One Small Step for Botswana, One Giant Leap for Basarwa
Sometimes, all it takes is one seemingly small action to change the course of history. That one step, perhaps for Botswana, is President Boko's decision to allow the burying of Pitseng Gaoberekwe's body in his native homeland, the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR). This comes after years of court tussles over Gaoberekwe's final resting place. To say Basarwa have been persecuted in this country would not be making the statement solely for shock effect. It is, unfortunately, an ugly truth about a country which is considered the beacon of democracy and human rights in Africa and the world. From being kicked out of their ancestral homeland to make way for tourism, which they are yet to benefit from, to being discriminated solely based on their ethnicity, Basarwa have run the gauntlet in this country post-independence. It is again not a controversial statement to say that since post-independence Botswana, no other group has been treated as discriminately as Basarwa. Growing u...
