Tuesday, January 11, 2011
A Matter of Fairness
The San, problematically referred to as "Bushmen" of the Kalahari, like peoples in lands which various African governments consider to be reserves, have been fighting a running battle with the government of Botswana for a while now. The government has been forcing them to leave the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. However, some have been resisting the government's demand, insisting that they cannot abandon their ancestral land. The government, in turn, has refused to provide social amenities to those who remain in the Reserve. A question that arises is whether a government has the right to remove an indigenous people from their ancestral land for the purpose of turning the land into a reserve. Whose interest does it serve to remove these people from their ancestral land? In other words, does removing the people from the reserve benefit the people in question more than any other stakeholder?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
The government seems to be doing what they do best, and that is looking out for themselves. Needs and tradition of the San is of no money value to them, so therefor they decide to take the option of kicking the people out of their ancestral land so that they can benefit monetarily. Which leans more to the side of "unfair," if you ask me.
I don't think it is fair at all that the government ask the San to their their land. It is the place of their ancestors and if they choose to remain they should not be punished by the government withholding certain social amenities. There is other land that the government could use for a reserve, they do not need to kick out the people who have lived there for a very long time. -SS
Post a Comment