Dear Diary,
There are certain matters, so close to my heart, that I seldom have a chance to express them. Since my friends in the "cyber-world" have shown an interest, I find lately, that I can "get going," on issues..........know what I mean? *sigh* one of these is the unfairness of land allocation, and the greed of mankind. Let me fill you in.
Oy! but do I get going on a Monday?
or what.?......its actually supposed to be quite a peaceful day.....for some...today, hardly had the dreams faded...when I was woken by the newspaper editor once again! "Beverly," he said, your tribe are going to be moved! "They don't stand a chance and I am relying on you to write something about them, haven't you been there? wasn't that the people you raved about?"
THE HIMBAS???????????????? I screamed! OOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH!!
not them? I gotta tell you about them...you will not believe it!! Firstly,
let me tell you the cold weather is not really good for lionesses!....there
is the most beautiful snow on the mountains.....nu? so what, how does that
help me?.......a "ten-drink-fire", thats what my grandfather
used to call the cold. I agree. Nomlontsi to the rescue?
Donning her fake leopard fur, sheepskin boots, fortified by a quick cuppa and the faithful basket.......she raced to Alice, which is a settlement near here........(hence I couldn't come to "chat") The Himbas? You would not believe them...they are straight out of story books. They are a tribe of people who live in South West Africa, they are self sufficient, nomadic (to a point), and totally family and culture "inbound?"...sounds like a good word. They are tall, generally, almost redskinned, have long hair which they braid, and live to a ripe old age. Almost no aids, never mix with others and do not rely on hand outs from anybody. They came through the awful border wars, adjusted to the new regime and all they want is peace and to be left alone!. They live with their cattle and goats, who of course need all the space to graze........**border wars...Angola and S.W.A. Now, the goverment of Namibia, want to take their land and make a huge dam.
NOoooooooooooooooooooo........80 kilometers of the most glorious river you have ever seen, with waterfalls that spray onto each other. They have already, so I found out, paid a Norwegian company 28 million rand to do a feasibility study on the building of a dam. Their view is that these people out of the "past?" eh? are taking up valuable land! They don't actually care what happens to these Himbas, that the workers will bring disease, machines, noise and destruction to the area. These people never have any sicknessess, have never seen a telephone or television. When I was there a couple of years ago, I was so enchanted that it was all my guide could do to stop me taking off my clothes and smearing mud on my body.......so I let them braid my hair with fat, and since it is red anyway, I didn't have to dye it to match.....this they found very odd. We swapped bangles, chewed the fat..(I'll never forget that!) and I left there in awe? whatever..........I ask myself once again...why? Why this never-ending greed? this constant wanting to take the land, its resources and muck it up? What can I do? Not too much I'm afraid, I can't fight progress, if thats what its called. I telephoned the television people, and filled them in on my tales of what I saw and they are sending a team to visit.......bloody hell!! Do you know? that the headlines in our Sunday newspaper, says that our water is too cheap? Do you think that if they spend billions on making a new dam, then it will become expensive and they will be satisfied??? What, I ask my self over and over again, are the Namibians gonna do with the hydro electric scheme they say will come from having built this dam? Its in the middle of nowhere, the Himbas don't want electricity......they couldnt afford it anyway.....they live in wonderful domed shaped huts........they live with nature.......nooooooooooooooooooooo...........I feel so helpless.......now I am supposed to write a constructive column on the proposed scheme?
The settlement called Alice, that I went to, has misson, and there are people there who lived with the Himbas, I went to hear what they had to say....they were devastated!! Golly but it is pretty in Alice, orange groves, fat cattle, lovely huts, and along side the road, you can buy the most beautiful little clay animals from the "little boys" who make them. I have bought them all, to-day that is.....wait till Lord Ha Ha sees this lot! Oh the poor man! They break very easily, unfortunately, but the work! all red clay...sorta cows and oxen in red clay, painted with white markings, even sisal hair and manes......truly wonderful works of primitive art...............I know what I am gonna do!! I am gonna run for President!!!! blast!!!!
Revving up her trusty red " citi-golf," she
blasted off to write her column......more like a fifteen drink job this...if
only I drank! Talk to you later.....
(shalom)
bev
