A United States (US) expert in African studies has lambasted the government of Botswana for using its judicial instruments to violate the rights of indigenous people. The Basarwa tribe living in Central Kalahari Game reserve outside the capital Gaborone, have taken the government to court for what they say is forced removal from their ancestral land. Dr Kunnie of the University of Arizona says the rights of indigenous groups need to be respected. "This is a very important principle that we must recognise that the indigenous people like the San people are among the oldest people in the world. They are people from whom we need to take some cues," says Kunnie. He says the indigenous San people should be left alone by the Botswana government. [SABCnews.com]

The Basarwa (Baroa in Sesotho) deserve to live on their land, as did the native American, in the same way they have been living on it since the dawn of man. In effect, the Botswana government can only put forth weak-kneed arguments for adopting and enforcing a removal policy, as could the US government from 1930 on.

If my comparison is a low blow, it is the only tool in my arsenal to show some of my readers that yes, it’s happened before and that yes, it did happen in the United States of America. As a result, those readers and I start off on a clean slate and consider the naked facts, unclouded by any paedagogical intentions and/or holier-than-thou aspirations. 

I’m sure you’re wondering with me if Botswana is being blinded by the prospect of riches, for the land of Baroa is apparently equivalent to forcefully whispering the word, diamonds. The answer is, I don’t know. Mud is being slung from all sides, with the government insisting that it is taking action to precisely protect Baroa populations, and people like the present writer countering that it is probably to get richer.

In the past, new arrivals to somebody’s land — i.e. those who arrived because thanks to their technological superiority they could arrive — these always screwed the locals, and then, years and years later, well established and rich, they’ll usually screw newer arrivals. When compared to American history, the case of Botswana is still at the first phase: screwing the people whose land it legitimately is and was. And then soon it’ll be the turn of immigrants, people usually driven toward such a country by economic want. The excuse given for the abuse meted out to such immigrants is that they don’t adapt, they don’t fit in. Jeneane dismisses this second phase nicely: "Your ancestors weren’t the first ones here and no one saw their asses assimilating to the customs and language of the Cherokee [Source]." Touché.