Ju/’hoansi deeply affected by Nyae-Nyae invasion

WHILE the Gam farmers who invaded the Nyae-Nyae Conservancy with their cattle at the end of April have to face the law, the lawful owners of the area – the Ju/’hoansi San people – continue to face the repercussions of the disturbance to their land – a global lesson in land and livelihood.

The farmers from Gam entered the Conservancy over the Cassinga Day/Labour Day long weekend by cutting the veterinary cordon fence, thereby sparking an animal health crisis. The illegal entry through the fence was further worsened because the farmers couldn’t simply return back to Gam, as the animal health status of the Conservancy is lower than that south of the fence in Gam, and would compromise the country’s disease status.The Gam farmers argued that a plant in their area was poisoning their cattle, that they lay ancestral rights of habitation in the conservancy, and that they wanted to be close to their councillor – all these factors in themselves representing the high regard placed on land and livelihood.32 arrests, bail payments, and various pronouncements ensued in the wake of the damage to the fence, and six weeks after the invasion, the Government broke its eerie silence and passive action on the matter, and seized the Gam farmers’ cattle with the intention of auctioning them off, with no compensation, except for an ex gratia payment to the farmers. This in itself sparked an outcry of enormous proportions in various circles, and from several opposition parties, because the move effectively meant a compromise of the livelihoods of the Gam farmers, who rely on their cattle for their income, and have said they’ve been knocking on Government’s doors for years to address the land issue.The Gam farmers have now sought legal advice on the seizure of their cattle, and have asked for dialogue with the Government on these issues.AFFECTEDAnd while the Gam farmers’ action has placed a great deal of attention on them – both against and in their favour, one cannot forget whose land was most affected in the process. In a recent interview with the Chairperson of the Conservancy, /’Angn!ao /’Un – known as Kiewiet, and conducted by Dr Megan Biesele, Board Member of the Nyae Nyae Development Foundation of Namibia and Director of the Kalahari People’s Fund, the effect that the settlement of the Gam farmers – first with their cattle, and now at Tsumkwe in large numbers – has had on the Ju/’hoansi is glaring.In the interview, Kiewiet tells Biesele: ‘I ask myself,’ Are we a people here in Namibia who have not one law but two?’ I don’t know. I thought we had one law, that we had made one law, that we had our n!ore and they had theirs. And we, what has been sustaining us is our wildlife. We have hunters. And we also have people who make ostrich-eggshell beadwork, and sell it. And we have people who collect kamaku (Devil’s Claw, exportable medicinal plant roots used to treat arthritis); we have people who dig kamaku roots and sell them. It’s a business of ours, and as I now see it, that business is going to die soon. If the Gam farmers still stay with us here, it will die.’Kiewiet says that even by June 27th, when the interview was being conducted and almost two weeks after the Government seized the cattle, farmers from Gam were still entering the Conservancy, and wonders who is in control.’Other people have taken the authority; we Ju/’hoansi no longer have the say in our land. And I, /’Angn!ao, my name is /’Angn!ao, and my father is /’Un, I have grown old with the Conservancy. I think maybe the Conservancy should not expand into a bigger thing than it already is. I think it should remain a Ju/’hoan thing,’ he says, recalling ongoing conflict with people from Kavango who have also settled at the Conservancy, and who the Ju/’hoansi have been telling to leave for a long time.’Chief Bobo knows this story, and the councillors, like Kxao Moses, all know this story. We’re still asking the government what to do about these people. We were still asking, and then suddenly the Gam farmers were here too. So now we’re dealing with two things: people from Kavango and people from Gam,’ Kiewiet explains.The interview goes on to detail how the land and the people have been and are being affected by the continued presence of the Gam farmers and the previous presence of their cattle. Among these, the felling of trees for new homesteads, the possible overcrowding of schools, the threat of job losses, the increased presence and effects of alcohol, the depletion of grazing ground and the negative effects that the large animal presence has had on important plant life. This has affected not only the land, but also the social and economic life of the Ju/’hoansi.’I don’t know what to do. The only thing I knew to do, I have done: I have spoken to the police and asked them to return these people to Gam. Whether there is a court case or not, they should stay in Gam and take care of themselves there. They cannot remain here. Because if they do, they will ruin the livelihoods of the Ju/’hoansi,’ Kiewiet says.The Conservancy, along with the Working Group of Indigenous Minorities in Southern Africa (WIMSA), has threatened to sue the farmers in excess of N$ 600 000 in camping fees, loss of income from Trophy hunting fees, loss of income from harvesting of the Devil’s Claw plants destroyed by the cattle, water and grazing consumption, and for the infringement of rights of the members of the Conservancy.The Legal Assistance Centre is acting for the Conservancy and WIMSA in this regard.And while Kiewiet believes that the problem might be solved through dialogue and communication with the Herero Traditional Authorities and with Government, Kiewiet is adamant that to prevent further damage to the land and livelihoods of the Ju/’hoansi living in the conservancy, the Gam farmers – even with Government’s seizure of their cattle – have to go.’We Ju/’hoansi have nothing we want to ask except that we be allowed to go forward. These people who have entered our land without consulting us are causing us to go backward,’ he says.nangula@namibian.com.na