Wed, 05/23/2007 - The government is investigating alleged violations of human rights against the Hadzabe ethnic group committed by social researchers, tour firms, filmmakers and some non-governmental organizations.
Mbulu District Commissioner Elias Goroi said the activities of tour firms, film makers, social researchers and NGOs operating within Hadzabe territory at Yaeda Chini and Lake Eyasi basin were being probed.
The Hadzabe are an ancient traditional group of hunters and fruit gatherers.
There are unknown numbers of filmmakers and social researchers which are active in Hadzabe areas. However, some 15 NGOs are working within the Hadzabe community.
Although no specific organizations or individuals have been linked to the abuses, there are claims that some of these groups have been inspecting the Hadzabe people`s private organs to determine their size for unknown reasons.
They reportedly use a variety of strategies to convince the Hadzabe to undress for the purpose of having sexual intercourse, in attempt to photograph them while naked.
``Such allegations suggest that these organizations are generating a lot of money at the expense of indigenous people,`` he said.
There are claims that tour operators are ferrying visitors to see the Bushmen`s primitive way of life and their environment, hence generate money while the Hadzabe themselves get nothing.
``The Hadzabe people are economically non-productive. They have no source of income,`` said Maria Shandalua, a resident of the area.
It is also alleged that some NGOs, social researchers and documentary filmmakers have been using the Hadzabe as a project specimen for the purpose of making money.
A tour operator, Isaack Kitomari, said: ``These people are capitalizing on the ignorance of the Hadzabe Bushmen and women to make money out of their unique culture.``
He blamed the government for not doing enough to protect the Hadzabe people, a factor that contributes to their impoverishment.
However, when contacted in Arusha, Mustafa Akunaay, the executive secretary of the Tanzania Tour Operators Association, categorically rejected the DC`s allegations, saying that there were no human rights abuses whatsoever that the Habzabe Bushmen experienced at the hands of researchers and tourists.
``If it is a matter of taking photos of unclothed people, that`s how the Hadzabe normally appear and nobody should be blamed for this,`` he told The Guardian, adding that tourists had nothing to do with the stripped nature of the Bushmen.
``People come from as far as Europe to witness an odd reality that there are some communities that are leading such an ancient life style in the 21st century,`` Akunaay said.
He added that each tourist was paying a fixed amount of levy to village authorities.
Recent reports indicate that the small population of the Hadzabe bushmen, who live around Lake Eyasi in Northern Tanzania, and whose population ranges between 2,500 and 10,000, are threatened with displacement through large-scale land acquisition.
A recent press report indicates that a foreign investor is trying to grab their traditional land by intending to take over the entire 3,975 square kilometers of the Yaeda Valley and the stretching Eyasi escarpments in the Eastern Division of Mbulu District in Manyara Region.
It is reported that the district authorities have already issued several ultimatums for the Hadzabe, who largely keep to themselves, to vacate the area so as to pave way for the investor, who has already set up camp, to establish a commercial hunting and sports enterprise in the area.
The investor`s move to acquire the area lies in the fact that Lake Eyasi is a nice place to camp and apart from the game, has got an incredible bird life.
The Coordinator of the Pingos Forum, a group of activists fighting for Hadzabe`s rights, Edward Porokwa, told The Guardian on telephone from Arusha that he was not surprised to hear news on human rights violation.
``The Hadzabe people are in a process of fighting for their rights despite troubles they encounter, including a plan to force them out of their land,`` he said.
He expressed suspicion that fresh allegations of human rights violation might be brought up intentionally to divert attention of the people from the main issue, which is eviction of the Hadzabe from their ancestral land.
By Adam Ihucha, Arusha
From: http://www.ippmedia.com/ipp/guardian/2007/05/22/90992.html