Oranjemunder - Is there such a person?

[Michael Alexander]

I woke up this morning, sat on the edge of the bed listening to the birds chirping in the palm tree outside the window.... thought about how the town and the company would no longer be the same again..... those heydays of the being the world's richest diamond mine, a time when money was indeed no object for this town of mine....

I thought about how a lot of people have left the town over the last 365 days, how the mighty mining machine had been reduced to a shadow of it's former glory..... how all of us still staying behind, hope that some kind of miracle happens and this town will start to grow again...... but the more that one accepts the facts.,.... it is highly unlikely that is going to happen.... by the company's own admission... the diamonds are running out, the budgets are getting tighter...... and indirectly the this once shining oasis of a town starts to lose it's glamour......

Yet another pipe, along 7th avenue, caused havoc last week..... the words of Milo Pudar returning to my thoughts...... the town and it's infrastructure were only built to last 30 - 40 years...... the signs are all appearing.....

the majority of the "Oranjemunders" still living here, are not really Oranjemunders, they are rather employees ........ their families, and homes all scattered throughout Namibia.....
What about the few old timers that still hang on? Well, thinking about the ones that I know..... they all own houses on the "outside", their retirement homes..... every single one of them........ did they know that Oranjemund was not going to be forever?

As my brother Paul, wrote elsewhere on this forum..... the sole purpose of this town, was to service the diamond industry..... and that is exactly what it is doing..... well at least the remenants of that once mighty industry........

So in essence..... are we Oranjemunders.... or are we just passing through.....?

[Riaan Smit]

The town will end  up like any small town in Namibia. Bring out the candles! I will try to stay in Oranjemund.

[Andrew Darné]

Reminds me of Warren Weidemann's departing e-mail from his Oranjemund office... Unfortunatley I don't have it any longer but the line that stood out was.. the one really sh***y thing about Oranjemund is that you know that one day you have to leave here...

Doesn't that thought leave a lump in your throat...?

[georg ruf jr.]

Hey Mik!!! Do you want to make all of us start to cry??

[Michael Alexander]

It just seemed all so obvious yesterday......

there are very few roots here in Omund, everyone gets to leave..... where are the old pensioners...... where are the three generations in one town.... where is the family history..... we are just one large mining camp......

[Delia]

Yes there is, plenty of us.............those of us who were born there, grew up there & have our roots there will forever have the Namib desert sand running through our veins no matter where in the world we are making us forever regte egte ORANJEMUNDERS.

No dying of the town/mine can ever take that away from us, our childhood experiences and memories are ingrained in every cell and fibre of our being. No matter what happens to the outer shell, the core/essence will always remain unchanged as it truly is a part of who we are, who we've come to be.........Oranjemund shaped us.......we are and always will be ORANJEMUNDERS!

     

[Riaan Smit]

No one needs to leave ORMD. You can now rent a house to stay on in town. The only ones who leave is the ones who wants to. I think it is the cheaper option at the moment. Be positive.

[Michael Alexander]

Why does'nt DeBeers advertise the empty houses for rent in the National Newspapers? This would bring people (retirees) back to Oranjemund, and indirectly create a few jobs and put money back into the local economy......

[Mike Voden (RIP)]

Nowadays and for quite a few people, the roots that you talk about Mike are no longer valid as more and more people are on the move, living here or there for a few years, then moving on again to somewhere new.

Mike, I understand what you say in that Oranjemund is not a town where one can settle for life (although it looks as if that is now starting to change)  but just a stepping stone, therefore no roots can be grown is irrelevant. No matter where you come from you will always have an affinity with that place but being an Oranjemunder is rather special and only those that have lived there can understand that

Most if not all people that live or lived in Oranjemund call themselves Oranjemunders or ex- Oranjemunders and we are very proud to use that name. Delia is quite right in what she says and believe it or not Oranjemund does get into your system.

So yes Mike, as long as this town exists there will always be Oranjemunders.

[Michael Alexander]

We need pensioners here, that's missing.....

[Chris Macpherson]

There was an ad in the Cape Times yesterday "Parkhomes for sale in omund" contact Leon Louw.!!!!!!

[Mike Voden (RIP)]

Is that to assist with babysitting Mike...........????????

[Michael Alexander]

Nope , to make Cornish Pasties.....

@ Chris, Ja, I saw that ad in the weekend papers....

[Mike Voden (RIP)]

What happened to her Sausage Rolls..........????

By the way, how long is the grass around your swimming pool..........????????

[Michael Alexander]

it was cut just weekends ago.....