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Erika von Wietersheim
Erika von Wietersheim, born in 1952 in Lüderitzbucht, Namibia, lives in Windhoek as an author and journalist. After her studies at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, she ran a farm in the south of Namibia with her husband, the later Minister for Agriculture Anton von Wietersheim, and established a farm school for all children on and around the farm. Until today the social commitment for the reconciliation between the different Namibian cultures is an important part of her work.
Books
Good Morning Namibia
by Erika von Wietersheim
328 p. • 2020 • ISBN 978-99945-76-68-5 • 120 x 190 mm
In this biographical narrative, Erika von Wietersheim takes us back to the time between 1976 and Namibia’s independence in March 1990. It is the story of a twofold emancipation: After her studies at the rather liberal University of Cape Town, the young Namibian returns to her motherland to live with her husband Anton on the farm of her parents-in-law. There, she is confronted with traditional apartheid structures and relationships. What can she do to change the existing situation and contribute to a more just society for the people on the farm and in the country? One answer is education. She establishes a school on the farm – initially without any outside help and against official regulations. In this way, she comes into living contact with Namibian children, their parents and their culture and with time, with important people of Namibia’ independence movements like Hendrik Witbooi, Hage Geingob, and Anton Lubowski.
The author artfully interweaves the story of her life on the farm with political backgrounds and developments, gives us insight into the culture of the local Nama people, describes the ups and downs of everyday life on a farm and demonstrates that, also among white Namibians, there were serious endeavours to make Namibia a more just and self-determined society.