Chinatown, Namibia

When I came to Namibia, I had no idea that the Chinese would follow me here. After spending 2 months in China and having a surrogate Chinese brother at home, I thought I would get a break from it all when I came to Africa. Boy, was I wrong. The Chinese are everywhere. In my opinion, the Chinese are the new-age Colonialists in Africa. They have their hands in everything. Each town and little village in northern Namibia has stores called simply, “China shops.” One can buy any random item you can think of in these stores. Many products sold in Namibia are Chinese-made including cell phones and the majority of electronics. The Namibians hire outside Chinese construction companies to come in and build these extravagant, aesthetically pleasing buildings instead of hiring Namibian companies. One Chinese construction company is building a health center directly outside the gates of my school. I have asked many people in Okalongo what they think about Chinese people being in Namibia. The answers are hilarious. Their favorite story to tell is about the missing cats. Before I came to Okalongo, there was apparently a large number of cats that lived on Haudano’s campus. Since the arrival of the Chinese, the large cat population has diminished. My colleagues attribute this to the construction workers at the health center. Close to our school is also a dirty river where people are not allowed to do any sort of activity like swimming, bathing, fishing, etc because the sanitary conditions are not the best. According to the people in Okalongo, this is where the Chinese go fishing. As the story goes, the Namibian Ministry of Health continues to tell the Chinese that this is not permitted. Instead, the Chinese just move up the river a bit until they get caught again. When these stories are told and I have heard them from about seven different people, the story teller cracks up. They can not keep it together. Whenever I tell people I spent two months in China, their first question is, “Is it true they eat cats and snakes?” In Namibia, snakes are seen as humans’ enemies. When you see a snake here, you immediately kill it, no questions asked. They can not fathom the idea that people could eat such evil creatures. The activities of the Chinese in town are part of the daily gossip in Okalongo. The stories and the gossip are often not told without mimicking them. The Namibians immediately put their hands to their eyes and pull out the corners to make the eyes squint. This is accompanied by the attempt to speak Chinese as they hear it, “Ching ching chong.” Many people I ask though have never actually spoken to a Chinese person. From what I have seen so far, there is not much interaction between Namibians and the Chinese on the local level. The Namibians perceptions of the Chinese is entertaining to hear, but fascinating to think about.
For Bernie’s birthday, we hiked to Oshikango, a border town to Angola. We had the intention of taking the day trip to Oshikango in seek of the said “best Chinese restaurant in Namibia.” Restaurants in the North are scarce and being waited on is quite the treat here. What we did not anticipate was finding ourselves in the literal recreation of China. We got dropped off at a place called Dragon City (aka Little China). It was surreal. We walked through these guarded gates and I felt like I was on the set of a movie. Everything and everyone was Chinese. It was like a little gated Chinese community in Namibia. We found the restaurant and I think both of our jaws dropped. With the decor, the arrangement, and the smell of the restaurant, you could have fooled me I thought I was back in China. We ordered fried rice and steamed dumplings. The Namibian waitress I think was impressed and confused at the same time when we told her we did not need utensils, but could use the chop sticks instead. The owners of the restaurant did not speak English and the waitress could not speak Chinese and I could not figure out how they were communicating. At one point the waitress had to ask us how to describe chicken fried rice because the owners did not understand the English on the menu. I walked out of there in awe. It was the epitome of a multicultural experience. I ask myself: what are the intentions of the Chinese living in Namibia? I have heard the Namibians’ views on it, but have yet to hear the Chinese side. They are two unlikely, vastly different cultures living and working in the same country. The Namibians do not seem to take a great interest in the Chinese, yet their products dominate the stores throughout the country. The Namibian government hires outside Chinese workers instead of hiring within. It seems like a complex relationship that I intend to question further.