May 4 – Cassinga Day in Namibia

nPosted on May 4, 2019

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nDo humans love tragedy so much that violent storms and earthquakes aren’t enough – that they go out of their way to cause needless tragedies?
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nToday the African nation of Namibia commemorates hundreds of victims of an attack by South Africa on Namibians in the town of Cassinga.
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nBut…the town of Cassinga is located in the nation to the north of Namibia, in Angola!
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nDuring the time of the 1978 attack, Namibia was in a war of independence with South Africa, and it was using Cassinga as a training site and refugee camp.
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nNamibia didn’t gain full independence until 1990, and it didn’t gain control of Walvis Bay and the Penguin Islands until 1994!
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nI always think of Namibia in terms of the gorgeous Namib and Kalahari Deserts…
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n…and the place where desert meets ocean…
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n…but let’s check out the Penguin Islands:
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nThey are tiny and uninhabited, and they are scattered far and wide along the coastline. Some teeny “islands” are actually just rocks!
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This old map was made back when Namibia was German SouthWest Africa, before it became territory of the United Kingdom and was administered by South Africa.

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nBUT the Penguin Islands are more valuable than one would imagine, since they are rich in guano deposits (bird poop, used in fertilizers) and have even been a source of diamonds!
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nThe islands’ name comes from the fact that African penguins lives there.
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nIn fact, lots of seabirds take sanctuary on the tiny islands. (No duh: guano!) One island, Mercury Island, is important in the life cycle of 80% of the world’s black cormorants!
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nAlso on this date:

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