Consequences.

I lived in Botswana for a little while a few years ago, and I had the pleasure of getting to know two Bushmen, both named Dabe (Da-bee).  They guided me through the bush on nature walks, astounded me with their knowledge of every kind of plant and its uses, taught me how to shoot a bow and arrow, and entertained me with the clicks and clacks of their native tongue. 

The Botswana government does little to protect the land and culture of the Bushmen, and it has outlawed many of their subsistence strategies.  They have been marginalized as outsiders yet forced to turn to the surrounding political economy for sustenance.  As a result, they have been exposed to Western culture, and this is changing them in fundamental ways.  I can remember having teary discussions with the Dabes about feeling displaced, having no roots, and losing their cultural identity.

I came upon this article this morning in the New York Times, and I wanted to share with the you the danger and injustice of uprooting people, displacing them, and forcing them to adapt to non-sustainable lifestyles whereby they are dependent on the state.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/05/world/africa/05bushmen.html?_r=1&hp

 It is devastating what is happening to these people.  I think one man sums it up well when he says, "The government says we are bad for the animals, but I was born here, and the animals were born here, and we have lived together very well." 

Dabe's son, playing with the water tap. 

Ironic.