ToddGraft
3rd October 2002, 07:27 PM
Hi Everyone,
We are doing a charity event in association with Survival International on October the 17th at - the Canal Brassiere, Canalot CassChaos_UnlimitedStudios, 222 Kensal Road - the event is a fundraiser in aid of the Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert who are being thrown off their reservation. As the first peoples of the planet and infamous trance dancers we feel they deserve a party in their honour. Entry is ?5 or more, donations welcome, which will go towards Survival's Bushmen campaign. To justify the expense we are putting on an amazing line up of music lights and VJ visuals for you on the night.
I will be starting the proceedings with samples of Bushmen music and a showcase of the Bushmen fusion album, 'Sanscapes' along with some new Backroom Beats. This will be followed by a DJ set from Simon Posford & Benji Vaughan aka YOUNGER BROTHER whose track 'Evil & Harm' was featured on the recent Survival compilation and to top it all off DJ Pathaan and his partner Gaudi will be presenting their outernational world fusion ORCHESTRAL WORLD GROOVE with therimin solos and live drumming.
Throughout the night, The Egg's VJ ToddAVinIT (http://www.Avit.org.uk) will be on the visuals creating a gradual progression from the hunting scenes of The Great Dance video into footage of the Bushmen's trance dances and their polyrhythmic chants. Survival will be providing literature and petitions to explain the campaign fully. Rupert Issacson has donated 10 copies of his book, 'The Healing Land' to sell on the night. Melt2000 are also sending copies of the Sanscapes 1 & 2 from South Africa to sell, so there will be the unique chance to get all of those, please come and support this valid cause and enjoy the night.
Door policy will be on a first come first serve basis and we are expecting to sell out so come early to guarantee entry.
Cheers
Ed
Making music is the most primeval form of human expression, imbued with a mystical power to communicate at an instinctual level that transcends language and speaks directly to the soul. The San Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert are South Africa's oldest inhabitants having lived in the region for at least twenty five thousand years. For them, music and dance are not merely creative expressions, but an integral part of their being. Tragically, after decades of systematic marginalisation and dislocation, the modern world threatens to eradicate these ancient people, their culture as hunter-gatherers, and to silence their strange and beautiful music. (Hattie Wells - Sanscapes Project).
San History
The San Bushmen - the indigenous people of southern Africa are Africa's
oldest inhabitants, having lived in the region for over twenty - five
thousand years. Throughout history they thrived in one of the most hostile
environments in the world , living as semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers in the
arid areas of Angola, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. Well known for
their rich legacy of rock art that can be found leaping off the walls of
mountain ranges across the continent, the San have strong cultural
traditions that until recently remained relatively untouched.
The San were first colonised over one thousand years ago by the
traditionally cattle-herding Bantu tribes who moved south from mainly
eastern Africa. Colonisation continued with the arrival of the Europeans who
forced their way northwards from the Cape in southern Africa. These
land-hungry pastoralist groups dispossessed the San of their land base and
consequently their natural resources. A people once numbering millions who
roamed freely across their ancestral land, the San are now approximately
100,000 strong and are dominated by pastoralists who control most of their
land. It is estimated that only 10% of the present San population still have
access to their former natural resources, and only 3% are currently allowed
to manage their natural resources and exercise their traditional hunting
rights.
This land and resource loss has had an extensively negative impact on the
San, particularly in terms of limiting their prospects for living according
to their age-old cultures. No longer able to hunt freely, their survival in
the desert gets harder by the day. Aside from the physical needs hunting
fulfils it is also central in both their religious and ritual lives. Not
only are they left hungry but they also face increasing social problems as a
result of their inability to continue living in a way that is fundamental to
their culture and identity.
The San consider their cultural practices to constitute the backbone of a
healthy and socially intact community. The disruptions to an indigenous
culture caused by injustices such as land and resource dispossession are
such that the affected community is unable to uphold its traditional
consensual decision-making processes. This decision making process was
integral in maintaining the egalatarian nature of the San, a unique feature
of their culture. Unable to hunt and roam freely their social organisation
has had to change dramatically as they have had to deal with issues such as
land and resource management, discrimination, and the encroaching outside
world.
Dispossession continues today through so called reintegration and
resettlement processes under the independent governments of Namibia,
Botswana and South Africa. Relocated in the name of "development" mainly to
establish wildlife reserves and tourist activities, or caught in the
crossfire of political conflict, the San are forced to live in corridors,
much like the Indian reservations in North America. In such camps they can
no longer hunt and are tortured, even killed in Botswana for trying to
maintain this age old tradition that they depend on. The claims of
the Botswana Government that these people are an environmental hazard to the
reserve is hard to reconcile with the same governments enthusiasm for
diamond mining in that area.
Many San people have become servants or cheap farm labourers in order to be
able to feed their family and as such their only solace is often to be found
in a bottle of homebrew or liquor which they are paid in for their labour.
Such a situation breeds alcoholism and violence reminiscent of many of the
marginalised indigenous minorities around the world. Suffering from
discrimination, loss of land, forced cultural change, exploitation, hunger
and poor health they are now striving to find ways of empowering themselves
in order to maintain pride in their culture.
