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| Buhsman children, South Africa
© Mark Håkansson/Survival |
The latest victim of the Botswana government's eviction of the Gana and Gwi Bushmen
died last week in the Central Kalahari. Qoroxloo Duxee is thought to
have starved to death after wildlife scouts blockaded the reserve and
stopped the Bushmen gathering food.
Qoroxloo Duxee told the BBC in June, When I was young the men hunted
and we got our water from the roots of plants. We lived well and people
only died of old age.'
She died near the community of Metsiamenong, where Bushmen continue to
resist efforts to force them out. The Bushman organisation First People
of the Kalahari (FPK) said in a press release on Monday, FPK suspects
that she died of hunger and thirst as wildlife scouts would not let her
gather food, or that the scouts killed her.'
Bushmen evicted from the reserve in recent weeks say that wildlife
scouts threatened to kill them if they tried to hunt or gather food.
Police fired teargas and bullets at Bushmen who tried to take food and
water into the reserve in September, and then arrested them.
Diagnosed cases of HIV/AIDS in New Xade resettlement camp rose
five-fold between 2001 and 2004. The local nurse believes that the true
number of people affected is much higher than those diagnosed. Two
Bushmen have died since the evictions began following torture by
wildlife scouts, while many more have died of unknown causes in the
resettlement camps.
Survival's director Stephen Corry said today, The shocking tide of
death and disease among the Bushmen is no surprise. Depriving tribal
peoples of their land has always been disastrous for their health – just look at the Innu in Canada, who have the highest suicide rate in
the world as well as widespread solvent abuse and diabetes. Few
governments today would, however, contemplate the Botswana government's
practice of actually starving the Bushmen off their land.'
For further information, please contact Miriam Ross on +44 20 7687 8734 or email mr@survival-international.org
