For Namibians, transportation is a road party

By Peter Gulliver

A cross jumps out of the map of Namibia. There are two highways that bisect the nation. The highways are wide enough to accommodate two vehicles but lack breakdown lanes. No other paved roads exist outside of white mining towns. Other roads are made from crushed gravel and sand that turn to mud in the rain, or are simply tire tracks in the bush. One of the leading reported causes of death in Namibia is car accidents caused by tire blowouts on poorly maintained roads, and Namibia is well-developed and wealthy by African standards. By Western standards, however, Namibia would be seen as an "underdeveloped" nation. While I was traveling in Namibia I found the public transportation system grossly inefficient. But the real issue here is not just a difference in development, it's a fundamental difference in perception about what development actually means.

I began my trek across Namibia on a bus. The buses have bench seats much like a school bus and their state of repair is atrocious. "Combis," a type of Volkswagen van, are also used. Commercial combis drive along the highways, stopping at markets and petrol stations to pick up riders. A ride that might take eight hours on a non-stop bus service could take 10 or 12 hours in a combi, depending on your luck. There is also a limited rail network, but a trip which is eight hours on a bus can take up to two days by train.

I was the only white person on the bus. On this trip I consciously traveled in the same manner as a black Namibian. White Namibians travel very differently. Due to their control of the economy, most whites can afford cars. For those whites without cars, hitchhiking is the preferred means of travel. Standing on a well-traveled road, a white person need only motion for passing vehicles to slow down. Any white Namibian will stop to give another white citizen a lift.

I noticed that I was also the only person reading during the trip, though most Namibians in the city from which I left are literate. Instead, several people had brought their own stereos, which played intermittently while Angolan rock music played over the loud speakers at varying volumes. Most of the young people had started drinking lager while waiting for the bus and continued throughout the ride: the bus left at 9:30 in the morning. Two strangers in the back silently passed a small bottle of gin back and forth, causing the entire vehicle to smell like turpentine. Many people brought their own food, usually meat of some kind, in a pot or greasy bag. The man next to me purchased a bag of dried caterpillars at one of our stops and ate them for the entire ride. Though few people knew each other getting on the bus, there was soon shouting up and down the aisle, often by men trying to pick up young women.

I couldn't help but contrast this scene with interstate bus or train travel in the United States, which is generally quiet. Passengers read, listen to music over headphones, or sleep. If there is conversation, it is subdued and between people seated next to each other.

I believe that the difference in transportation illustrates the wide gulf that exists between Namibian and Western perceptions of development. In my view of the developed world, people make use of travel time to talk, read, and work. For Namibians, though, travel is a party. It's not that one of these perceptions is right and the other wrong, but they often come into conflict. This difference in travel is an illustration of a Western ethic of efficiency and a Namibian ethic of casual enjoyment. Many of the Western aid and development workers I met expressed their frustration at Namibian culture. How could the nation develop if work is approached inefficiently-if it is more important to drink and meet people than to accomplish physical goals? They could not come to terms with an ethic that stresses relaxation and enjoyment more than material concerns. The Namibians had similar complaints about Westerners. Namibians often arrive an hour or two late for an appointment if they find something more fun to do, and they do not understand why this is frustrating. If there is to be substantial development in Namibia that both cultures can readily support, there must be a serious reconciliation between two very opposite ways of looking at the world.

Peter Gulliver is a junior in Saybrook.

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