Chasing the Witbooi's - Jobless in Namibia

In 2008 I helped out my lecturers by assisting them on field trips for the whole year for free, i volunteered so i could learn by teaching and passing on the little i know. Best decision i have ever made.

At this moment in time, I am one very content and deliriously happy young man. I could jump on a couch, scream I’m in love and just go berserk. But just look at how well that turned out for Tom Cruise, so I’m going to take a rain check on that. It wasn’t always like this though; I wasn’t always smiling from ear to ear. Before this moment there was heartache, there was struggle and there was frustration. Things went through a slump longer than Kim Kardashian’s marriage. This is the story of perseverance and patience, there is no romance in this story, but there is only reality.

I graduated in 2010 at the top of my geology class; I was the cream of the crop, la crème de la crème as the French say. So it was no surprise when I bagged a full scholarship for further studies in France. I was on a roll; even a strange land with a funny language could not dampen my enthusiasm. I threw myself at the task at hand and 16 months later I finished my master’s degree, I had no fewer than

three supervisors all expecting a miracle. I was awarded my Msc almost three weeks before my 25^th birthday. It was the culmination of seven years of sacrifice, dedication and hard work. The stuff blood, sweat and tears fairytales are made from. I had thought of staying in France and working there for a while, but I decided against it because Namibia is my home where my family and friends are (a decision I would later regret, sad but that is reality, no romance in this story).

Upon my arrival I tried my best to refrain myself from walking around with an entitlement syndrome, sure I had just attended the 5^th best University in France and passed all my modules in French. But I knew I had to slug it out with all the other graduates, I had just thought my qualifications and my big mouth would give me the edge. Boy was I wrong; all my degrees were useless in a market that requires juniors to have 3 – 5 years experience. It’s not like people are born with experience, we all have to start at the bottom and learn, in Namibia experience is like having a gold star on your grade 1 report.

So commenced the great search for a job, it started off well. A few calls to my friends and dropping a CV here and there and I had three interviews in the space of three weeks. The companies said good things about me, how I showed intellect, comfortable even when bombarded with questions, follow up interviews ensued. Optimism fuelled me, boy was I wrong again! All of the positive thinking was knocked out of me by a tidal wave of rejection letters, the phrase “we regret to inform you that your application has been unsuccessful” became an all too familiar occurrence. I looked overseas, but the companies did not want the extra cost of paying for work permits and visas in a global mining economy looking to cut costs. I was in a fight, the biggest of my life, nothing in my 7 years of school had prepared me for the lesson that life had started dishing up with venom.

Predictably the opportunities dried up, as the required years of experience went up. It had hit home, although I had a great theoretical back ground, my hands on experience was just not enough. It hit me that if I could not get a job with two years work experience and minimal industry exposure, then how the heck was a fresh graduate going to get a job? Better yet how bad was it to be in the shoes of someone with no qualifications at all? Someone seemingly doomed to never hold a permanent job. Then it dawned on me that I should have been more grateful, my situation was regrettable but someone somewhere had it worse, much worse.

I refused to panic with the dawn of 2012 came a chance to regroup and re strategize. That plan went up in smoke like a burning cigarette, the same phrase came to haunt me again “we regret to inform you that...”, even my Insomnia was flaring up again. Life had taught me a lesson and humbled me like never before, nothing brings you to reality than having to ask your mom for taxi money when you’re supposed to be independent and making your own money. But again I was lucky enough to even have someone to send me money. I took it on the chin, what don’t kill you only make you stronger right? I pulled all my resources and my friends came through again. My boy Gideon had a hook up with young consultants *cough..cough..Tenderpreneurs* who had struck gold on a GRN geochemical survey for the geological survey of Namibia. 

I had my first job, doing what I studied. Although things did not start well when my boss forgot to pick me up on the way to camp (imagine forgetting someone who works for you, still can’t believe it to this day) and left me with minimal training. The hours were long and managing a team full of egos that had no respect for a young geologist was a test that I was failing. It was perhaps the steepest learning curve, how to manage people so that they deliver results for you, a lesson I took to heart. It began slowly but my ability to learn fast helped and with a huge team effort we collected 2500 samples and covered an area stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to Karibib. I had chased zebras, wrestled springboks, ran away from snakes, climbed mountains that made grown men fart and seen some of the most beautiful places in Namibia.

