Hi JustPlainBill, cops are rarely seen, so that's a good sign. In Windhoek, I do see soldiers walking around, but usually just one or two together, and never in a threatening manner, like in Egypt. I see anti-corruption posters, so that's not a good sign, because it means corruption must be a big problem. In his account, Theroux pointed out that murders were less common in Windhoek than in Newark, a city of similar size, but there were "twice as many robberies and three times the number of burglaries"! Theroux also pointed out Namibia's high literacy rate, above 90%, so the public schools can't be too bad. At my guesthouse in Windhoek, there's an electric fence, and my Indian landlord once suffered a home invasion, without him being hurt, however. --Linh
Linh, is Namibia blessed with a government that is largely invisible? You never mention anything obvious, which probably means "yes"?
Great piece!
Hi JustPlainBill, cops are rarely seen, so that's a good sign. In Windhoek, I do see soldiers walking around, but usually just one or two together, and never in a threatening manner, like in Egypt. I see anti-corruption posters, so that's not a good sign, because it means corruption must be a big problem. In his account, Theroux pointed out that murders were less common in Windhoek than in Newark, a city of similar size, but there were "twice as many robberies and three times the number of burglaries"! Theroux also pointed out Namibia's high literacy rate, above 90%, so the public schools can't be too bad. At my guesthouse in Windhoek, there's an electric fence, and my Indian landlord once suffered a home invasion, without him being hurt, however. --Linh
Whatever Namibia's problems, my Indian landlord in Windhoek loves it enough to stay on, with plans for the future.