SURVIVAL INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELEASE
5 July 2004
A delegation of British MPs has just returned
from a visit to Botswana paid for and organised
by the government there. The Bushmen evicted from
their ancestral lands, whose situation they were
supposed to investigate, have denounced the visit
as 'controlled by the government.'
5 July 2004
A delegation of British MPs has just returned
from a visit to Botswana paid for and organised
by the government there. The Bushmen evicted from
their ancestral lands, whose situation they were
supposed to investigate, have denounced the visit
as 'controlled by the government.'
Most of the MPs spent just a few hours talking to
Bushmen in one of the relocation sites, and most
of those chosen to talk to them were appointed by
the government.
When other Bushmen tried to explain how they
wanted to return to their ancestral lands, they
were prevented from speaking. The MPs did not
attempt to visit the hundreds of Bushmen who have
returned to their lands inside the Central
Kalahari Game Reserve.
Not all the MPs, however, were taken in. Dianne
Abbott told the Sunday Telegraph that the
relocation centres were 'more like refugee camps
than communitiesŠ I am quite convinced that they
were moved against their will.'
The visit was organised by the huge PR company,
Hill & Knowlton, which has been contracted by the
Botswana government and De Beers to counter the
Bushmen's campaign for their land rights. It is
one of many visits, all similarly stage managed,
led by Nigel Jones MP. Hill and Knowlton have set
up and administer a new all-party group on
Botswana which is chaired by Mr Jones. The trips
are paid for by Botswana's diamond revenue,
controlled by De Beers, and include luxury
safaris.
Nigel Jones told the BBC last week that they only
saw 'one or two people who were not happy'. When
the reporter put it that the Bushmen themselves
were reporting 'huge social dislocation', he
replied, 'Well, we didn't see any of that,' and
went on, 'the government has been pretty
generous.' Mr Jones has previously accused those
supporting the Bushmen's right to return to their
lands as 'prefer[ring] Basarwa women to die in
childbirth in the bush' and 'people to die from
curable diseases'. (The Bushmen are called
'Basarwa' in Botswana, a derogatory term.)
Botswana's President Mogae visited the same
settlement only two weeks ago and handed out food
and blankets to the Bushmen, telling them not to
try to return to their lands, in spite of the
fact that they are now taking the government to
court for the right to go back - the case starts
this week.
The Gana and Gwi Bushmen lived largely by
independent hunting and gathering until the
evictions. They are now destitute and dependent
on government hand-outs. They call the government
sites 'places of death', saying there is nothing
to do there except get drunk. They are arrested
if they try and hunt. Prostitution is becoming
common.
The Bushmen are the indigenous inhabitants of all
of southern Africa and, it is thought, have lived
there for at least 40,000 years.
Stephen Corry, director of Survival, said today,
'For the Oxford-educated president to hand out
blankets to the Bushmen and tell them not to try
and return to their land is like the British
'buying' the land of Canadian Indians for 700
blankets in 1850. British MPs were complicit in
that deal, and now some are doing the same thing
in the Kalahari. Both episodes bring shame on
Britain. Have we learned nothing from history?'
For more information contact Miriam Ross on (+44)
(0)20 7687 8734 or email
mr@survival-international.org.
--
Survival International is a worldwide organisation supporting tribal
peoples. It stands for their right to decide their own future and
helps them protect their lives, lands and human rights.
Survival International
6 Charterhouse Buildings
London EC1M 7ET
UK
Tel: (+44) (0)20 7687 8700
Fax: (+44) (0)20 7687 8701
General enquiries: info@survival-international.org
http://www.survival-international.org
Bushmen in one of the relocation sites, and most
of those chosen to talk to them were appointed by
the government.
When other Bushmen tried to explain how they
wanted to return to their ancestral lands, they
were prevented from speaking. The MPs did not
attempt to visit the hundreds of Bushmen who have
returned to their lands inside the Central
Kalahari Game Reserve.
Not all the MPs, however, were taken in. Dianne
Abbott told the Sunday Telegraph that the
relocation centres were 'more like refugee camps
than communitiesŠ I am quite convinced that they
were moved against their will.'
The visit was organised by the huge PR company,
Hill & Knowlton, which has been contracted by the
Botswana government and De Beers to counter the
Bushmen's campaign for their land rights. It is
one of many visits, all similarly stage managed,
led by Nigel Jones MP. Hill and Knowlton have set
up and administer a new all-party group on
Botswana which is chaired by Mr Jones. The trips
are paid for by Botswana's diamond revenue,
controlled by De Beers, and include luxury
safaris.
Nigel Jones told the BBC last week that they only
saw 'one or two people who were not happy'. When
the reporter put it that the Bushmen themselves
were reporting 'huge social dislocation', he
replied, 'Well, we didn't see any of that,' and
went on, 'the government has been pretty
generous.' Mr Jones has previously accused those
supporting the Bushmen's right to return to their
lands as 'prefer[ring] Basarwa women to die in
childbirth in the bush' and 'people to die from
curable diseases'. (The Bushmen are called
'Basarwa' in Botswana, a derogatory term.)
Botswana's President Mogae visited the same
settlement only two weeks ago and handed out food
and blankets to the Bushmen, telling them not to
try to return to their lands, in spite of the
fact that they are now taking the government to
court for the right to go back - the case starts
this week.
The Gana and Gwi Bushmen lived largely by
independent hunting and gathering until the
evictions. They are now destitute and dependent
on government hand-outs. They call the government
sites 'places of death', saying there is nothing
to do there except get drunk. They are arrested
if they try and hunt. Prostitution is becoming
common.
The Bushmen are the indigenous inhabitants of all
of southern Africa and, it is thought, have lived
there for at least 40,000 years.
Stephen Corry, director of Survival, said today,
'For the Oxford-educated president to hand out
blankets to the Bushmen and tell them not to try
and return to their land is like the British
'buying' the land of Canadian Indians for 700
blankets in 1850. British MPs were complicit in
that deal, and now some are doing the same thing
in the Kalahari. Both episodes bring shame on
Britain. Have we learned nothing from history?'
For more information contact Miriam Ross on (+44)
(0)20 7687 8734 or email
mr@survival-international.org. --
Survival International is a worldwide organisation supporting tribal
peoples. It stands for their right to decide their own future and
helps them protect their lives, lands and human rights.
Survival International
6 Charterhouse Buildings
London EC1M 7ET
UK
Tel: (+44) (0)20 7687 8700
Fax: (+44) (0)20 7687 8701
General enquiries:
info@survival-international.org http://www.survival-international.org 
