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24 March 2004 e-news from
Survival International, supporting tribal peoples worldwide.
Founded in 1969, registered charity (UK) no. 267444
KENYA: Hunter- gatherers
attacked
Two people were killed, another was
wounded and 200 houses were burnt down when a community of Ogiek
hunter-gatherers was attacked on February 26 on the forested
slopes of Mount Elgon, in western Kenya. The attackers are from
the Pok people, who dominate the area and look down on the Ogiek.
http://www.survival-international.org/latest.htm
The Ogiek, fearing further attacks,
have taken refuge in the forest which was their original home as
hunter-gatherers. In the 1970s a fraction of what had been their
land was legally assigned to them, but since then it has been
mostly taken over by the Pok. This attack was apparently intended
to drive out the remaining Ogiek. Thirty Ogiek have been arrested,
but none of the attackers.
More info on the Ogiek:
"Settlement of other people in
our midst would mean that the Ogiek culture would cease. We would
be wiped out."
Joseph Towett, Ogiek Welfare Council
Country the Ogiek live in: Kenya
Population of the Ogiek: ca. 20,000
Who are they?
The Ogiek are one of the few remaining hunter-gatherer peoples of
East Africa. Their home since time immemorial has been the Mau
mountain forest, overlooking Kenya's rift valley.
How do they live?
The Ogiek are hunter-gatherers – some in the deep forest live
purely by hunting and gathering, while the majority grow
vegetables and keep livestock also. They have traditionally hunted
such animals as antelope and wild pigs, which is now generally
illegal. They gather not only wild plants, but also honey from
beehives which they make from hollow logs and place in the high
branches of the forest trees. Trees at different heights on the
mountain slopes flower at different seasons, meaning that the
Ogiek can collect honey all year round. Its taste varies according
to when and where it is gathered. This honey plays a central part
in Ogiek society; it is used for food and for brewing beer, and
also to trade with neighbouring peoples outside the forest.
What problems do they face?
Ever since colonial times there have been attempts to evict the
Ogiek from their ancestral forest, usually on the pretext that
they are degrading it. But when the Ogiek are removed, their
forest is not protected but rather exploited by logging and tea
plantations – some owned by government officials. In some parts
of the Mau forest, groups of Ogiek are now resisting eviction,
while in others they face influxes of settlers onto their land.
The most serious threat currently facing them all comes from the
government's plan to open up around one tenth of Kenya's forests
– most of it in the Mau forest – to outsiders. This will open
the way for more settlers, loggers and tea plantations.
How does Survival help?
Survival is currently supporting the Ogiek's struggle to prevent
their forest being handed over to settlers and commercial
interests, which would ensure its destruction and deprive the
Ogiek of both their land and their livelihood.
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