Batwa: A people with no future?
CLUTCHING her chest firmly, Astagon Bekeni coughs incessantly like she is going to drop dead the next minute. Her eyes are sunken, her skin pale and her body emaciated. A glance at this woman, probably in her mid-60s, reveals one sad fact – severe case
By Frederick Womakuyu
CLUTCHING her chest firmly, Astagon Bekeni coughs incessantly like she is going to drop dead the next minute. Her eyes are sunken, her skin pale and her body emaciated. A glance at this woman, probably in her mid-60s, reveals one sad fact – severe case of illness and malnutrition.
“My back, head and stomach are paining. Life is wasting away,†she says faintly. The man seated next to her complements: “We haven’t eaten for weeks.â€
“I don’t know what I am suffering from,†she goes on, “Yet I don’t have money for medical treatment. I only use local herbs.â€
Bekeni, one of the few remaining 6,705 Batwa in the whole world, according to the 2008 Uganda Population Report, doubts she will live to celebrate her next birthday.
As the world population continues to grow, in some areas, at an alarming rate, the Batwa population is steadily going down.
According to the report and first-hand accounts from the community, the Batwa population reduced from 6,738 in 2002 to 6,705 in 2008.
The Batwa live in Bundibugyo, Kasese and Kanungu districts and on the slopes of Mount Rwenzori in south-western Uganda.
They are one of the world’s few remaining indigenous tribes that still purely uphold their traditional way of life, living entirely by hunting game meat and collecting fruits from the forest.
Very few of their children go to school and the people do not seek medical care, preferring herbs.
Bekeni’s clan, the inhabitants of Ntandi parish on the periphery of Semuliki National Park in Bundibugyo district, reduced from 156 in 2002, to only 93 in 2009, according to the Batwa King Geoffrey Nzito.
Three years ago, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) evicted them from the park.
“The European Union (EU) bought land on the boundaries of the park to construct for us houses. But they didn’t equip us with any survival skills like farming or any other income generating activities,†laments Nzito.
“Our entire life depended on the forest. We got food and medicine from these forests,†he narrates.
The Batwa own no land and so cannot engage in agriculture. They lived by the forest resources. As a result, they have failed to adapt to life outside the forests.
They are malnourished and eke a living by begging. They are often used as a tourist attraction, yet they remain the poorest of the poor.
“Over 90% of us are poor,†Nzito says. “All the money generated goes to UWA.â€
But Samson Dhiwerera, a UWA game ranger and guide, dismisses the claims.
He says they give 20% of the gate collections from tourists to the communities living near the park area.
“We even allow them to collect firewood daily, market their products like handicrafts and also extend tap water to homes,†Dhiwerera says.
The EU constructed three-roomed semi-permanent houses in two settlements for each family of the Ntandi Batwa. But there is nothing in the houses, save for one or two saucepans, plates and papyrus mats.
They sleep on bare floors because they can hardly afford mattresses. “At least we had enough food to eat in the park. But life is impossible here,†Bekeni laments.
In the company of Elias Byamungu, the Bundibugyo chief administrative officer, we trek to King Nzito’s home. Byamungu is carrying along some relief food to the Batwa.
The homestead is spacious but filthy. A cluster of children, few inches tall, pace about the courtyard, easing themselves at will.
Before we sit, Nzito, an energetic, lively short man — probably a metre tall — requests for a group photograph.
Inside the king’s house, rats large enough to scare away a cat, pace across the floor, scratching and picking whatever they can land their claws on for their meal. As soon as we sit down, King Nzito complains of hunger.
Bekeni laments about the pain eating up her tummy. Out of pity, Byamungu hands her sh15,000 to facilitate her treatment.
But before he could settle her case, three more critically ill women crawl forward.
Twenty eight-year-old Alice Kanto has not tasted food for days. She has been having diarrhoea and vomiting, a condition that is draining life from her body and from the signs, she could be suffering from dysentery, a treatable disease.
“I went to a government health facility for treatment but they said they did not have medicine. They advised me to buy from a pharmacy,†Kanto says.