SURVIVAL BULLETIN:
'Why must I move? They will kill me for my land... We are oppressed until we die, and soon there will be no one left.' - Mogetse Kaboikanyo, who died in June 2002 after being forced to move.
The last self-sufficient 'Bushmen' of the Kalahari desert have been brutally thrown off their ancestral land in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve and dumped in resettlement camps. Unless they are allowed to return soon, thousands of years of Bushman culture will come to an end. Behind the government's actions lurks a deep-seated racism - and the prospect of riches from diamonds under the Bushmen's land.
In the 1980s, intensive exploration for diamonds began inside the Bushman reserve. In 1986, it became official government policy to move the Bushmen off their land to 'relocation camps' outside the reserve. After living by hunting and gathering for millennia, the Gana and Gwi and their neighbours the Bakgalagadi were told hunting was now illegal without licences. Persecution increased, and there were several, well-documented, instances of torture by officials. Families came under constant pressure to move to the relocation camps.
Meanwhile, test mining at Gope in 1997 revealed a diamond deposit described by an industry source as 'the best new target in the Kalahari'. Towards the end of that year, officials moved out over 1,000 Bushmen by force, loading people and their dismantled homes onto trucks. Many arrived in the camps to find their lives a mixture of dependency, boredom, alcoholism and despair.
By early 2002, less than 1,000 Bushmen remained on their land. In February, trucks moved in, the Bushmen's water pump was disabled and their water tanks emptied. Almost all the Bushmen were trucked out; some were threatened with being burned in their homes if they resisted. Survival believes the reserve's diamond deposits are the principal reason behind the evictions. Under international law the Bushmen are the rightful owners of their land: it is likely that in the government's eyes this puts at risk future exploitation of the deposits.
SURVIVAL INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELEASE
12 September 2002
BOTSWANA GOVERNMENT SNUBS BRITISH MPS
POLICE STOP BUSHMEN RETURNING TO THEIR LAND
Less than a week after a delegation of British parliamentarians met government officials to discuss the forced relocation of Bushmen from the central Kalahari, police have set up a roadblock to stop Bushmen who are trying to return to their land.
Police have also confiscated vehicles the Bushmen were using to return to their homeland inside the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR).
The blockade gives the lie to government attempts to portray the relocations as voluntary, and coincides with a visit by Local Government Minister Margaret Nasha to the largest relocation camp where she harangued the Bushmen.
Ms Nasha told the Bushmen that they were free to go back to the CKGR, but the government would not encourage them to do so. Police had already established the blockade.
One Bushman said, 'Now we are being harassed day and night and life in New Xade is becoming unbearable.'
We are doing a charity event in association with Survival International on October the 17th at - the Canal Brassiere, Canalot CassChaos_UnlimitedStudios, 222 Kensal Road - the event is a fundraiser in aid of the Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert who are being thrown off their reservation. As the first peoples of the planet and infamous trance dancers we feel they deserve a party in their honour. Entry is ?5 or more, donations welcome, which will go towards Survival's Bushmen campaign. To justify the expense we are putting on an amazing line up of music lights and VJ visuals for you on the night.
I will be starting the proceedings with samples of Bushmen music and a showcase of the Bushmen fusion album, 'Sanscapes' along with some new Backroom Beats. This will be followed by a DJ set from Simon Posford & Benji Vaughan aka YOUNGER BROTHER whose track 'Evil & Harm' was featured on the recent Survival compilation and to top it all off DJ Pathaan and his partner Gaudi will be presenting their outernational world fusion ORCHESTRAL WORLD GROOVE with therimin solos and live drumming.
Throughout the night, The Egg's VJ ToddAVinIT (http://www.Avit.org.uk) will be on the visuals creating a gradual progression from the hunting scenes of The Great Dance video into footage of the Bushmen's trance dances and their polyrhythmic chants. Survival will be providing literature and petitions to explain the campaign fully. Rupert Issacson has donated 10 copies of his book, 'The Healing Land' to sell on the night. Melt2000 are also sending copies of the Sanscapes 1 & 2 from South Africa to sell, so there will be the unique chance to get all of those, please come and support this valid cause and enjoy the night.
Door policy will be on a first come first serve basis and we are expecting to sell out so come early to guarantee entry.
Cheers
Ed
Making music is the most primeval form of human expression, imbued with a mystical power to communicate at an instinctual level that transcends language and speaks directly to the soul. The San Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert are South Africa's oldest inhabitants having lived in the region for at least twenty five thousand years. For them, music and dance are not merely creative expressions, but an integral part of their being. Tragically, after decades of systematic marginalisation and dislocation, the modern world threatens to eradicate these ancient people, their culture as hunter-gatherers, and to silence their strange and beautiful music. (Hattie Wells - Sanscapes Project).
San History
The San Bushmen - the indigenous people of southern Africa are Africa's
oldest inhabitants, having lived in the region for over twenty - five
thousand years. Throughout history they thrived in one of the most hostile
environments in the world , living as semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers in the
arid areas of Angola, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. Well known for
their rich legacy of rock art that can be found leaping off the walls of
mountain ranges across the continent, the San have strong cultural
traditions that until recently remained relatively untouched.
