Awareness grows as Bushmen await court verdict

The Bushmen of the tribes involved in the trial are fighting for their right to live on their land in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve and to hunt and gather freely there. They filed the case after the Botswana government evicted them from their land in 2002. The case has been the longest and most expensive in Botswana’s legal history, despite being brought by the country’s poorest inhabitants.

Miller’s highly acclaimed debut novel Salt & Honey is a gripping, epic tale featuring a young bushgirl displaced from her San tribe and offers a rare glimpse into this endangered culture. Before finishing the novel, Miller undertook an expedition to live with the Ju/’hoansi tribe and is extremely passionate about their cause.

Miller commented: “While doing research I came across a rumour, widely held to be based on fact, that in the previous century it had been possible to buy a license to shoot Bushmen in what was then South West Africa, much as one could buy a licence to shoot buck. I knew then here was a tale that had to be told.”

The author added: “When I was leaving the Kalahari Desert, a little band of the San tribe I had stayed with gathered to wave me goodbye and asked me not to “throw them away”. These words have stayed with me ever since.”

Miriam Ross of Survival International, the charity working to gain global support for Bushmen, commented: “Salt & Honey is a sensitive and beautiful portrayal of a young Bushman woman and the horrific oppression her people have faced, most recently in the case of the Gana and Gwi of Botswana. This makes the book very timely indeed.”

While several high-profile southern African writers have been criticised for ignoring the Bushmen’s plight, Miller has continuously supported and promoted the charity’s work. All will be watching closely when the court delivers its landmark verdict on 13th December.


ENDS

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