11.6.09

look up 'loliondo' on youtube. i interviewed two maasai folk who were evicted from their homes by the tanzanian government so that a royal family from the u.a.e. could have the entire area for private hunting. entire villages were burned down, animals killed, women raped, a child lost in the fires, a man shot, many people arrested just for asking questions or resisting. everyone would have burned in the flames if they hadn't run away. if you know someone who works for a large media group (npr, cnn, large newspaper, etc.), i'm working with one of the other students (she got video footage) in trying to get international pressure on the tanzanian government (media > NGOs > large economic AID groups), since about half of the tanzanian government's budget actually comes from outside aid (it's also a common practice to include conditions attached to econ. aid, so that indigenous land rights could be included). there is also a safari company that essentially did the same thing. the name of the company is THOMSON'S SAFARI, and they managed to buy the land that a few thousand maasai had been living on, and then kicked them all off of the land. the land was fruitful and had the water and grass necessary for raising cattle, but now the inhabitants have been forced to live on much less suitable land. combined with the current drought, the effects are fatal. cattle are dying every day and are practically worthless in the market, they are so skinny. the way of life of one of the most renowned tribes in east africa, perhaps even all of africa, is being threatened by people who feel that their desire for entertainment (be it looking at wild animals or shooting them) is more important than the livelihoods of thousands upon thousands of people. all of this happened this summer, as in only a few months ago, and nobody is talking about it.

i have two transcripted interviews and photographs of people and the drastic conditions if anybody has media/large NGO connections.