The lesson was not over; working on a short contract with no fixed salary is no pumpkin pie. It is a lesson in how to grit your teeth and tighten your belt. It sucks to say you have a job but can’t even reach in your pocket to give your little sister 50 dollars for taxi, life humbled me again (life was squeezing me by the testicles). The most humbling was when I told my niece that she must ignore dumb things like smart phones and pass high school; go to varsity and good job that makes enough to by 3 smart phones. She looked at me, contorted her face and snarled at me while saying “Why should I go to University, you did that and you don’t even have a job”. Laugh, go ahead it’s okay, after I got over the stinging poignancy of her remarks; I had to agree that it was funny how a 7 year old could notice something like that. I promised myself that I would not settle for less than what I dreamed. So I silently stalked the company I wanted to work for so very badly and used my 5 months of what the mining and minerals exploration industry deems as experience. I dusted of my CV and sent it out again.

Although I had better bait, the big fish refused to bite. Until I saw an ad in the paper for a position that I had to apply for, my eyes lit up. I climbed a mountain to get good cell phone reception and applied online using my smart phone (they’re useful when you know how to use them properly). My friend Patrisia deserves a huge thank you because she kept my hopes up just at the crucial moment, she told it to me straight! That there was no use sulking and feeling sorry for myself before the biggest interview of my very short life, it was my chance, the chance I had waited 9 months for. A chance I had prayed for, a chance I had dreamed about, a chance that went beyond me wanting it, I needed it (I craved it like make up sex). It was the one time being over qualified and having a big mouth would be useful. True to my heritage as a descendent of beasts, I bossed that interview like Rick Ross eating a burger.

And after all the months of hustle and grind, the hard work had payed off. I was in! (I scream so hard, had not experienced joy like that in months), I had got my contract. I had my dream job, collecting rocks for the one of the big 5 mining companies in the world, with profits that could fund the budgets of half of SADC or possibly half of West Africa. My cousin Alex (Yaa’ll remember him from previous blogs right?) summed it up poetically in a few words when he said “it’s about damn time!”. So what am I saying? Are fairytales possible? Yes! Yes they are, it might sound stupid but glory belongs to those who believe in it and are willing to go deeper and further than the rest. If you want it then stop feeling sorry for yourself and pursue it no matter how long it takes, and under no circumstances be silly and expect life to be fair. Life is not fair, never has and never will. If it was fair then they would call it something else. Be humble at all times before life forces you to be, but most of all never stop believing in your dream, no one can take it from you as long as you believe in it. Like I said there is no romance in this story, just realism. Realism of the struggle that faces Namibians young and old (actually it’s a global struggle), an inspiring yet entertaining tale of being jobless in Namibia and chasing the witboois.

Note: My indulgent romance with joblessness is not a new phenomena, it’s a demon that faces many graduates across the world. But currently in Namibia, it’s really bad. There is a massive amount of young talent sitting at home, losing brain cells and slipping into mild shame induced depression. For a country of two million people with a lack of skills in the job market, it’s hideously shameful. Why send kids to school if there are no jobs for them, a question that tortures me to this day and eats at me every time I cross paths with a young graduate still without a job. 

Perhaps I have over exaggerated the effects unemployment had on me, but there is no denying the degrading and debilitating effect of waking up in the morning with no particular purpose, urging the day to go by faster than it did yesterday. Perhaps I painted too dramatic a picture, but there is no denying what effect it has on a person’s self worth and confidence to feel as though you are of no use to anyone. Perhaps I used one too many adjectives but there can be no denying the psychological effects of joblessness are far-reaching and can plunge an individual into the abuse of alcohol and drugs, and in turn increase the lure into lewd activities like gambling and stealing to pass time. Maybe I blew it out of proportion but it’s a story I had to tell and I told it in the only way I know how, not only for myself but for everyone out there trying their best to find a decent job and earn an honest living.

FYI: Hendrik Witbooi was a Nama captain and chief who led a revolt against the Germans in the war of national resistance from 1904-1908, his face adorns the Namibian 50, 100 and 200 dollar notes. This side of the third rock from the sun we don’t refer to Chasing Benjamin’s but instead we call it chasing the Witbooi’s.