It is important to note that atrocities that Basarwa are subjected to by the government of Botswana, which continue unabated, warrant international attention. Most importantly, there is an urgent need for punishment of perpetrators of heinous crimes against them, which will ensure that Basarwa benefit from the international justice system. To note the words of Kingsley Chedu Moghalu in the book entitled, ‘Global Justice’, the popular fixation with the idea of justice actually springs from a certain duality of human nature. There is a strong instinct towards injustice because unjust acts frequently procure some temporary advantage for the person who is unjust.
But the evil that the victim(s) of injustice suffers far outweighs the benefits injustice confers on the person who commits it, and the instinct to be unjust has to come to be checked by law and by moral precepts. It has to be averred that the international human rights organizations have allowed the perpetrators of heinous crimes against Basarwa to benefit from their injustice.
The Government of Botswana has meted out egregious violation of Human Rights against Basarwa, who are members of the indigenous ethnic minority. Part of the travesty of justice orchestrated against Basarwa is characterized by the following: negative schooling experience, if any, no or modest income, no work occupation for the unskilled Basarwa and no participation in the formulation of legislations that legitimize their oppression by the wanton regime.
Basarwa are an indigenous and disempowered ethnic group that is believed to have inhabited Botswana before the arrival of the foremothers/fathers of the current crop of their oppressors. Despite the notably rich identity of being the first inhabitants, the government of Botswana, which is made up of members of the dominant tribes, has calculatedly and strategically meted gruesome atrocities against them, such as their forcible removals from CKGR and Ranyane recently. It later emerged that this scandalous act of encroachment was executed to benefit a certain cartel that connives with foreign forces against the citizenry to amass wealth.
The archival evidence abounds to demonstrate that Bangwato have always persecuted Basarwa, and for them to be still arrogantly exhibiting their unjustifiable animosity against them in the 21st century, cannot be tolerated. At some point a statement was made by a Mongwato senior government minister labeling Survival International a racist organization, which is oxymoronic and misguided. It clearly shows how limited in judgment regimes that were ideologically behind apartheid are.
Racists do not support any race that they do not identify with. Therefore, for the honourable minister to suggest that a British international organization is racist because it is protecting Basarwa against a Bangwato led Government, is incongruous and embarrassing. The only way the claim of racism against Survival International can be valid is if Basarwa and the British were of the same race.
The government of Botswana evicted Basarwa from Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) against their will and local elitist Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) sang their usual melodramatic speeches that are full of pathos, pretending to be opposed to the idea. The evictions were conducted in the most dehumanizing conduct, meant to dissipate the families of Basarwa and disrupt their hitherto tranquil lives. During their evictions they is usually no regard for their matrimonial relationships, which result in the family members getting speedily led to different destinations.
It is also important to note that Basarwa were never educated about HIV/AIDS even before they were forcibly evicted from the land that is part of their identity. The Bangwato led government knew that in tearing the families asunder, Basarwa will not escape HIV infections, owing to the obtrusion of phallocentric cultures on the Basarwa population by the dominant. It is absurd for anyone holding political office to pretend not to know that the dominant cultures in Botswana are defined by sexual profligacy and hedonism, which placed displaced Basarwa at much risk. They are molested and sexually abused, according to a study conducted by the author of this conducted in 2005 in Ghanzi District.
Though no investigations have been necessitated by any entity to establish the enormity of crimes committed by the government of Botswana against Basarwa, it is obvious that the forcible removal or evictions of Basarwa resultantly heightened their mortality rate due to AIDS related infections. The unscrupulous elements within the government of Botswana will certainly be happy if Basarwa were to be extinct, which will present them with opportunities for investments in the land that rightfully belong to Basarwa.
The fib that Basarwa are habitual poachers who cannot manage their resources in a sustainable manner is impertinent; an obscene effrontery by individuals bolted by the flatulence of ill-gotten wealth generated through the sale of game meat in chain shops. The apartheid oriented Botswana government continues to preside over discriminatory pieces of legislations, which deny the impoverished section of the population hunting of wild animals just because they do not have farms. For instance, a certain section of the population and foreigners are allowed to uncontrollably kill wild animals in large quantities for their butcheries.
It is significant for Basarwa to approach the international organizations such as the United Nations for assistance. This will allow for an investigation to determine the political, social, economic and environmental impact that their evictions presented to them. The investigation will strengthen their demand for compensation from the government of Botswana for the sufferings resulting from the evictions and persecutions by the state apparatus. It will also provide some evidence that will be useful in getting the perpetrators of the sadistic crimes against Basarwa to face the wrath of the international law. As noted by Ilan Pappe in his book entitled, ‘The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine’, our modern communication-driven world, especially since the upsurge of electronic media, no longer allows human made catastrophes to remain hidden from the public eye or to be denied. This is the reality that Bangwato led Botswana government should know.
Basarwa continue to suffer injustices not because most of us do not know, but because as Gilbert K. Chesterton pointed out, “Men feel that cruelty to the poor is a kind of cruelty to animals. They never feel that it is an injustice to equals; nay it is treachery to comrades”. We definitely need international intervention as we cannot turn a blind eye to atrocities against the disempowered in our mist.