The San were first colonised over one thousand years ago by the
traditionally cattle-herding Bantu tribes who moved south from mainly
eastern Africa. Colonisation continued with the arrival of the Europeans who
forced their way northwards from the Cape in southern Africa. These
land-hungry pastoralist groups dispossessed the San of their land base and
consequently their natural resources. A people once numbering millions who
roamed freely across their ancestral land, the San are now approximately
100,000 strong and are dominated by pastoralists who control most of their
land. It is estimated that only 10% of the present San population still have
access to their former natural resources, and only 3% are currently allowed
to manage their natural resources and exercise their traditional hunting
rights.
This land and resource loss has had an extensively negative impact on the
San, particularly in terms of limiting their prospects for living according
to their age-old cultures. No longer able to hunt freely, their survival in
the desert gets harder by the day. Aside from the physical needs hunting
fulfils it is also central in both their religious and ritual lives. Not
only are they left hungry but they also face increasing social problems as a
result of their inability to continue living in a way that is fundamental to
their culture and identity.
The San consider their cultural practices to constitute the backbone of a
healthy and socially intact community. The disruptions to an indigenous
culture caused by injustices such as land and resource dispossession are
such that the affected community is unable to uphold its traditional
consensual decision-making processes. This decision making process was
integral in maintaining the egalatarian nature of the San, a unique feature
of their culture. Unable to hunt and roam freely their social organisation
has had to change dramatically as they have had to deal with issues such as
land and resource management, discrimination, and the encroaching outside
world.
Dispossession continues today through so called reintegration and
resettlement processes under the independent governments of Namibia,
Botswana and South Africa. Relocated in the name of "development" mainly to
establish wildlife reserves and tourist activities, or caught in the
crossfire of political conflict, the San are forced to live in corridors,
much like the Indian reservations in North America. In such camps they can
no longer hunt and are tortured, even killed in Botswana for trying to
maintain this age old tradition that they depend on. The claims of
the Botswana Government that these people are an environmental hazard to the
reserve is hard to reconcile with the same governments enthusiasm for
diamond mining in that area.
Many San people have become servants or cheap farm labourers in order to be
able to feed their family and as such their only solace is often to be found
in a bottle of homebrew or liquor which they are paid in for their labour.
Such a situation breeds alcoholism and violence reminiscent of many of the
marginalised indigenous minorities around the world. Suffering from
discrimination, loss of land, forced cultural change, exploitation, hunger
and poor health they are now striving to find ways of empowering themselves
in order to maintain pride in their culture.
SURVIVAL BULLETIN:
'Why must I move? They will kill me for my land... We are oppressed until we die, and soon there will be no one left.' - Mogetse Kaboikanyo, who died in June 2002 after being forced to move.
The last self-sufficient 'Bushmen' of the Kalahari desert have been brutally thrown off their ancestral land in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve and dumped in resettlement camps. Unless they are allowed to return soon, thousands of years of Bushman culture will come to an end. Behind the government's actions lurks a deep-seated racism - and the prospect of riches from diamonds under the Bushmen's land.
In the 1980s, intensive exploration for diamonds began inside the Bushman reserve. In 1986, it became official government policy to move the Bushmen off their land to 'relocation camps' outside the reserve. After living by hunting and gathering for millennia, the Gana and Gwi and their neighbours the Bakgalagadi were told hunting was now illegal without licences. Persecution increased, and there were several, well-documented, instances of torture by officials. Families came under constant pressure to move to the relocation camps.
Meanwhile, test mining at Gope in 1997 revealed a diamond deposit described by an industry source as 'the best new target in the Kalahari'. Towards the end of that year, officials moved out over 1,000 Bushmen by force, loading people and their dismantled homes onto trucks. Many arrived in the camps to find their lives a mixture of dependency, boredom, alcoholism and despair.
By early 2002, less than 1,000 Bushmen remained on their land. In February, trucks moved in, the Bushmen's water pump was disabled and their water tanks emptied. Almost all the Bushmen were trucked out; some were threatened with being burned in their homes if they resisted. Survival believes the reserve's diamond deposits are the principal reason behind the evictions. Under international law the Bushmen are the rightful owners of their land: it is likely that in the government's eyes this puts at risk future exploitation of the deposits.
SURVIVAL INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELEASE
12 September 2002
BOTSWANA GOVERNMENT SNUBS BRITISH MPS
POLICE STOP BUSHMEN RETURNING TO THEIR LAND
Less than a week after a delegation of British parliamentarians met government officials to discuss the forced relocation of Bushmen from the central Kalahari, police have set up a roadblock to stop Bushmen who are trying to return to their land.
Police have also confiscated vehicles the Bushmen were using to return to their homeland inside the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR).
The blockade gives the lie to government attempts to portray the relocations as voluntary, and coincides with a visit by Local Government Minister Margaret Nasha to the largest relocation camp where she harangued the Bushmen.
Ms Nasha told the Bushmen that they were free to go back to the CKGR, but the government would not encourage them to do so. Police had already established the blockade.
One Bushman said, 'Now we are being harassed day and night and life in New Xade is becoming unbearable.'