*** Following the publication of
Mama Namibia
in 2013, Paramount Chief Kuaima Riruako appointed Mari Serebrov as the Literary Laureate of the Herero Nation. ***
It's 1904, and Germany is waging a war of extermination against the Herero in South West Africa
so it can claim the Herero lands. After her family is killed in a German ambush, 12-year-old Jahohora struggles to survive as she wanders alone in the Omaheke Desert, hiding from the soldiers. Meanwhile, Kov, a Jewish doctor who volunteered his services to the Kaiser's army to prove his loyalty to the Fatherland, has that loyalty tested when he witnesses what is now recognized as the first genocide of the 20
th
century.
"
is based on the compelling true story of an innocent Herero girl whose life portrays the suffering, perseverance, and resilience of the Herero and Nama people as they faced their most daunting test - a genocide that proved to be the training grounds for the Holocaust."
- Kuaima Riruako, Paramount Chief, Ovaherero Traditional Authority, 2013