When What Seems Wrong is Actually Right: Kalahari Bushmen and Waterholes

I was previously upset when I read that the Botswana government closed waterholes of the Kalahari that were used by Bushmen (San / Basarwa), but since then I have discovered that waterholes were never needed by Kalahari Bushmen, as they used to be a people who survived without surface water (as per this National Geographic article about Bushmen). Then I discovered that the creation of waterholes for use by people has been the source of problems for the Bushmen of the Kalahari.

Bushmen have lived in the Kalahari for thousands of years, living off the land without need for anything else. Pastoralists moved in to the area only in the last hundred years and they created waterholes, and by doing so, they invaded the Bushmen's traditional lands and in some cases even laid claim to the Bushmen's identity. In fact, from a bit of research I've done, it sounds as if in many cases Bushmen are seen as servants, almost slaves, of the Pastoralists and there has been some intermarriage. I fear for the original Bushmen. Sometimes the ones who need help the most are forgotten with the louder voices that step forward. Africa is complex and there are so many different tribes of people, but I doubt they would lay claim to being tribal people in the strictest sense of the word, living off the land only in a hunter-gatherer type existence. I would suggest that Bushmen determine which people can say they are Bushmen, just as Jewish people accept new converts to Judaism via a strict conversion process to become Jewish. Often the people who should be helped the most, in this case the Bushmen, are lost in the cause, as other people step in and lay claim to their heritage, because of what is on offer in land and food and wealth.

I now suggest that Bushmen be allowed within the Central Kalahari Game Reserve only if they follow a strictly hunter-gatherer lifestyle, without any livestock and without waterholes. Game Reserves are needed in Africa, and sometimes people do need to make way to enable conservation and this has been done in many countries, but hunter-gatherer Bushmen who practice an age old culture are also a national treasure and this way of life should be cherished too. Where Bushmen are unable to survive in this harsh environment, either because they have lost this knowledge or else because they have decided to change and embrace a different way of life, I suggest that they be provided with an area where they can live in peace and flourish and practice their own unique cultural heritage, perhaps in an area adjoining the game reserve, where they may be able to be themselves.

I believe Bushmen would probably make wonderful nature conservationists as many of these people often have a wonderful love of nature and animals and understand conservation dynamics. Imagine perhaps a conservation model where Bushmen live on the outside of the reserve but take part in managing the reserve and the wildlife and conservation and work to restore land areas and also act as tourist guides.

I hope that Bushmen are able to rediscover their identity and culture once again, and be a people proud of their heritage. I realise that many of the Bushmen may no longer be able to throw off the trappings of a modern day world and be totally at one with the environment again, but I also believe their hearts beat for wide open spaces and freedom. Perhaps education is the answer for the Bushmen, to learn the skills needed to take their place in their new world, and also so the elders may continue to teach their children what they know, handed down from generation to generation, especially their unique melodic click language and tracking skills.

Link to related blog article: Ode to the San