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| Bushman child, Botswana
© Fiona Watson/Survival |
DE BEERS CELEBRITY STORE OPENING LOSES ITS SPARKLE – BUSHMEN URGE AMERICANS TO BOYCOTT DE BEERS
Celebrities will this Wednesday 22 June (5.30-9pm) be urged by
protesters from human rights organisation Survival International not to
cross their picket line at the opening of the first De Beers store in
the USA (703 Fifth Avenue, New York), over the eviction of the Bushmen
from the Kalahari. Leading American feminist Gloria Steinem will be
joining the vigil. Survival has also called for a boycott of De Beers.
De Beers has been caught in a storm of controversy over the eviction of
the last remaining Gana and Gwi Bushmen and Bakgalagadi from their
homes in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana. De Beers
holds the concession on a large diamond deposit in the reserve, and is
prospecting for more. De Beers claims its finds are 'subeconomic', but
it has paid out millions of dollars on the area and keeps a licence to
mine there in the future.
The Botswana government and De Beers both deny that diamonds have
anything to do with the evictions. Yet Bushmen have been told by
government officials, 'If diamonds are found somewhere, the people have
to be chased away.'
Supermodel Iman famously 'quit as the face of De Beers … after
letters she received from the charity Survival International.' British
supermodel Erin O'Connor similarly distanced herself from De Beers
stating 'I don't think that doing a job like (being the face of De
Beers) would in any way add to my life or make me happy. I would make
that stand, and say no.' Survival is now urging the new face of De
Beers, British model Lily Cole, to quit.
Stephen Corry, Director of Survival said today, 'We encourage De Beers
to pressurise the Botswana government into reversing its disastrous
policy. We will not stop our campaign until the Bushmen are allowed
back onto their land.'
For more information about the role of diamonds in the eviction of the Kalahari Bushmen, go to: http://www.survival-international.org/related_material.php?id=14
For more information about Survival's Bushmen campaign, go to: http://www.survival-international.org/tribes.php?tribe_id=11
Contact Miriam Ross on 001-917 294 2637, Ghislain Pascal +44 (0)7778 788735, or Jo Woodman on +44 (0)20 7687 8732/ jw@survival-international.org
