Write a letter for the Ogiek

Ogiek man, Kenya
© Virginia Lulling/Survival

The Ogiek are hunter-gatherers – some in the deep forest live purely by hunting and gathering, while the majority grow vegetables and keep livestock also. They have traditionally hunted such animals as antelope and wild pigs, which is now generally illegal.

An invasion of loggers, tea planters and settlers into the Ogiek’s home has caused much of the Mau Forest to become severely degraded. The Kenyan government is trying to evict everyone from the forest, including the Ogiek who have been living there for centuries.

If the Ogiek are evicted from the Mau Forest it could spell disaster for the forest and for the Ogiek, who will become ‘conservation refugees’.

How you can help

Please write a letter to the President of Kenya, urging him to change his plans and allow the Ogiek to live on their land.

H E The Hon Emilio Mwai Kibaki, C.G.H., MP
President
State House
PO Box 40530
Nairobi
Kenya

May 18, 2013

Your Excellency

I am deeply concerned by reports that your government intends to evict the Ogiek people from their ancestral home in the Mau Forest.
 
As hunter-gatherers, Ogiek communities rely heavily on the forest’s resources, which they have nurtured for centuries. The current degradation of the Mau Forest comes as a result of tea plantations, logging firms and settlers invading the area, often at the expense of Ogiek rights and livelihoods.
 
International law, including ILO Convention 169 and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, recognizes indigenous peoples’ right to give or withhold their free, prior and informed consent to projects which affect them, and to own land collectively. It would be a breach of these norms to force the Ogiek from their homes, and would create Kenya’s own ‘conservation refugees’.
 
I urge you to act quickly to reverse your government’s plan to evict the Ogiek from the Mau Forest, and to recognize their land ownership rights so that they may continue to live on and use the land which they have occupied for centuries.

Yours sincerely,

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Write a letter for the Ogiek

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How you can help