Country profile - Kalahari
Kalahari is a country in southern Africa, bordered by Angola in the north, by Azania in the west and south (formerly Botswana and South Africa) and the Atlantic Ocean in the west.
History
Situated between the Nahib and Kalahari deserts, inhabited by Bantu, Herero, Himba, Damara and Khoisan peoples, Kalahari was only settled in 1884 by Germany, becoming the colony of German South West Africa, as a way to hinder British expansion in the area ; only the harbour of Walvis Bay, enclaved within the German colony, was occupied by Britain, then by South Africa. German rule lasted until 1970, and was at times really harsh against the Natives, culminating in the 1904-1907 Herero-Namaqua uprising (considered a genocide by modern historians, even as Germany never recognized it as such). The German governors (the most known being Heinrich Göring, Lothar von Trotha, Hermann Göring, Josias zu Waldeck and Pyrmont, Wolfgang Schenk) managed to encourage German settlement in spite of the country’s relative inhospitality, focusing development on Windhuk and the Angolan border, along with mining (diamonds, gold, lead, tungesten, copper, zinc, uranium) and agricultural facilities. Scarcely populated, with a totally Germanized Bantu population, its borders unchanged throughout German colonization, without any major independence process, a main fixture of German military apparatus due to its supply of uranium (the Kalahari desert was the site of Germany’s first nuclear weapon test in 1950), Southwest Africa was considered a model German colony when independence was bestowed on 1 January 1970, under the new name of Kalahari, referring to one of the country’s largest deserts.
Even with independence and Native home rule, Kalahari was closely monitored by Germans, as they needed control over uranium and feared South African expansion and instability. A skirmish between German and South African troops occurred in 1971 on the border and the German Army maintained their presence on the South African border and in the uranium mining zones, helping President Clemens Kapuuo in quelling down dissent during the 1977 presidential election. With the descent of South Africa into civil war after 1984, Kalahari became one of the main bases for German and Western military and humanitarian intervention, providing safe haven for Afrikaner and Black refugees, with the Mayor of Walvis Bay accepting its annexation into Kalahari in 1990. Since 1993, Kalahari became one of the frontlines against Azania, starting in 1993. The state of constant warfare resulted in a heavy militarization of the country, starting with a military coup in 1999 by General Martin Shalli, the building of the Azanian Wall from 2005 to 2007 and the restablishment of democracy under very close military control in 2013. As of 2021, sporadic fighting continue in southern Kalahari against Azanian forces, keeping them at bay in the desert.
Politics
Since independence, Kalahari has been a presidential republic, the 1978 Constitution providing for a bicameral Parliament, elected every five years, composed of a National Council and National Assembly, each one providing for a representation of all peoples of Kalahari ; save for federalism, the political and judicial institutions is closely inspired by Germany. The President is elected by universal suffrage for a seven-year-term, re-eligible once ; since 2013, the President of Kalahari has been Gerhard Ekandjo, former Minister of the Interior and member and the conservative Popular Democratic Movement, which has held power since independence, save for Shalli’s military government (1999-2013) ; Ekandjo was re-elected in 2020. Even if he is namely in power, Ekandjo’s government is filled with pro-German and military figures and thus considered by many experts as a puppet of both Germany and Kalaharian Army.
Population, social situation
The Bantu majority (mostly the Ovambo) was deeply favored by the Germans during colonization and remains the most powerful one in nowadays Kalahari, holding political, economic, military and societal dominance ; even if Kalahari’s eleven major languages are formally recognized by the Constitution, either as national or regional ones, the other peoples (Herero, Damara, Nama, San and the very different Lozi, living in the Caprivi Strip) have yet to attain satisfying political representation on the scale of the country. Population of German origin has always been scarce in Kalahari but remains sizeable, with the German language remaining the official one, but the community is now overtaken in numbers by Afrikaner refugees, who count for 1 million, centered on Windhuk and Walvis Bay. The demographic map remains the same as in 1970, with settlement being concentrated on Windhuk, capital and largest city, and the Angolan border. Sight of ghost towns, built as fast as they were abandoned, is common near mining deposits.
Relying on imports from Germany, the standard of living in Windhuk are among the costliest in Africa, but most of Kalahari’s population remains in the country. With all powers concentrated in the clientelist Popular Democratic Movement and the military, human rights are considered dire in Kalahari, with all opinions in favor of Pan-Africanism or socialism censored and repressed in the name of resistance against Azania’s agenda.
