So, Namibia’s most successful athlete, one Harry “The Terminator” Simon, is ostensibly “blaming” the ruling party for his misfortunes. For starters, let us rephrase the wording Swapo to Namibians.
There is an urgent need to interrogate why a man who once carried piles of banknotes (hard cash) in the boot of his luxury German manufactured Mercedes Benz, boastfully displaying his financial status in a documentary with an international television network Supersport, has gone the wrong way.
It’s needless to note that Harry was once upon a time the most sought after professional boxer in the Middleweight division and made a damn decent fortune from his few bouts to live on for the rest of his life had he kept his feet firmly on the ground.
Money is the evil of many societies, it makes people adopt nasty attitudes of entitlement, develop an element of arrogance, flamboyance while paying very little regard, if any, to fellow human beings. That’s the brutal truth and just some of the lessons we learned from our mistakes in life. This is a man who was much adored and worshipped by many Namibians including those in the top echelons of our society. He dined and guzzled expensive wines with the who’s who in high circles.
Harry made us proud, united people from all walks of life and made us feel honoured to be Namibians,
the author vividly remembers during my time at the Namibia Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) that despite the high costs of broadcasting rights, it was made crystal clear that his fights be aired live on the national television, irrespective of the skeleton budget.
Anyway, it was chicken feed to solicit sponsorships for his international world title bouts since potential broadcast funders were lining en masse up to be associated with the serial winner.
Harry was one hell of an athlete who instilled confidence in the nation, I for one never doubted his ability and was always at ease whenever he climbed into the boxing ring to confront his more celebrated opponents, let alone far away from home. His record speaks volumes.
Harry Simon can be spoken of in the same breath of the greatest leather traders in world boxing. He will go down in history as the greatest athlete Namibia has ever produced, alongside the legendary Frank Fredericks, Jan Ellis and Hermann “Pele” Blaschke.
Given his immerse god-given talent, Harry could have gone very far and remained unbeaten had he not suffered that career-ending multiple injuries in the horrific car accident. Nonetheless, he remains an icon having put Namibia on the World map. As it stands, no other boxer or athlete comes anywhere near his accomplishments.
For that matter, the entire Namibian nation owes Harry big time in this hour of need. Let me quickly borrow a phrase from the great philosopher Dr Martin Luther King jr.......”The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where he stands at times of challenges and controversy”.
It’s a shame to witness one of our greatest sons of the soil turning into a pauper whilst those who once admire and adored his boxing exploits in the ring are now silently seating on the fence...that’s very un-cool and un-African, to say the least.
Whether he recklessly squandered his fortunes through ignorance or rather lack of foresight, he made Namibians happy... let us man up and reciprocate his good deeds by establishing a fund that would assist the brother in his quest to live his dream. I rest my case.