|
Botswana’s Bushmen to return home |
|
|
|
Written by Staff Reporters
|
|
A group of Kalahari Bushmen were due to return to their land in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) this week, following their historic court victory on 13 December.
A number of Bushman families living in New Xade resettlement camp announced that they would return to the communities of Metsiamenong and Molapo in the CKGR.
“We have waited for this moment for so many years, and now we are finally going home!” said one of the group. “I will build some huts for my family, and teach my young children how to find food. My heart is full of joy, knowing that soon I will see my land again.”
Park guards mistakenly refused entry to a group of Bushmen attempting to return home at the end of 2006.
Botswana's High Court ruled in December that the Botswana government's eviction of the Bushmen was 'unlawful and unconstitutional', and that they have the right to live on their ancestral land inside the Central Kalahari Game Reserve.
The court also ruled that the Bushmen have the right to hunt and gather in the reserve, and should not have to apply for permits to enter it.
|
