Namibia grapples with legacy of genocide on Shark Island

A non-profit research agency believes it has located sites of unmarked graves of prisoners

Photo collage of early 20th century German soldiers and sharks over the background of the shape of Shark Island, and a photo of the coastline of Namibia.
(Image credit: Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images)

Namibia is being urged to pause its plans to extend a port on Shark Island, a key site in its genocide and the likely location of human remains. 

When the southwest African nation was under German colonial rule, nearly 100,000 indigenous people were killed or died during what is widely recognised as one of the 20th century's first genocides. Between 1905 and 1907, the German empire used Shark Island as a "concentration camp", said The Guardian

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Harriet Marsden is a writer for The Week, mostly covering UK and global news and politics. Before joining the site, she was a freelance journalist for seven years, specialising in social affairs, gender equality and culture. She worked for The Guardian, The Times and The Independent, and regularly contributed articles to The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, The New Statesman, Tortoise Media and Metro, as well as appearing on BBC Radio London, Times Radio and “Woman’s Hour”. She has a master’s in international journalism from City University, London, and was awarded the "journalist-at-large" fellowship by the Local Trust charity in 2021.