We’ve been covering the story of the Kalahari Bushmen and their struggle for survival and fair treatment on their own land pretty regularly here on Planetsave. Recent information released from Wikileaks shows that the US embassy was appalled by and condemned eviction of the Kalahari Bushmen from their land in Botswana.
The US Ambassador to Botswana strongly condemned the government’s forced eviction of the Kalahari Bushmen, according to secret US embassy cables released today.
Ambassador Joseph Huggins told his bosses in Washington in 2005 that the Bushmen had been ‘dumped in economically absolutely unviable situations without forethought, and without follow-up support. The lack of imagination displayed… is breathtaking.’
He concluded by saying, ‘The special tragedy of New Xade’s dependent population [i.e. the Bushmen in the relocation camp] is that it could have been avoided.’
Read the full story from Survival International here: Wikileaks: US embassy condemned eviction of Kalahari Bushmen
Related Stories:
1. Boycott Botswana Diamonds & Help Kalahari Bushmen in Other Ways
2. Bushmen of the Kalahari, Botswana: Societal Evolution and Struggles
Photo Credit: Petr Kosina via flickr (CC license)