With no money, Kanto resorted to herbs, but her health did not improve. The number of times she has rubbed shoulders with death are uncountable.
Recently, she lost two daughters and her husband to “a strange disease that dries and peels the lips, leaving the victim dry and pale.†She did not have money to pay for medicine.
“We decided not to go to the hospital because we could not afford it. We used local herbs, but we lost them,†Kanto laments.
The Batwa are a highly marginalised community that used to live in Echuya and some neighbouring forests like Bwindi and Mgahinga.
“They live by begging and if the situation continues like this, the future is gloomy,†Byamungu warns.
Yet, more severe danger awaits the Batwa. Before they moved out of the forest, the Batwa never used to inter-marry. “Now, other tribes are marrying our women and the women think we are useless,†says Wilson Kainta, a Mutwa.
Kainta accuses the Bakonjo and Bamba of Bundibugyo of raping and infecting their girls with HIV/AIDS, a virus they know little about.
“They believe when they have sex with Batwa women, they will be cured of AIDS. Our women in turn come and sleep with us, accelerating HIV transmission,†Kainta, who lost his sister in this manner, reveals.
“Unfortunately, there is nobody to educate us about AIDS.†Kainta further accuses Bakonjo and Bamba of making their sisters pregnant and later neglecting them.
“The children they produce are not cared for and end up dying. Many die before the age of five,†says Isaac Kizza, a nurse at Kikyo Health Centre IV in Bundibugyo. He adds that maternal and infant mortality is high among the Batwa.
Kizza says three out of six children in this community die before they reach their 10th birthday and two out of five women die after every two years while giving birth.
“This has greatly reduced the number of our women. The Batwa men are now marrying from other tribes,†Kizza says. Kainta has married from the Babweso tribe and his aim is to increase Batwa numbers.
“I will produce 16 children although I doubt they will look like us,†Kainta says. “The Government should give us businesses to do.â€
Having listened to the plight of this endangered group for over two hours, Byamungu, looking very touched, promises to bring a medical doctor to treat them.
He also promises them income-generating projects like piggery and heifers, but the Batwa are likely to be no more, if their troubles are not tackled soon.
CLUTCHING her chest firmly, Astagon Bekeni coughs incessantly like she is going to drop dead the next minute. Her eyes are sunken, her skin pale and her body emaciated. A glance at this woman, probably in her mid-60s, reveals one sad fact – severe case of illness and malnutrition.
“My back, head and stomach are paining. Life is wasting away,†she says faintly. The man seated next to her complements: “We haven’t eaten for weeks.â€
“I don’t know what I am suffering from,†she goes on, “Yet I don’t have money for medical treatment. I only use local herbs.â€
Bekeni, one of the few remaining 6,705 Batwa in the whole world, according to the 2008 Uganda Population Report, doubts she will live to celebrate her next birthday.
As the world population continues to grow, in some areas, at an alarming rate, the Batwa population is steadily going down.
According to the report and first-hand accounts from the community, the Batwa population reduced from 6,738 in 2002 to 6,705 in 2008.
The Batwa live in Bundibugyo, Kasese and Kanungu districts and on the slopes of Mount Rwenzori in south-western Uganda.
They are one of the world’s few remaining indigenous tribes that still purely uphold their traditional way of life, living entirely by hunting game meat and collecting fruits from the forest.
Very few of their children go to school and the people do not seek medical care, preferring herbs.
Bekeni’s clan, the inhabitants of Ntandi parish on the periphery of Semuliki National Park in Bundibugyo district, reduced from 156 in 2002, to only 93 in 2009, according to the Batwa King Geoffrey Nzito.
Three years ago, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) evicted them from the park.
“The European Union (EU) bought land on the boundaries of the park to construct for us houses. But they didn’t equip us with any survival skills like farming or any other income generating activities,†laments Nzito.
“Our entire life depended on the forest. We got food and medicine from these forests,†he narrates.
The Batwa own no land and so cannot engage in agriculture. They lived by the forest resources. As a result, they have failed to adapt to life outside the forests.
