WE WILL DIE FOR OUR ANCESTRAL LAND ,SAY LOLIONDO MAASAI

A pile of animal hides used as sleeping pads are the only few items that can be spotted around Arash, Loosoito and Maaaloni villages in Ngorongoro District following the recent eviction  that saw bomas burnt to ashes.

Homeless families living under the tree

From a distance one can only see a few sacks, sleeping mats and water buckets hanging from tree branches as you approach the area that has been dotted with ashes

Residents say the area is too moist to put their few belongings on ground and the condition gives children sleepless nights.

Though young children looked un- disturbed by the situation, one could paint a picture of how they endure the extremely cold Ngorongoro weather during the night.

Sleeping under tree or maybe on tall tree branches for elders as a way to protect their families from wild animals, could be the only imagination.

When this reporter visited the villages recently he found the hungry children, women and old men striving to meet their ends.

“We have no food, blankets, cooking utensils, cloths. Everything was burnt. The government has burned our homes, everything we owned and abandoned us” William Seyelek, a traditional Masaai elder said.

Seyelek said they have vowed not to leave their land despite the government directives because, the area belongs to them.

“We belong here, our forefathers lived and were buried here. We cannot forsake them this time that they are no longer with us. We will fight if not for us but for their sake” he said.

He said they will fight for their rights and set a history for their generation because their relocation from Serengeti National Park to the area was an agreement between them and the British government way back during colonialism.

 Some villagers who talked to The Guardian on Sunday said they live in horrible conditions especially after the brutal acts were carried out during the rainy seasons.

A Maaaloni villager who preferred anonymous said she has been left homeless with a family of eight. “My children cannot sleep at night and always complain of coldness because we do not have even bed sheets let alone blankets” she said.

The conflict area saw Tanzanian National Parks security rangers burning Masaai people’s bomas on February 12 this year has left more than three thousand residents homeless has been in dispute for over20 years.

  Government stand:

Ngorongoro District commissioner, Elias Wawa Lali earlier condemned the burning of Maasai homes and warned that the actions would escalate violence in the area. 

However, Arusha Regional Commissioner (RC)  Daudi Ntibenda who visited the Area on Thursday this week maintained that Maasai community have to vacate the area before the full wrath of the state fall on them.

 “I give you two more weeks to vacate the area and those who disobey the order will be forcefully evicted “the RC reportedly said.

However in a meeting with Masaai community at Imolelian area, the victims were not given a chance to speak or their fate so to say. 

Ntibenda instead told the community to vacate the area, claiming they were posing a threat to the famous Serengeti national park and the wildebeests’ ecosystem migration. He also accused the media for a biased coverage.

 Human rights activists:

A human rights defender from Tanzania Pastoralist community forum Joseph Parsambei has condemned the government for its actions its own citizens appeal for high consideration on the fate of the affected families.

He said such an act was against human rights, as the government has disregarded victims loses and denied assistance.

“We need to provide food for the starving population - especially children. Livestock have been removed from this area, this means children lack milk and from the look of things they are in terrible suffering,” he said.

Background 

Earlier the Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism Lazaro Nyalandu on different occasions explained to the local communities the value of the area for biodiversity conservation both nationally and internationally.  

He said the area was important for the nation and invited Masaai communities to be fully involved in managing it for a shared benefit.

 However, the Minister’s proposal was rejected by the community who insisted that the land belonged solely to them and they do not tolerate national or international interference.

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SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK WARDENS RAZE 114 MAASAI BOMAS ,HUNDREDS STRANDED

I  cant believe what Iam seeing 'Oleperes from Loosoito Village told the media showing his boma which has been torched to ashes

We have no homes Maasai women told journos





MORE than three thousand residents of Arash, Loosoito and Maaaloni   villages in Ngorongoro District have been left homeless after the Serengeti National Park security rangers burned 114 Maasai bomas leaving them without                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 necessary supplies.

Journalists visiting the area yesterday witnessed groups of women and children moaning and showing fear as fully armed park rangers continued burning other bomas in nearby villages.

Narrating the ordeal to the press, traditional elders said burning of their homes is outrageous, irreparable losses in their lives, and the government should intervene immediately to save the situation. 

