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| Bushman elder, CKGR, Botswana 2004
© 2004 Stephen Corry/Survival |
Colin Firth, star of the major new film 'Love Actually', has condemned the
Botswana government's eviction of the Gana and Gwi Bushmen from the Central
Kalahari Game Reserve.
Speaking at a London preview of the film this week, he said, 'There
is now what can only be described as an intimidation campaign to get the Bushmen
off their land – land which they have lived on for millennia. Their water supply
has been destroyed, and they've been shifted off to relocation camps where the
lives they've known are basically over.'
Colin Firth has been an active supporter of tribal peoples' rights for many
years. He says of the Bushmen, 'These people are not the remnants of a
past era who need to be brought up to date. Those who are able to continue to
live on the land that is rightfully theirs are facing the 21st century with a
confidence that many of us in the so-called developed world can only
envy.'
'Love Actually', tipped by UK newspaper 'The Sun' as 'the best Brit flick
ever', opens today. Colin Firth has previously starred in 'Bridget Jones's
Diary', 'The English Patient', and the BBC dramatisation of 'Pride and
Prejudice'.
For more information contact Miriam Ross on (+44) (0)20 7687 8734 or email mr@survival-international.org
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