They are malnourished and eke a living by begging. They are often used as a tourist attraction, yet they remain the poorest of the poor.
“Over 90% of us are poor,†Nzito says. “All the money generated goes to UWA.â€
But Samson Dhiwerera, a UWA game ranger and guide, dismisses the claims.
He says they give 20% of the gate collections from tourists to the communities living near the park area.
“We even allow them to collect firewood daily, market their products like handicrafts and also extend tap water to homes,†Dhiwerera says.
The EU constructed three-roomed semi-permanent houses in two settlements for each family of the Ntandi Batwa. But there is nothing in the houses, save for one or two saucepans, plates and papyrus mats.
They sleep on bare floors because they can hardly afford mattresses. “At least we had enough food to eat in the park. But life is impossible here,†Bekeni laments.
In the company of Elias Byamungu, the Bundibugyo chief administrative officer, we trek to King Nzito’s home. Byamungu is carrying along some relief food to the Batwa.
The homestead is spacious but filthy. A cluster of children, few inches tall, pace about the courtyard, easing themselves at will.
Before we sit, Nzito, an energetic, lively short man — probably a metre tall — requests for a group photograph.
Inside the king’s house, rats large enough to scare away a cat, pace across the floor, scratching and picking whatever they can land their claws on for their meal. As soon as we sit down, King Nzito complains of hunger.
Bekeni laments about the pain eating up her tummy. Out of pity, Byamungu hands her sh15,000 to facilitate her treatment.
But before he could settle her case, three more critically ill women crawl forward.
Twenty eight-year-old Alice Kanto has not tasted food for days. She has been having diarrhoea and vomiting, a condition that is draining life from her body and from the signs, she could be suffering from dysentery, a treatable disease.
“I went to a government health facility for treatment but they said they did not have medicine. They advised me to buy from a pharmacy,†Kanto says.
With no money, Kanto resorted to herbs, but her health did not improve. The number of times she has rubbed shoulders with death are uncountable.
Recently, she lost two daughters and her husband to “a strange disease that dries and peels the lips, leaving the victim dry and pale.†She did not have money to pay for medicine.
“We decided not to go to the hospital because we could not afford it. We used local herbs, but we lost them,†Kanto laments.
The Batwa are a highly marginalised community that used to live in Echuya and some neighbouring forests like Bwindi and Mgahinga.
“They live by begging and if the situation continues like this, the future is gloomy,†Byamungu warns.
Yet, more severe danger awaits the Batwa. Before they moved out of the forest, the Batwa never used to inter-marry. “Now, other tribes are marrying our women and the women think we are useless,†says Wilson Kainta, a Mutwa.
Kainta accuses the Bakonjo and Bamba of Bundibugyo of raping and infecting their girls with HIV/AIDS, a virus they know little about.
“They believe when they have sex with Batwa women, they will be cured of AIDS. Our women in turn come and sleep with us, accelerating HIV transmission,†Kainta, who lost his sister in this manner, reveals.
“Unfortunately, there is nobody to educate us about AIDS.†Kainta further accuses Bakonjo and Bamba of making their sisters pregnant and later neglecting them.
“The children they produce are not cared for and end up dying. Many die before the age of five,†says Isaac Kizza, a nurse at Kikyo Health Centre IV in Bundibugyo. He adds that maternal and infant mortality is high among the Batwa.
Kizza says three out of six children in this community die before they reach their 10th birthday and two out of five women die after every two years while giving birth.
“This has greatly reduced the number of our women. The Batwa men are now marrying from other tribes,†Kizza says. Kainta has married from the Babweso tribe and his aim is to increase Batwa numbers.
“I will produce 16 children although I doubt they will look like us,†Kainta says. “The Government should give us businesses to do.â€
Having listened to the plight of this endangered group for over two hours, Byamungu, looking very touched, promises to bring a medical doctor to treat them.
He also promises them income-generating projects like piggery and heifers, but the Batwa are likely to be no more, if their troubles are not tackled soon.