The torture of Gaseitsiwe Gaorapelwe
The Bushman Gaseitsiwe Gaorapelwe told a Survival researcher in 2001
about being tortured by wildlife scouts in August 2000 for hunting.
Because the audio quality of the recording is very poor (with at times
a great deal of wind noise) an abridged transcript is provided below.
Mr Gaorapelwe was evicted twice from his home in the Central Kalahari
Game Reserve, and died in the relocation camp in 2006.
27 mins.
"When the wildlife officer came he asked for my licence. I brought it and gave it to one of them. He went into my hut and searched it and then he called me in. I asked why and tried to resist. Two wildlife people dragged me into the hut. They dragged me in because they found three bundles of gemsbok [antelope] meat made into biltong [dried] and six fly whisks which I got from people hunting gemsbok. I tried to tell them that I had bought them in order to use them.
"Then they told me to open another hut. I said, 'It's nothing to do with me. Why should I open this second one?' Suddenly one of them knocked me down and four of them carried me by the arms and legs and threw me into the second hut. In this hut I had drums full of beans from the harvest. I fainted and while I was lying down they overturned the drum with the beans looking for more meat. Then they dragged me to the third hut. Three men were holding me and the fourth was kicking me on the way to the third hut. They threw me in and after finding nothing dragged me to the fourth hut. I was fainting, not knowing what was happening.
"After failing to get meat from the fourth hut they took me to a vehicle and took off their (epaulette) strips and tied my hands behind my back and threw me into the Land Rover. While I was lying down one of them jumped on my back wearing boots. My daughter was crying and crying, thinking I was being killed. She had a 10 month old baby, and the wildlife people threw them both onto the ground. My trouser leg was torn and I had nothing to cover me, no underwear, so it looked like a skirt in front of my children.
"My wife was crying as well because she saw me extra naked in front of the children. She was pushed and dragged by the feet so she looked naked too. One of the wildlife people got into the vehicle, got a rifle and pointed it at me. My mother was crying so they pushed her and slapped her when she stood up and pushed her down again. My uncle ran to get a rifle because he was afraid that the wildlife people were fiddling with the rifle and he was asking them if you've found a lion that you're going to shoot with the rifle, so they dragged my uncle to the Land Rover.
"My younger brother and his girlfriend were ashamed to see me naked and ran into the hut to get some new trousers. From there the wildlife people took us to where we camped for six days, near Molapo. They made us collect firewood and clean the area where we were going to sleep. They told us to line up naked in front of the Land Rovers. We were tied upside down and handcuffed to the Land Rovers with our feet tied to the bushbars until 10.00 pm.
"For the first two days we slept tied up to the bush bars. On the third day we were released and slept in a tent. I felt very bad and I was looking for people who could help me. The government was showing me the end of my life. Who will look after my children? What the government does shows very well that she is killing me. I was very ill that day - my arms were swollen and my whole body seriously ill. I was unable to eat. They gave meat to people but my throat was damaged so I could only drink water. They showed us water containers so we could drink.
"I don't know about the new hunting regulations because nobody from wildlife has explained them to me. Hunting is very important because our forefathers filled us with meat. They had no money and were not wealthy and couldn't buy food. The only food was meat. The special hunting licences were made without consulting us. We thought the government was doing the right thing because we were told what to kill and how much. Now it's turned the other way round because the licences are like traps. We thought the licences were well done but now we have been trapped and it is difficult to give meat to our children. I can't give them meat to sell for money. We can't give meat to our children outside CKGR.
"I think it's important for Survival to tell all because the government has been ill treating us. If what is happening to us is heard outside this will be shameful to the government. They will feel ashamed and give us air to breath for a while. This land belongs to our great great grandparents. The game and wild fruits are important to us. We grow food like melons, maize, sorgum on this land and we hunt animals like gemsbok. This land used to be important to us."
Watch »
27 mins.
"When the wildlife officer came he asked for my licence. I brought it and gave it to one of them. He went into my hut and searched it and then he called me in. I asked why and tried to resist. Two wildlife people dragged me into the hut. They dragged me in because they found three bundles of gemsbok [antelope] meat made into biltong [dried] and six fly whisks which I got from people hunting gemsbok. I tried to tell them that I had bought them in order to use them.
"Then they told me to open another hut. I said, 'It's nothing to do with me. Why should I open this second one?' Suddenly one of them knocked me down and four of them carried me by the arms and legs and threw me into the second hut. In this hut I had drums full of beans from the harvest. I fainted and while I was lying down they overturned the drum with the beans looking for more meat. Then they dragged me to the third hut. Three men were holding me and the fourth was kicking me on the way to the third hut. They threw me in and after finding nothing dragged me to the fourth hut. I was fainting, not knowing what was happening.
"After failing to get meat from the fourth hut they took me to a vehicle and took off their (epaulette) strips and tied my hands behind my back and threw me into the Land Rover. While I was lying down one of them jumped on my back wearing boots. My daughter was crying and crying, thinking I was being killed. She had a 10 month old baby, and the wildlife people threw them both onto the ground. My trouser leg was torn and I had nothing to cover me, no underwear, so it looked like a skirt in front of my children.
"My wife was crying as well because she saw me extra naked in front of the children. She was pushed and dragged by the feet so she looked naked too. One of the wildlife people got into the vehicle, got a rifle and pointed it at me. My mother was crying so they pushed her and slapped her when she stood up and pushed her down again. My uncle ran to get a rifle because he was afraid that the wildlife people were fiddling with the rifle and he was asking them if you've found a lion that you're going to shoot with the rifle, so they dragged my uncle to the Land Rover.
"My younger brother and his girlfriend were ashamed to see me naked and ran into the hut to get some new trousers. From there the wildlife people took us to where we camped for six days, near Molapo. They made us collect firewood and clean the area where we were going to sleep. They told us to line up naked in front of the Land Rovers. We were tied upside down and handcuffed to the Land Rovers with our feet tied to the bushbars until 10.00 pm.
"For the first two days we slept tied up to the bush bars. On the third day we were released and slept in a tent. I felt very bad and I was looking for people who could help me. The government was showing me the end of my life. Who will look after my children? What the government does shows very well that she is killing me. I was very ill that day - my arms were swollen and my whole body seriously ill. I was unable to eat. They gave meat to people but my throat was damaged so I could only drink water. They showed us water containers so we could drink.
"I don't know about the new hunting regulations because nobody from wildlife has explained them to me. Hunting is very important because our forefathers filled us with meat. They had no money and were not wealthy and couldn't buy food. The only food was meat. The special hunting licences were made without consulting us. We thought the government was doing the right thing because we were told what to kill and how much. Now it's turned the other way round because the licences are like traps. We thought the licences were well done but now we have been trapped and it is difficult to give meat to our children. I can't give them meat to sell for money. We can't give meat to our children outside CKGR.
"I think it's important for Survival to tell all because the government has been ill treating us. If what is happening to us is heard outside this will be shameful to the government. They will feel ashamed and give us air to breath for a while. This land belongs to our great great grandparents. The game and wild fruits are important to us. We grow food like melons, maize, sorgum on this land and we hunt animals like gemsbok. This land used to be important to us."
Watch »
