Wednesday, October 23, 2013

The PACMAN effect

Have you ever heard about the Pacman Effect? Do you remember the game? where the yellow pacman could eat his way through to the finishing line. Pacman is old already, but his the Pacman effect is taking new form and shape everyday.
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Illegal land grabbing is happening in the San communities land areas, and are threatening the protection of the rights of these vulnerable communities.
The San are arguably the poorest and most marginalized group in Namibia with little access to existing political and economic institutions. Their marginalization has a long and loaded story; recent events are just serving to spotlight this sad situation.
Since after independence, San communities living in the former ‘Bushmanland’, in north-east Namibia, have been enduring a systematic process of land alienation as a result of illegal land settlement by ‘people from the outside’.
Herero cattle herders from the neighboring Gam area began invading the Nyae Nyae Conservancy in May 2009, where the Ju/’hoansi San people live, by cutting through the veterinary fence.
These herders have not only remained here, they also illegally exploit conservancy resources such as plants and grazing, water and firewood, which leaves less and less for the San.
 Apart from the fact that these invasions amount to unlawful land grabbing, the San community’s ability to gather food in the bush is severely compromised as a result of the fencing of land. Veld food (food found in the bush) plays a vital part in providing food security to the !Kung San. The land is dry, the rain has not yet arrived and their land areas and resources are going through the Pacman Effect. Please assist us and work together with us to ensure that we don't get a game over.

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