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| Bushman women, Namibia
© Mark Håkansson/Survival |
Around three dozen Bushmen
have been surviving on little other than melons and water since
September at the community of Metsiamenong in the Central Kalahari Game
Reserve, Botswana. The community, which includes around fifteen
children, are refusing to leave their ancestral land in the face of
threats and intimidation from armed guards.
In an attempt to force the Bushmen to leave the reserve, the Botswana
government has prohibited them from hunting and gathering and their
livestock have been removed, leaving them to subsist on starvation
rations.
The whole game reserve has been sealed off for more than four months.
Already one woman has died of starvation and dehydration. Recent rains
have made things easier for those who remain, but their food supplies
are critically short.
A group of Bushmen living outside the reserve were recently allowed to
return home briefly for a funeral. They reported that people in the
reserve were scared and hungry, but determined to remain on their land.
