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| Bushman children, CKGR, Botswana 2004
© 2004 Stephen Corry/Survival |
BOTSWANA: Reserve sealed off, Bushmen threatened at gunpoint
Wildlife guards have entered the Central Kalahari Game Reserve and are
threatening Bushmen at gunpoint in an attempt to force them to abandon
their homes.
As Botswana's crackdown on the Gana and Gwi Bushmen mounts, there are
fears that the government is intent on re-evicting the 200-250 Bushmen
still living on their land.
The government has banned all outsiders, including journalists, from
the Reserve, and is trying to stop the Bushmen inside having any way of
communicating with the outside world.
The government has announced that it has sealed off the Reserve because
a disease called sarcoptic mange has been found in the Bushmen's goats.
This discovery' came after an American zoologist called Dr Kathleen
Alexander, who is a former government employee, went into the Reserve
in July to inspect' the Bushmen's goats. A government spokesman said
the disease has a high fatality rate'.
But Dr James Wood, head of Cambridge University Veterinary School's
Infectious Diseases Consortium, said today, 'Sarcoptic mange does not
have a high fatality rate. It can be easily treated in domestic
animals, and there is little danger of wild animals catching it from
the Bushmen's goats. There is no reason to close a Game Reserve because
of its presence there.'
Thirty of those still living in the reserve resisted eviction
completely in 2002, while the rest returned to their homes after the
evictions despite government opposition. Hundreds more Bushmen wait in
resettlement camps, desperate to return.
Survival's director Stephen Corry said today, Botswana's reputation is
now linked inextricably with the fate of the Bushmen. As the country
destroys the Gana and Gwi Bushmen, it corrupts its own reputation – perhaps forever. I don't think people will want diamonds dug from the
Bushmen's grave as symbols of their love, and I don't think tourists
will be attracted to the country which destroyed the last hunting
Bushmen in the world. We will make sure that people know the
connections. There's more than reputation at stake now, Botswana's
government is destroying the country's only sources of wealth.'
Photos and footage available. For more information contact Miriam Ross
on (+44) (0)20 7687 8734 or Jonathan Mazower on 0796 339 2088, or email
mr@survival-international.org
