Wednesday, October 23, 2013

The PACMAN effect

Have you ever heard about the Pacman Effect? Do you remember the game? where the yellow pacman could eat his way through to the finishing line. Pacman is old already, but his the Pacman effect is taking new form and shape everyday.
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Illegal land grabbing is happening in the San communities land areas, and are threatening the protection of the rights of these vulnerable communities.
The San are arguably the poorest and most marginalized group in Namibia with little access to existing political and economic institutions. Their marginalization has a long and loaded story; recent events are just serving to spotlight this sad situation.
Since after independence, San communities living in the former ‘Bushmanland’, in north-east Namibia, have been enduring a systematic process of land alienation as a result of illegal land settlement by ‘people from the outside’.
Herero cattle herders from the neighboring Gam area began invading the Nyae Nyae Conservancy in May 2009, where the Ju/’hoansi San people live, by cutting through the veterinary fence.
These herders have not only remained here, they also illegally exploit conservancy resources such as plants and grazing, water and firewood, which leaves less and less for the San.
 Apart from the fact that these invasions amount to unlawful land grabbing, the San community’s ability to gather food in the bush is severely compromised as a result of the fencing of land. Veld food (food found in the bush) plays a vital part in providing food security to the !Kung San. The land is dry, the rain has not yet arrived and their land areas and resources are going through the Pacman Effect. Please assist us and work together with us to ensure that we don't get a game over.

Monday, October 7, 2013

What a view!


A few weeks ago the Crown Prince Haakon Magnus of Norway arranged a conferance by the name Sikt 2013, which means VIEW. The conferance gathered young leaders in Norway so that we together could discuss how to seize the opportunities the future offers us? How do we make good choices, and exploit the potential of heads, hearts and hands? And how can we use our resources for the good of the community? It was a conference with a lot of insight and many inspired individuals. It showed us all the importance of sharing views, so now I'm sharing with you:

How do you view the world?
Do you view the world the same way I do?
How do we view the world?
How do we view our country? I think the comparison and expectations we have towards people, societies, politics, development and nations is a big key to the source of most problems today.
How can we know that we all view each and every issue equally.
Do we really know what the neighbor next door likes or dislikes? Do we know what inspires him/her? Do we know what they vote or what they believe in? If we cannot answer these questions then how can we assume that we know what is best for our far and near neighboring countries?
How can something or someone be expected to jump development and become something they are not or not ready to be, because other people or systems are either comparing it to an ideal situation or something that is believed to be more right.
 I think if there was a greater focus on seeing people, cultures, nations and systems for what they are, instead of focusing on what they are not, it will be easier to create a development with out loosing the original fundament. Nature never jumps (meaning of the word Nanofasa) is exactly how nature has been moving through history, no short cuts, no assumptions, but a sustainable flow where we all play a role, big or small.. Could this example of nature help us in moving forward with everything? If a child is 4 years old, we cannot force it to be 25 years old in two months.
 Everything is a process even in a world like ours were everything moves so fast. So let us stop for a second and take deep inhale and be grateful for it. And before we speak, let us listen and look at the view through someone else's window.