WINDHOEK, April 15 (Xinhua) -- The Ovahimba tribe of Namibia, popular for their nomadic pastoral lifestyle, have been left with no option but to live in 'unusual' communities amid a COVID-19 pandemic that has displaced them from their traditional homes.
Usually anchored in Kaokaland in the Kunene region about 700 km northeast of the capital Windhoek, the Ovahimba have been forced to leave their nomadic lifestyle of cattle herding, hunting and gathering to a more controlled community where they are given modern foods, access to portable water and sanitation to fight the spread of COVID-19.
Their relocation to a more modern urban setup was necessitated by the Namibian government's move to provide shelters for the marginalized and poor during the lockdown to control the possible spread of COVID-19.
More than 290 nomadic Ovahimba people have now relocated to the government-monitored shelters where they can access food rations as well as water.
"Our lifestyles were already starting to be hampered by consistent droughts which destroyed our herd of cattle. By the time COVID-19 struck we were in a bad situation as we did not have food or could sustain our means of production," Uenjii Tjiumbirua, a 21-year-old mother of two told Xinhua.
She also bemoaned the massive erosion of their business model where they sell traditional ornaments to visiting international tourist since the government imposed a 21-day lockdown to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We are unable to sell our wares to tourist as we are not allowed to move to town where we can sell to tourists. Ever since this disease came we have not been able to live our normal lifestyles and this creates financial problems for us. I am taking care of seven members of my family at my village so the loss of opportunities and income is not going to be easy on us," she added.
Pevangeruaihe Tjiumbirua, 23, also told Xinhua that since COVID-19 hit, life has never been the same for them as they are not sure where their life will be headed after the lockdown.
"We have been moved here and for now we are comfortable but what is not very clear is where we go after here. Do we go back to our normal nomadic lifestyle or do we stay here? I appeal that the City of Windhoek need to start considering setting up a shelter in town where we can sell our artefacts to tourist so we can have a modern shelter were we can sell our products," she said.
She said her worries are shared by many in the closed community.
Namibian Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism Pohamba Shifeta conceded that the effect of COVID-19 has had detrimental effects on the lifestyles of the local folk that rely on selling their wares to tourist for survival.
"For now the point is to find a solution and way out of this COVID-19 pandemic but in the long run the lives of the many locals who live off the tourism industry will not be the same again," he said.
