Forest dwellers of seven African countries seek compensation
Copyright 2001 Agence France Presse
September 5, 2001
KIGALI, Sept 5 - Forest dwellers of seven African countries on Wednesday called for compensation from their governments because they have been displaced from their homes.
"We were chased without control and no sort of compensation from the forest of Ngorongoro," said Margareth Kaisoe, who represents Tanzania's Maasai nomads. Ngorongoro, now a national park, is a major tourist draw in northern Tanzania.
The delegates began meeting here Monday on the plight of indigenous people living in or displaced from protected areas.
"The state could promote tourism without hurting us," Kaisoe said, adding that her community demanded compensation plus interest.
Delegates to the conference, co-sponsored by the Community of Rwandan Aborigines and a British non-governmental organization, the Forest Peoples Programme (FPP), represent the Twa of Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, the Ogieks of Kenya, Tanzania's Maasai, the Bushmen of South Africa and the Baka Bagyeli of Cameroon.
The FPP is a non-governmental organization set up to promote the rights and interests of forest peoples in their struggle to survive the global forest crisis.
Penninah Zaninka, the delegate for Ugandan Twas, or pygmies, said: "Since 1991, we have no longer had the right to step foot in our natural surroundings, the Bwindi Park (in southwestern Uganda), where we used to hunt for wild meat and fruit and where we used to hold rites to worship our ancestors."
She added: "Even if our children go to school these days, no member of our
community has a paid job and most of us live in poverty."
The conference, which will end on Thursday, coincides with the UN World Conference Against Racism taking place in Durban, South Africa, where the rights of indigenous peoples are among the issues under discussion.