|
. | . |
|
by Staff Writers Kinshasa (AFP) March 27, 2015 Pygmies in the Democratic Republic of Congo used the forum offered by a festival of indigenous peoples Friday to demand protection against discrimination by other Congolese who they claim treat them like "savages". Pygmies are hunter-gatherers who live in DR Congo, the Central African Republic, Congo, Cameroon and Gabon. Since colonial times, they have cohabited uneasily with majority Bantus, who are accused of exploiting the Pygmies, paying them meagre wages -- or with alcohol and cigarettes -- and generally treating them as inferior beings. The Pygmies fate was expected to dominate the second International Festival for Native Peoples, which opened Friday in the capital Kinshasa. Patrick Sayidi, coordinator of the native rights' group DGPA, said it was an "occasion to plead for respect of the Pygmy people in DRC... to highlight their culture and stop the idea that Pygmies are sort of savages, animals." "We are suffering," a group of Pygmy women chanted in the local language Lingala as indigenous groups from around the world arrived for the festival. Sayidi said the Pygmies particularly hoped to use the forum to urge parliament to speed up passage of a bill on the group's rights. Eight months after it was tabled in parliament the legislation still has not received a hearing. Word came at the start of the event that the bill had at last been scheduled for debate, drawing applause from festival participants. The nomadic lifestyle of Pygmies is increasingly under threat from deforestation, mining and extensive farming. Addressing the opening of the festival, Congolese environment minister Bienvenu Liyota Ndjoli denounced the "discrimination, stigmatisation and marginalisation" that the community suffers. The festival, which closes Sunday, brings together native peoples from around Africa, Europe, Asia and Latin America.
Related Links Africa News - Resources, Health, Food
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service. |