Economy
With Germany as its main commercial partner, with Kalahari mark still tied on the Reichsmark, Kalahari depends heavily on subsistence agriculture for its livelihood but its main export and source of income has been mining : second only to Katanga in terms of uranium exports, Kalahari is still very rich in lead, tungsten, gold, tin, fuorspar, manganese, marble, copper, zinc, diamond and natural gas deposits, all thoroughly exploited by European companies. Many fear that a variant of the Dutch disease, here on mining, would one day be compared to Kalahari, as the industry already took a large toll on the natural ecosystem. This concentration on mining leaves Kalahari as among the poorest countries in Africa, relying deeply on its trade agreements with the Reichspakt and the European community, with law enforcement dealing a lot with smuggling towards Azania’s black market, organized by impoverished Bushmen and European organized crime.
Military
Kalahari, since the start of the South African Civil War, has been in a state of war since almost 40 years, humanitarian intervention having been replaced by constant warfare against the Azanian armies. Trained and equipped by state of the art German technology, the Kalaharian Army is the largest employer of the country, getting in full control of the country since Shalli’s coup in 1999 and providing cannon fodder alongside the southern border, deeply reinforced by a mined, electrified and heavily entrenched Azanian Wall, that managed to keep the Azanians at bay. The German expeditonary force in Kalahari (Deutsches Kalaharikorps) is the third largest German army outside of Europe (behind Madagascar and Tanganyika), numbering 50,000 as of 2020, entitled with support, peacekeeping, training and intelligence missions against Azania, mostly concentrated on armored troops, infantry and air support. Since 1993, the Kalahari front against Azania is estimated to have claimed the lifes of more than 200,000 Kalaharians, mostly military, along with 3,000 German soldiers.
Culture
The colonial era was synonymous with a complete assimilation of Kalahari into German culture with no development and research given to the Native cultures ; as one expert put up, “Windhuk is the only place where you can have bratwurst made from an elephant”. The constant state of war has been a catastrophe for anthropological studies along with the preservation of wildlife, considered once among the brightest of Africa ; tourism as a result deeply suffered.
History
Situated between the Nahib and Kalahari deserts, inhabited by Bantu, Herero, Himba, Damara and Khoisan peoples, Kalahari was only settled in 1884 by Germany, becoming the colony of German South West Africa, as a way to hinder British expansion in the area ; only the harbour of Walvis Bay, enclaved within the German colony, was occupied by Britain, then by South Africa. German rule lasted until 1970, and was at times really harsh against the Natives, culminating in the 1904-1907 Herero-Namaqua uprising (considered a genocide by modern historians, even as Germany never recognized it as such). The German governors (the most known being Heinrich Göring, Lothar von Trotha, Hermann Göring, Josias zu Waldeck and Pyrmont, Wolfgang Schenk) managed to encourage German settlement in spite of the country’s relative inhospitality, focusing development on Windhuk and the Angolan border, along with mining (diamonds, gold, lead, tungesten, copper, zinc, uranium) and agricultural facilities. Scarcely populated, with a totally Germanized Bantu population, its borders unchanged throughout German colonization, without any major independence process, a main fixture of German military apparatus due to its supply of uranium (the Kalahari desert was the site of Germany’s first nuclear weapon test in 1950), Southwest Africa was considered a model German colony when independence was bestowed on 1 January 1970, under the new name of Kalahari, referring to one of the country’s largest deserts.
Even with independence and Native home rule, Kalahari was closely monitored by Germans, as they needed control over uranium and feared South African expansion and instability. A skirmish between German and South African troops occurred in 1971 on the border and the German Army maintained their presence on the South African border and in the uranium mining zones, helping President Clemens Kapuuo in quelling down dissent during the 1977 presidential election. With the descent of South Africa into civil war after 1984, Kalahari became one of the main bases for German and Western military and humanitarian intervention, providing safe haven for Afrikaner and Black refugees, with the Mayor of Walvis Bay accepting its annexation into Kalahari in 1990. Since 1993, Kalahari became one of the frontlines against Azania, starting in 1993. The state of constant warfare resulted in a heavy militarization of the country, starting with a military coup in 1999 by General Martin Shalli, the building of the Azanian Wall from 2005 to 2007 and the restablishment of democracy under very close military control in 2013. As of 2021, sporadic fighting continue in southern Kalahari against Azanian forces, keeping them at bay in the desert.
