G/wi
Endangered Species and the San
Last Thursday, the government of the UK hosted an international conference on the illegal trade of wildlife, but protesters greeted delegates with placards stating “Botswana: Bushmen hunters are not poachers.” In May last year, according to the conference website, His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales, along with several African leaders developed the idea for […]
G/wi are Being “Treated Like Dogs”
Last week the BBC published a moving story about living conditions in New Xade, a resettlement camp to which the G/wi were relocated by the government of Botswana. They were forced by government agents 16 years ago to load their belongings and themselves onto the backs of trucks, which took them to their new village. […]
Travel Boycott to Botswana
When a court appeal by the G/wi for unfettered access to their lands was denied in September, Survival International pledged to mount an international campaign for justice. The government of Botswana has sought to prevent the San people from hunting, from having access to water, and from living on their traditional lands. It hassles people […]
G/wi Lose Court Appeal
On Friday the 13th, Botswana’s High Court rejected an attempt by the G/wi and some other San people to regain unrestricted access to their traditional lands in the Kalahari Desert. In the 1990s, the government of Botswana started forcibly removing the San from their homes in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) and relocating them […]
Botswana Bars San Attorney
The G/wi and the other San peoples are once again heading into court to appeal repression, but this time the government of Botswana is exerting its authority. It has barred their English lawyer from entering the country. News stories in Africa last week and abroad have criticized the most recent action. The government of Botswana […]
G/wi File Another Court Suit
The Voice of America news service reported last week that the San groups in Botswana, including the G/wi, have filed a court suit against the government for continuing to deny them access to their lands. Survival International (SI), an indigenous rights organization based in London, is aiding the San peoples in their struggle. Despite the […]
Botswana Hassles the G/wi—and Offers Job Training
Alarming news about the brutal ways Botswana has been treating the G/wi and the other San peoples of the Kalahari sometimes seems to never end. One story last week indicated that government repressions have increased, but another report was much more positive. The good news first. The positive report was that the Botswana Police Service […]
New Threat to the San
President Ian Khama of Botswana announced last week that as of 2014 his government will no longer issue any hunting licenses. Some observers suspect that this is the latest government attack on the G/wi and the other minority San peoples of the Kalahari desert. The government responds that the measure is designed to protect the […]
Botswana Again Persecutes the San
The Botswana police forces are once again harassing the San in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR), despite the fact that they have the legal right to live there. The San societies in the CKGR include the peaceful G/wi. Survival International reported last week that the Botswana police established a permanent camp close to the […]
G/wi React to Desert Life
Some of the G/wi who have returned to the Central Kalahari Game Reserve have mixed feelings about conditions in the bush, though they don’t miss the alcohol and violence of the resettlement communities they left behind to return to the desert. The residents of Molapo appreciate the quiet in the CKGR. According to Rebecca, who […]
