This week the government of Botswana denied that there were any connections between what it termed the “relocation exercise” of Bushmen from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve and diamond exploration in the Reserve. Officials claimed that Basarwa communities were resettled outside of the Reserve boundaries in order to “empower” them, and to avoid land use conflicts. Brushing aside questions about a recent World Bank decision to fund diamond exploration by Kalahari Diamonds Ltd., the government argues that the relocation was done in consultation with the Bushmen, with the goal of “preserving wildlife” in the Reserve. To hear some of the stories of those who have been relocated see Cultural Survival Quarterly issue 26.1, “Voices of the Dispossessed” (/ourpublications/csq/article/voices-dispossessed).
