#12629. Defining and aiding “the Namibian refugee”: a history of the Chaplaincy to Namibians in Exile, 1974-76

October 2026publication date
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Journal’s subject area:
History;
Cultural Studies;
Anthropology;
Sociology and Political Science;
Demography;
Development;
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Abstract:
This article presents a history of the Chaplaincy to Namibians in Exile, focused on how the Chaplaincy’s first leader, Salatiel Ailonga, and his Finnish missionary wife, Anita Ailonga, defined and aided “the Namibian refugee.” The article discusses how Southern African liberation movements and host governments generally used the term “refugee,” before tracing the Ailongas’ particular intervention on behalf of displaced Namibians in mid-1970s Zambia and their entanglement with the South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO)’s internal politics during that period. By presenting this history, the article illuminates a pivotal moment in Namibia’s exile past, during which SWAPO officials established a more centralized and hierarchical aid regime. Also, the paper suggests the value of biography for pushing beyond nationalist discourse on struggle-era humanitarianism and for developing an historical perspective on what it means to be a refugee.
Keywords:
biography; church; exile; humanitarianism; Namibia; Refugees; solidarity; SWAPO; Zambia

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