Seine Beschreibungen, seine Beobachtungen, seine Notizen über Tiere, Pflanzen und Menschen erweiterten das Wissen über den bis dahin weitgehend unbekannten Kontinent. Wegen der Tiere und der einzigartigen Landschaften reisten wir nach Afrika. Wir lernten dabei viele einfache, jedoch zufriedene und freundliche Menschen kennen, die uns mit Stolz und häufig mit Witz („eine afrikanische Massage bekommt man, wenn über die holprigen afrikanischen Strassen fährt“) ihr Land und ihre Lebensweise präsentierten. Die negative Seite der Medaille sahen wir aber auch: Armut und Menschen, die fast alles tun, um zu überleben.

Der Reiseleiter und zugleich Busfahrer unserer Reise war ein solch einfacher und freundlicher Mann - und sehr stolz auf seine Herkunft als Herero, die er oft betonte. Namibia gehörte von 1884 bis 1915 als Deutsch-Südwestafrika zum damaligen Deutschen Reich. Die Herero und Nama erhoben sich 1904 gegen ihre Kolonialherren. Dieser Aufstand wurde brutal durch deutsche Truppen unter dem Kommando von Lothar von Trotha niedergeschlagen. Der größte Teil der Herero floh in die fast wasserlose Omaheke-Wüste. Trotha ließ diese abriegeln und Flüchtlinge von den wenigen dort existenten Wasserstellen verjagen, so dass Tausende Herero mitsamt ihren Familien und Rinderherden verdursteten. Trothas Vorgehen gilt in der Wissenschaft als erster Völkermord des 20. Jahrhunderts. Die Herero erinnern noch heute mit einem Gedenktag daran. Eine eigentümlich Szene also: Der Herero, dessen Vorfahren durch Deutsche so drangsaliert wurden, hatte nun die Aufgabe, eine deutsche Reisegruppe sicher durch Simbabwe, Botswana und Namibia zu fahren und zu geleiten.

Deutschland arbeitet in dieser Angelegenheit seit geraumer Zeit an einem Aussöhnungsabkommen mit Namibia - das durch den Anfang dieses Jahres verstorbenen namibischen Präsidenten Hage Geingob vorangetrieben wurde. Eine offizielle Übereinkunft mit Namibia über „Reparationszahlungen“ konnte jedoch bisher noch nicht erreicht werden. Afrika ist manchmal „kompliziert“ - je nachdem, welche Ethnie im Land „das Sagen“ hat und dabei die Interessen anderer Ethnien manchmal nicht unbedingt im Fokus hat.

Die Genozidkonvention der Uno von 1948 entstand als unmittelbare Reaktion auf die Massenverbrechen des Deutschen Reiches im Zweiten Weltkrieg. Die Sowjetunion erreichte, dass die Vernichtung ganzer Schichten oder Klassen – später Soziozid genannt – nicht in die Definition einfloss. Kaum bekannt ist hingegen, dass Grossbritannien und Frankreich, aber auch die USA, Kanada und Australien als alte Kolonialmächte dafür sorgten, dass die systematische kulturelle Zerstörung einer Gruppe und die Zwangsassimilation von indigenen Völkern und nationalen Minderheiten auch nicht Eingang in die Definition fanden. Es ist eben leichter auf andere zu zeigen, als sich selbst seine Verbrechen einzugestehen oder aufzuarbeiten. Die Afrikaner haben die Souveränität über ihr Land wieder zurückerlangt - die indigenen Völker in Amerika und Australien hatten da weniger Glück.

