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| Two Masai members herding cattle (x) |
It was last spring that Prime Minister of Tanzania Mizengo
Pinda was able to dismiss a proposal that limited pasture of the native Masai
people. Unfortunately, officials are once again attempting to instate this
harmful policy. If the proposal is approved a piece of land bordering the
Serengeti national park will be utilized as a “wildlife corridor.” The 1,500 sq
km area will be sold to the Ortelo Business Corporation and be used for safaris
and commercial hunting. The corridor falls on the Loliondo district and local
people estimate it will "directly or indirectly affect the livelihoods of
80,000 people" and surely evict 30,000. These people being the Masai whose
pastoral and nomadic life will be compromised if they lose this essential
grazing land. Tanzanian government asks the Masai to be out before the year's end and has offered compensation of 1 billion
shillings to be funneled into socio-economic development projects. There is no
payback for the destruction of ancestral heritage, particularly of a people
where 90% rely on cattle for an income that allows them to afford food,
clothes, and school fees. Masai members who partake in this anti-corridor activism have reported threats to their life by potential government personnel.
The Tanzanian government is in clear violation of the rights of it's people. Looking to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights it is evident that Article 17 has been overlooked for it states that "Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others" and "No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property."
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