Visiting the forest people ..... (many photos + videos) !!
We visited the pygmies in Uganda with some local children.
We had to take a 1.5 hour boat ride across Lake Bunyonyi to get to them.
The Pygmies are among the oldest hunter-gatherer tribes in Africa.
They are known under the name "Batwa" (the forest people).
They lived in the forests in the west of the country. They lived in settlements with about 10 huts made from sorghum straw, dried banana leaves and blades of grass.
They fed on the forest. They hunted, gathered honey and fruit.
They also had knowledge of medicinal and useful plants.
So the Batwa lived in and with nature.
Like the Indians in the USA, the Aborigines in Australia and many other indigenous people, the Batwa were also expelled.
Much of the forest has been cleared for agriculture and the last retreat has been declared a national park to protect the mountain gorillas.
The Batwa lost their livelihood. They were unable to take care of themselves outside the forest.
They were given some land, but they had no experience of farming and raising animals.
The majority of them still live in complete poverty.
Unemployment, lack of education, poor health care, high HIV / AIDS rates, alcoholism and loss of self-esteem are major problems.
Above all, they suffer from discrimination. Because of their rather below average body size, they are called "primitive, short stature forest people".
They work as day laborers, sell handicrafts or dance for tourists.
These are their only sources of income. Their culture, their craft, their knowledge of medicinal plants are threatening to be increasingly forgotten.
Her identity is slowly disappearing.
The literacy rate and life expectancy are extremely low, and child mortality is high.
Women find it particularly difficult. You are exposed to insults, violence and rape.
Tourists from all over the world visit Uganda's national parks and after Idi Amin's tyranny, this is an important economic factor for the battered country.
Tourists pay up to $ 600 for a tour of the mountain gorillas. The Batwa do not benefit in any way from the many millions that are ingested.
Indigenous peoples worldwide are being robbed of their identities.
It is striking that problems such as alcoholism and violence always arise.
These people have no lobby and ultimately all of them lose their cultures and knowledge.
Back to our trip!
The Batwa children received us at the jetty.
They took us by the hand and helped us to walk the steep path up to the mountain.
They live in these huts.
The Batwa also danced for us, but we changed the process a bit.
Our group also danced for them.
I think both sides had fun that day ..
Of course we also bought something from them. We didn't act, we rounded up...
Uganda is now in the lockdown.
No tourists, no dance, no jobs, no income ...
Last night one of our helpers asked me if we weren't there for the Batwa
because they’re very bad.
A good idea and that's exactly what we're doing now!
The next groceries go to the forest people ....
It would be good if we could get some more money, because of course we also have to pay for the boat. We are happy about every Euro!