Tangeni Amupadhi
The last hunter-gatherer Bushman/San community in Namibia is facing total extinction after authorities announced plans to build a refugee camp in the eastern part of the country.
Environmentalists and senior !Kung leaders, including politicians and traditional chiefs, have expressed concern that an area that can barely sustain 6?000 San people is now expected to accommodate an additional 17?000 refugees.
The Namibian government announced this month it planned to relocate the existing refugee camp at Osire, 300km north of the capital Windhoek, to M’kata, about 800km north-east of the Namibian capital.
Officials in the Ministry of Home Affairs say it is bursting at the seams as it now carries five times its capacity, but admits that the government has not consulted any locals about the relocation.
The environmentalist, who is involved in helping the San set up conservancies, said hungry refugees and the San will compete for resources such as game.