When she was 15 years old, Erica Nuumbembe crossed the: © border from the South African- - tuled country of Namibia into . | Zambia, beginning her life of ex- «ile. Since she left her homeland “without permission, she can’t go ~pack. by Charlynn Toews ces She knows of children as “young as nine years old being _ held in jail. She has seen villages _’-< bombarded, people killed, crops destroyed. She describes the 1982 massacre at the Namibia village of Oshikuku: South African army went into = the village and told the people to ~ get out of their houses, then shot - them, They were suspected of -- working against the govern- “ ment.’” Now a 26-year-old student in Nanaimo, Nuumbembe address- eda group of about 50 women _. during the fifth annual Interna- ~ tional Women’s Day luncheon held Saturday in Terrace. She re- “counted how her country, which “The lies to the northwest of South _ Africa, became a German col- -ony in 1884, then was handed over ‘‘temporarily’? to South ‘Africa after the First World War. ‘“‘The League of Nations gave - South Africa a mandate of tem- porary rule, not permission to -colonize Namibia. Since then the "International Court of Justice of -the United Nations has asked - South Africa to leave. They ~~ refused. In 1980 the UN was to -: supervise a fair and free elec- “International Women’s Da Exiled African w addresses local group tion. The South African govern- ment refused.”’ Living under South African rule means living under apar- theid. Nuumbembe described apartheid as ‘‘the separation of people based on the color of their skin. This is in all aspects of your life — school, health facilities, where you live, transportation. You can’t share buses. There are separate buses for blacks, buses for whites, buses for ‘‘colored”’ people, The law is: no interaction. The penalty for blacks is usually a jail sentence, for whites a fine. ‘The effect apartheid has on Namibian blacks includes a 60 percent illiteracy rate. Most blacks work in manual labor. And with the contract labor system, men leave their homes to work in urban centers. My father would work away from home for as long as two years at a time. Growing up, I only knew my mother.” Nuumbembe came to Canada to study to become a teacher, sponsored . by the Common- wealth Secretariat. After she completes her studies she plans to return to help other Nami- bians living in settlements in Angola and Zambia. Her daughter remains in Zambia. ‘‘T will see her in three years. It was hard to come to Canada, but I’m studying to help other Namibian.” Her daughter is in a ‘“‘kindergarten’’ established by Namibian women in settlements to provide food, health care and ~ Harry Murphy Dr. of Optometry OPTOMETRISTS Paul Clark Dr. of Optometry in ai. ~ —_ Are pleased to announce the relocation of their office from 3212 Emerson St. to: 4550 Lakelse Ave., next to Wilkinson | Business Machines as of Feb. 1, 1988. Our new telephone number is: 638-2020 1/27,2/10,2/24,3/9 Where it’s at ... A quide to Terrace’s night life — the ‘who - where and ' when” for -eantertainment. FF onthiern MOTOR =INN= ; NT: LOW Beg-COtD eeew store Mar. 7 to Mar. 2 BARRY HANCOCK Dance to the Music of WAYNE MILLER & ROCKY TOP . every Sunday Night! education for children who have no parents or whose parents are abroad. Nuumbembe asked her listeners, as Canadians, and as women, to help in three ways: @ Boycott Shell Oil. operates in both Namibia and in South Africa, providing supplies for the armed forces. @ Write to Canadian leaders urging them to employ full economic sanctions against, ~ South Africa. ‘“The resistance to this idea is that some people ~ think it won’t help blacks. But through economic sanctions the South African government will be forced to come to the negotiating table. 1 disagree that bloodshed is the answer to break apartheid. I believe we can solve the problem through peaceful means like boycotts.” Assist the children in set- tlements by donating to SWAPO — the South West Af- rica Peoples’ Organization. (Frances Birdsell is the Terrace contact for information.) Terrace residents can also get involved in the recently revitaliz- ed chapter of Amnesty Interna- tional. A public meeting will be held March 26 at 1 p.m. in the library conference room. Erica Nuumbembe responded to questions, including what it feels like to live in Canada. “‘It is a completely different feeling. I am free to mix with anyone. | don’t have to fear someone because of the color of their ’ skin,” : Shell _ Erlca Nuumbembe, a 26-year-old Namibian woman who is studying fora — dagres In education in Nanaimo, was the quest speaker at an International Women’s Day gathering at the Terrace Hotel Saturday. Nuumbembe of- fered first-hand observations of life in South Africa for an audience of about 50 women. physician consider a therapeutic abortion. And finally, if the pa- tient is not a beneficiary of B.C.’s health insurance plan, the hospital will bill her $205 for day surgery. In explaining these decisions, Carelius said getting a second opinion is common for many surgical procedures, and that it helps ensure the patient is giving her written, informed consent to the procedure. He said the deci- sion to bill after the fact rather than demanding money in ad- vance was not following the Kamloops hospital decision. Rather, the Terrace hospital is Abortion — continued from page 1 following its established policy of billing afterwards for the few procedures that are not insured. Although the hospital billing would total $205, Carelius assumes the doctor and anesthe- tist will also bill the patient. ‘‘That’s the way it is in B.C. right now, although I expect to see court challenges,’”” he con- cluded. Mills Memorial performs about 50 abortions a year. Full funding through B.C.’s health insurance plan continues for those women whose fives are at risk. B.C. school reps mee TERRACE — Representatives from the B.C, Secondary School Liaison Committee will be visiting Caledonia Secondary School on March 16° to meet with students interested in post- secondary education. Each year representatives from the univer- ‘sities, colleges and institutes of TERRACE DINING ~ GUIDE B.C. offer a co-ordinated pro- gram of visitations to over 200 secondary schools in British Col- umbia. For more information on their visit, contact the counselling of- fice of Caledonia Senior Secon- dary (635-6531) or Northwest Community College (635-6211). Copper Grill at the © Terrace Hotel B Mon.-ttalian Night . - features International Dinners All you can eat for Pat | $4.99 tet ig, Chinese & Western Cuisine Thurs.-Indonesian Night Tues.-English Night Fri.-Oriental Night Wed.-Spanish Night Daily Luncheon & Dinner Buffet $6.75 Sunday Brunch $5.95 |. Sat.-Canada Day \ Polly’s Cafe. a Mon.—Thurs, 10:30 a.m. — midnight Fri. & Sat. 10:30 am, — 1 a.m. Sunday 12:00 a.m. — 10 p.m. 638-1848 0 638-8034 | Fine Dinin in in quiet . urroundiags! m Spm. — 10 p.m. . Wie 4620 Lakelse Avenue WEST 638-8141 The~ GOLDEN FLUE . 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