Protest DeBeers Diamonds

Yanomami mother & child

Protest DeBeers Diamonds' Role in the Destruction of the Gana and Gwi
Wednesday, June 22nd 2005
5:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Corner of 55th St. and 5th Ave.
Contact: info@survival-international.org
While hundreds of Gana and Gwi Bushmen from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana have been evicted to dismal resettlement camps, De Beers is launching a glitzy new shop on New York's Fifth Avenue.
The connection? The Bushmen's ancestral lands are rich in diamonds, and all diamond mines in Botswana are run by De Beers. The Botswana government, which earns a large percentage of its revenue from De Beers's diamonds, has been determined to force the Bushmen off their lands, at the expense of their rights, livelihood, wellbeing and unique way of life. Before the international furore about the Bushmen's eviction, the government openly admitted that the Bushmen were being moved to make way for diamond mining.
The Bushmen's situation mirrors that of hundreds of indigenous peoples worldwide whose lands are being stolen by gigantic corporations and the governments that are beholden to them.
Sponsored by Survival International, London, Indigenous Land Rights Fund and the Indigenous Heritage Foundation, both in US.
Call Judy Frost, 212-663-2368
(photo by Steve Cox/Survival)