San communities hold first regional meeting

SAN people in Angola lack education, medical care and secure land rights, while Angolan authorities do not recognise their traditional leaders, it was revealed at a recent conference.

The needs of San communities in Angola were highlighted when they met representatives of the provincial governments of Huila, Cunene and Cuando-Cubango provinces and with San people from Namibia, Botswana and South Africa in Lubango at the end of April. The conference, the first of its kind bringing together San people from across the region, was organised by the San regional umbrella body, Wimsa (Working Group for Indigenous Minorities of Southern Africa) and a non-governmental organisation based in Lubango.The aim was to exchange experiences in order to understand the needs of the Angolan San and to sensitise state authorities and development organisations, Wimsa said in a statement.Officials of national and international NGOs and civil society activists were also present.The conference was preceded by a two-day meeting during which Angolan San leaders and San from Namibia, Botswana and South Africa shared experiences, hopes and visions for improving their living conditions.Working in small groups, the San of Angola and their southern African colleagues reflected on hunger, lack of land rights, conflicts over water, lack of schools, clinics and lack of official recognition for their leaders.”All of us are Angolans.We want to have the same rights as all other Angolans,” one of that country’s participants summed up the conference.”We have the will to work and we want a life without abuses.”The San in Angola want respect for their communities and leaders and good relations with other ethnic groups.A lack of schools, healthcare and land rights featured prominently on the agenda.The conference was hosted and facilitated by the government of Huila Province through its provincial human rights committee and the municipality of Lubango.In his opening message, the Administrator of Lubango, Dr Adriano Tyova, told the Angolan San: “Your sons are also our sons and it is not possible for our sons to be slaves.”Although the San were the first inhabitants of Angola, they now found themselves on the lowest level of the social scale, Tyova added.Referring to Angolan government reports about the critical levels of hunger, illness, servitude, exclusion and illiteracy affecting the San, he said suffering and exploitation had to stop.Armando Muleka, a delegate from Hoque, said, “Now the door is open.We see that the government is listening to us.We want the message of the Governor to go down to the municipalities.Now we have to elect leaders and find solutions for our problems.”San delegates recommended that the creation of an Angolan San Council should be discussed.They further recommended that San leaders on municipal, provincial and national levels be recognised to ensure that problems of San communities can be addressed effectively.Other recommendations heard by the conference included secure land rights for San communities, better access to water, affordable access to education for all ethnic groups, regulated hunting in some areas and to encourage San elders to actively teach youths the value of San culture, identity and language.At the end of the conference, a land title deed was handed over to Senhor Pirikito, the San leader of Hombo in the municipality of Kipungu.The conference, the first of its kind bringing together San people from across the region, was organised by the San regional umbrella body, Wimsa (Working Group for Indigenous Minorities of Southern Africa) and a non-governmental organisation based in Lubango.The aim was to exchange experiences in order to understand the needs of the Angolan San and to sensitise state authorities and development organisations, Wimsa said in a statement.Officials of national and international NGOs and civil society activists were also present.The conference was preceded by a two-day meeting during which Angolan San leaders and San from Namibia, Botswana and South Africa shared experiences, hopes and visions for improving their living conditions.Working in small groups, the San of Angola and their southern African colleagues reflected on hunger, lack of land rights, conflicts over water, lack of schools, clinics and lack of official recognition for their leaders.”All of us are Angolans.We want to have the same rights as all other Angolans,” one of that country’s participants summed up the conference.”We have the will to work and we want a life without abuses.”The San in Angola want respect for their communities and leaders and good relations with other ethnic groups.A lack of schools, healthcare and land rights featured prominently on the agenda.The conference was hosted and facilitated by the government of Huila Province through its provincial human rights committee and the municipality of Lubango.In his opening message, the Administrator of Lubango, Dr Adriano Tyova, told the Angolan San: “Your sons are also our sons and it is not possible for our sons to be slaves.”Although the San were the first inhabitants of Angola, they now found themselves on the lowest level of the social scale, Tyova added.Referring to Angolan government reports about the critical levels of hunger, illness, servitude, exclusion and illiteracy affecting the San, he said suffering and exploitation had to stop.Armando Muleka, a delegate from Hoque, said, “Now the door is open.We see that the government is listening to us.We want the message of the Governor to go down to the municipalities.Now we have to elect leaders and find solutions for our problems.”San delegates recommended that the creation of an Angolan San Council should be discussed.They further recommended that San leaders on municipal, provincial and national levels be recognised to ensure that problems of San communities can be addressed effectively.Other recommendations heard by the conference included secure land rights for San communities, better access to water, affordable access to education for all ethnic groups, regulated hunting in some areas and to encourage San elders to actively teach youths the value of San culture, identity and language.At the end of the conference, a land title deed was handed over to Senhor Pirikito, the San leader of Hombo in the municipality of Kipungu.