Politics
Since independence, Kalahari has been a presidential republic, the 1978 Constitution providing for a bicameral Parliament, elected every five years, composed of a National Council and National Assembly, each one providing for a representation of all peoples of Kalahari ; save for federalism, the political and judicial institutions is closely inspired by Germany. The President is elected by universal suffrage for a seven-year-term, re-eligible once ; since 2013, the President of Kalahari has been Gerhard Ekandjo, former Minister of the Interior and member and the conservative Popular Democratic Movement, which has held power since independence, save for Shalli’s military government (1999-2013) ; Ekandjo was re-elected in 2020. Even if he is namely in power, Ekandjo’s government is filled with pro-German and military figures and thus considered by many experts as a puppet of both Germany and Kalaharian Army.
Population, social situation
The Bantu majority (mostly the Ovambo) was deeply favored by the Germans during colonization and remains the most powerful one in nowadays Kalahari, holding political, economic, military and societal dominance ; even if Kalahari’s eleven major languages are formally recognized by the Constitution, either as national or regional ones, the other peoples (Herero, Damara, Nama, San and the very different Lozi, living in the Caprivi Strip) have yet to attain satisfying political representation on the scale of the country. Population of German origin has always been scarce in Kalahari but remains sizeable, with the German language remaining the official one, but the community is now overtaken in numbers by Afrikaner refugees, who count for 1 million, centered on Windhuk and Walvis Bay. The demographic map remains the same as in 1970, with settlement being concentrated on Windhuk, capital and largest city, and the Angolan border. Sight of ghost towns, built as fast as they were abandoned, is common near mining deposits.
Relying on imports from Germany, the standard of living in Windhuk are among the costliest in Africa, but most of Kalahari’s population remains in the country. With all powers concentrated in the clientelist Popular Democratic Movement and the military, human rights are considered dire in Kalahari, with all opinions in favor of Pan-Africanism or socialism censored and repressed in the name of resistance against Azania’s agenda.
Economy
With Germany as its main commercial partner, with Kalahari mark still tied on the Reichsmark, Kalahari depends heavily on subsistence agriculture for its livelihood but its main export and source of income has been mining : second only to Katanga in terms of uranium exports, Kalahari is still very rich in lead, tungsten, gold, tin, fuorspar, manganese, marble, copper, zinc, diamond and natural gas deposits, all thoroughly exploited by European companies. Many fear that a variant of the Dutch disease, here on mining, would one day be compared to Kalahari, as the industry already took a large toll on the natural ecosystem. This concentration on mining leaves Kalahari as among the poorest countries in Africa, relying deeply on its trade agreements with the Reichspakt and the European community, with law enforcement dealing a lot with smuggling towards Azania’s black market, organized by impoverished Bushmen and European organized crime.
Military
Kalahari, since the start of the South African Civil War, has been in a state of war since almost 40 years, humanitarian intervention having been replaced by constant warfare against the Azanian armies. Trained and equipped by state of the art German technology, the Kalaharian Army is the largest employer of the country, getting in full control of the country since Shalli’s coup in 1999 and providing cannon fodder alongside the southern border, deeply reinforced by a mined, electrified and heavily entrenched Azanian Wall, that managed to keep the Azanians at bay. The German expeditonary force in Kalahari (Deutsches Kalaharikorps) is the third largest German army outside of Europe (behind Madagascar and Tanganyika), numbering 50,000 as of 2020, entitled with support, peacekeeping, training and intelligence missions against Azania, mostly concentrated on armored troops, infantry and air support. Since 1993, the Kalahari front against Azania is estimated to have claimed the lifes of more than 200,000 Kalaharians, mostly military, along with 3,000 German soldiers.
Culture
The colonial era was synonymous with a complete assimilation of Kalahari into German culture with no development and research given to the Native cultures ; as one expert put up, “Windhuk is the only place where you can have bratwurst made from an elephant”. The constant state of war has been a catastrophe for anthropological studies along with the preservation of wildlife, considered once among the brightest of Africa ; tourism as a result deeply suffered.