 “This is our homeland. Our fathers were placed here after they were evicted from Serengeti in an agreement way back in 1959 between the colonial government and the community during the establishment of the Serengeti National Park. We have lost almost everything, ’’said Peter Meleton.

Meleton said the agreement stipulated clearly that the Maasai will not face any other evictions from their land and wondered why it is happening now.
 He blamed the park management for conducting the operation and treating common harmless citizens as criminals.

 “Those who showed signs of protest were forced to get out of their houses by force and at times pointing a gun and threatened to be killed if they refused to obey orders,” he elaborated.

 Another elder, Kantuli Lekakin said the exercise has been going on as a military operation, as we heard a lot of gunfire in the village for several hours yesterday.

Traditional leaders from three villages maintained that even though their homes have been turned into ashes, they will not leave the area because it is their heritage.

 “We will not leave, even by an inch. We are willing to die for our land; our community has lived in oppression, injustice and has continued to be poor. But enough is enough, no quitting,” insisted Kantuli.

 He said they are 5 to 10km away from the park border; however park authorities claim the villagers are living one kilometer into the park area.

For his part William Sayelek said his boma was torched with the entire food produce inside, and now his children have nothing to eat.

 “The operation was brutal. They sometimes shot into the air causing great confusion in the whole village. We need food, temporary shelters and medical services to survive,” he stated. 

Families are now living under trees and children have started getting sick due to cold weather, the villager noted.

Speaking on behalf of women, Noorki Saruni, a resident of Arash,   said women and children are starving and facing health complications resulting from food shortages.

 "I lost seventy kilograms of maize, milk and bread dough. The situation is getting worse every minute. Our government should help us,” she said. 

According to the Park rangers who could not avail their names to the media for fear of being victimised, the Serengeti National Park management is conducting the operation to remove villagers who have put permanent settlements near the border of the park.

However the Maasai were quick to refute the claims saying this is a government move to allocate their ancestral land to the Arab Emirate royal family for hunting.  

Serengeti chief park warden William Mwakilema told The Guardian on Sunday in brief responses by phone that the burned bomas were inside the Serengeti National Park.

“We have documentary evidence on what we did.  We are protecting the park; these pastoralists have been bringing large group of livestock to graze inside the park. We are clearing them out,” the warden affirmed

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KENYA BAN TANZANIA TOURIST VEHICLES TO ENTER ITS AIRPORTS AND NATIONAL PARKS

 Tourist vans registered in Tanzania will not be allowed into Kenya’s airport, airstrips and national parks and reserves starting Friday midnight.

Tourism Cabinet Secretary Phyllis Kandie says Kenya has taken the move to ensure fair play in the sector since Kenya tour vans have not been allowed in Tanzania parks and airports for a long period.

“From today February 6, 2015, at midnight, Tanzania registered tour vans will not be allowed to pick, drop or exchange passengers at all tourism sites, airstrips and airports, including Jomo Kenyatta International Airports, JKIA,” Kandie announced during a media briefing.

On December 22 last year, Kenyan authorities put the ban on Tanzanian-registered vehicles from dropping off or picking up passengers at JKIA and other airports and tourism sites.

ut Tanzania requested for negotiations with Kenya to have the ban lifted for a period of three weeks.

However Kandie says there has been no dialogue between the two countries for within the given period pushing Kenya to get back to the full implementation of a 1985 bilateral agreement.

The agreement does not allow tour vans to access parks and airports in either of the countries and which Kenya has not been fully implementing unlike Tanzania.

“The Minister of Tourism and Natural Resources (Lazaro Nyalandu), of the United Republic of Tanzania came to Kenya and requested for a three-week window for talks. Those three weeks have now expired without Tanzania counterparts convening the meeting for negotiations. We have therefore resolved to move forward with the full implementation of the bilateral agreement,” the CS said.

However, Kandie however says in the spirit of East Africa integration, Tanzania vans will be allowed to drop and exchange tourists in all the towns in Kenya despite Kenya vans having limited entry in Tanzania.

Kenyan vans will continue to drop their tourists in Tanga, Moshi, Arusha and Musoma.

In March last year the two East African States reverted to their 1985 bilateral agreement as an interim measure to resolve their differences in efforts to protect the multi-million-dollar tourism industry.

It is estimated that nearly 40 percent of about one million tourists visiting Tanzania annually pass through JKIA before crossing overland into the Tanzania national parks.

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