In Swakopmund gibt es heute noch ein Denkmal, das an die deutschen Gefallenen des oben beschriebenen Konflikts von 1904 erinnert. Namibia ist seit 1990 von Südafrika unabhängig - und ich fragte mich unwillkürlich, warum man das Denkmal nicht längst abgerissen hat? Vielleicht, weil jeder Tote in einem Konflikt einer zu viel ist? Swakopmund ist generell eine sehr „deutsche“ Stadt - mit vielen Gebäuden, seinem Flair und Straßennamen aus der ehemaligen Kolonialzeit. Man geht in die schicken, teuren Restaurants und Cafes in Swakopmund und trifft dort fast nur „weisse“ Kunden. „Schwarze“ können sich das nämlich oft nicht leisten - deshalb bedienen „Schwarze“ fast ausschliesslich „Weisse“. Innerlich dachte ich mir: „Irgendwie hat sich in den letzten hundert Jahren diesbezüglich dann nicht viel geändert!“ Es war eine bedrückende Situation für uns. Die afrikanischen Länder sind heute frei - aber sind sie wirklich unabhängig? Eine Aussage unseres Reiseleiters: „Wir sind immer noch so abhängig von Südafrika. Wenn in Südafrika die LKW-Fahrer streiken, sind in Namibias Supermärkten die Regale leer. Das Leben früher war sogar besser, als Namibia noch Teil von Südafrika war.“ Der afrikanische Kontinent hat Rohstoffe und durchaus clevere Menschen - aber irgendwie bekommt man oft dort die PS nicht auf die Strasse. Es ist noch viel zu tun - und ich denke, die Ex-Kolonialmächte haben hier eine besondere Verantwortung, dem Kontinent zu helfen, den sie jahrzehntelang ausgeplündert haben.

Es gibt diese „perfekten Tage“ - und unser zweiter Tag im Chobe Nationalpark in Botswana war ein solcher. Auf der morgendlichen Safari im offenen Geländewagen sahen wir nicht nur einen dieser roten afrikanischen Sonnenaufgänge - wir sahen auch zwei männliche Löwen, die vollkommen unbeirrt, fast greifbar vor uns entlang spazierten. Am Nachmittag fuhren wir im Boot den Chobe River entlang und konnten viele Tiere aus nächster Nähe in ihrem natürlichen Verhalten beobachten: grasende Wasserbüffel, in der Nachmittagssonne dösende Flusspferde und Krokodile. Auch zwei Elefantenbullen, die sich spielerisch miteinander im Kräftemessen übten. Und eine Elefanten-Matriarchin, die ihre Familie schwimmend durch den Chobe River führte. So etwas sieht man in keinem Zoo. Das Sahnehäubchen war dann noch, dass unser Boot an den perfekten Spot gesteuert wurde, um den Sonnenuntergang zu fotografieren. Alles höchst emotionale Momente.

Der 1500 km langen, namibischen Küste entlang (aufgrund der vielen Wal-Skelette dort auch „Skelettküste“ genannt ) erstreckt sich die majestätische Namib-Wüste. Die Küste ist deshalb fast menschenleer (es gibt dort nur 4 kleine Küstenstädte - u.A. Swakopmund)….und ist gesäumt von Schiffwracks, weil es dort häufig dichten Nebel, tückische Strömungen und wandernde Sandbänke gibt. Die Küste umfasst drei Nationalparks, die sich jeweils ca. 50 km ins Landesinnere erstrecken: Namib Naukluft National Park, Dorob National Park (mit Cape Cross) und Skeleton Coast Park. Diese sollen die einzigartige Natur dort erhalten - wohl aus weiser Voraussicht, denn Namibia zählt zu den führenden Bergbaunationen für Diamanten, Uran, Zink und Flussspat. Die Namib-Wüste war meine erste Wüste mit einer weiten Dünenlandschaft. Der Wind formt dort eine unglaublich majestätische und schöne Szenerie. Jedes geschossene Bild ist wie ein Gemälde in Sandfarben.

Es gibt neben Afrika wohl keinen weiteren Kontinent, wo die Wildnis noch so gut erhalten und hautnah erlebbar ist. Wir sind bestimmt nicht das letzte Mal in Afrika gewesen. Vielleicht ist das die Magie dieses Kontinents - wenn man ihn einmal besucht hat, kommt man mit Sehnsucht zurück.

-Simplicius Simplicissimus