They are receiving awful treatment and being abused all in the name of tourism, wildlife, political conflicts and industry.
Essentially, the global demand for raw materials, agro-business and infrastructure projects are pushing these African indigenous peoples to their last boundaries
.
Also known as Bushmen, these people of the Kalahari desert in Botswana have for over 20 years been evicted from their lands to make way for tourism and mining activities. Since they are considered a threat to wildlife, many of them have been evicted from their homes, their water supply has been cut off and they have been restricted from hunting.
The Central Kalahari game park is now a no-go area for them even though they have lived on the desert for years, meanwhile, the site is hosting one of the largest diamond mines in the world. In 2006 the high court granted the Bushmen the right to return to their land, but as of 2016, the government was still enforcing a permit
system.
“I miss my home and the way we lived. Life was easy, there were lots of fruits, animals and there were no bars and no beer. Now we are lost,” says Goiotseone, a native. They have been to visit a number of times since they were evicted but are not allowed to stay there anymore.
Goiotseone also remembers the day they were forced to leave. “The police came, destroyed our homes and dumped us in the back of trucks with our belongings and brought us here. They dumped us here like we are nothing,” she tells the BBC.
