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Roy
Sesana speeks
Right
Livelihood Award address, Stockholm, 9. December 2005
My name is Roy Sesana; I am a Gana Bushman from the Kalahari in
what is now called Botswana. In my language, my name is ‘Tobee'
and our land is ‘T//amm'. We have been there longer than any
people has been anywhere.
When I was young, I went to work in a mine. I put off my skins and
wore clothes. But I went home after a while. Does that make me
less Bushman? I don't think so.
I am a leader. When I was a boy we did not need leaders and we
lived well. Now we need them because our land is being stolen and
we must struggle to survive. It doesn't mean I tell people what to
do, it's the other way around: they tell me what I have to do to
help them.
I cannot read. You wanted me to write this speech, so my friends
helped, but I cannot read words - I'm sorry! But I do know how to
read the land and the animals. All our children could. If they
didn't, they would have all died long ago.
I know many who can read words and many, like me, who can only
read the land. Both are important. We are not backward or less
intelligent: we live in exactly the same up-to-date year as you. I
was going to say we all live under the same stars, but no, they're
different, and there are many more in the Kalahari. The sun and
moon are the same.
I grew up a hunter. All our boys and men were hunters. Hunting is
going and talking to the animals. You don't steal. You go and ask.
You set a trap or go with bow or spear. It can take days. You
track the antelope. He knows you are there, he knows he has to
give you his strength. But he runs and you have to run. As you run,
you become like him. It can last hours and exhaust you both. You
talk to him and look into his eyes. And then he knows he must give
you his strength so your children can live.
When I first hunted, I was not allowed to eat. Pieces of the
steenbok were burnt with some roots and spread on my body. This is
how I learned. It's not the same way you learn, but it works well.
The farmer says he is more advanced than the backward hunter, but
I don't believe him. His herds give no more food than ours. The
antelope are not our slaves, they do not wear bells on their necks
and they can run faster than the lazy cow or the herder. We run
through life together.
When I wear the antelope horns, it helps me talk to my ancestors
and they help me. The ancestors are so important: we would not be
alive without them. Everyone knows this in their heart, but some
have forgotten. Would any of us be here without our ancestors? I
don't think so.
I was trained as a healer. You have to read the plants and the
sand. You have to dig the roots and become fit. You put some of
the root back for tomorrow, so one day your grandchildren can find
it and eat. You learn what the land tells you.
When the old die, we bury them and they become ancestors. When
there is sickness, we dance and we talk to them; they speak
through my blood. I touch the sick person and can find the illness
and heal it.
We are the ancestors of our grandchildren's children. We look
after them, just as our ancestors look after us. We aren't here
for ourselves. We are here for each other and for the children of
our grandchildren.
Why am I here? Because my people love their land, and without it
we are dying. Many years ago, the president of Botswana said we
could live on our ancestral land forever. We never needed anyone
to tell us that. Of course we can live where God created us! But
the next president said we must move and began forcing us away.
They said we had to go because of diamonds. Then they said we were
killing too many animals: but that's not true. They say many
things which aren't true. They said we had to move so the
government could develop us. The president says unless we change
we will perish like the dodo. I didn't know what a dodo was. But I
found out: it was a bird which was wiped out by settlers. The
president was right. They are killing us by forcing us off our
land. We have been tortured and shot at. They arrested me and beat
me.
Thank you for the Right Livelihood Award. It is global recognition
of our struggle and will raise our voice throughout the world.
When I heard I had won I had just been let out of prison. They say
I am a criminal, as I stand here today.
I say what kind of development is it when the people live shorter
lives than before? They catch HIV/AIDS. Our children are beaten in
school and won't go there. Some become prostitutes. They are not
allowed to hunt. They fight because they are bored and get drunk.
They are starting to commit suicide. We never saw that before. It
hurts to say this. Is this ‘development'?
We are not primitive. We live differently to you, but we do not
live exactly like our grandparents did, nor do you. Were your
ancestors ‘primitive'? I don't think so. We respect our
ancestors. We love our children. This is the same for all people.
We now have to stop the government stealing our land: without it
we will die.
If anyone has read a lot of books and thinks I am primitive
because I have not read even one, then he should throw away those
books and get one which says we are all brothers and sisters under
God and we too have a right to live.
That is all. Thank
you.
Roy Sesana
First People of the Kalahari, Botswana
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