Reports from inside Namibia continue to document the pervasive presence of the South African armed forces in the life of civilians. In a letter to the Windhoek Observer, a reader describes his/her experience in the north of the country, telling of "innocent people beaten up mercilessly, even after having produced the required documents; houses burnt down to ashes; people asked to surrender their valuables such as bicycles, radios, cassette players and watches never to get them back".
Young black Namibians are being drawn into the process of militarisation. At Coloured secondary schools throughout the country, for example, pupils are to be trained as school cadets. An official of the Coloured tribal authority announced that boys would be elected to platoons, issued with uniforms, and would undergo instructions under the SWA Territory Force. A training camp would be established and teachers trained to take over the instruction of cadets. The programme would facilitate greater understanding of the functions and aims of the SWA Territory Force, the official said.
The exodus of young people from Namibia into Angola and Zambia, to avoid being called up for military service, continues. Reports from the Lutheran World Federation. The organisation's Windhoek office reported that young men were being taken from the streets and sent for military service because only a few of those called up had reported for duty. Those making inquiries about their conscription were being immediately enlisted. It described this "enacted conscription" as hanging like "a sword of Damocles" over Namibia.
The Lutheran World Service has arranged air lifts of young Namibians of school age from Angola to Lusaka, Zambia, where they will continue their education. 415 students had been flown to Zambia by mid-February, and another 1,000 were scheduled to be airlifted. In addition, the UN High Commission for Refugees flew another 300 students to Lusaka.
The Zambian Christian Refugee Service estimated that there were some 3,000 Namibian refugees in Nyango in Western Zambia.
