REPORTING – Those who were called the Bushmen, or Bushmen, are the descendants of the first inhabitants of southern Africa. More than thirty years after the abolition of apartheid and the arrival of the ANC to power, these indigenous peoples are still invisible by the national discourse as well as by the non-recognition of their cultural heritage and their territorial claims.
The earth is red, as if it were purple with blood. The immense sky melts into a horizon quivering under the weight of a blazing sun. We leave Kimberley behind us. Where before there were lots of diamonds, now there is nothing. Except for one hole, the largest ever dug by the hand of man, we are told. Between this city which gave its name to agreements on “blood diamonds” and Cape Town, much further south, towns gradually falling into abandonment remain like the few spots of resilient vegetation which dot the ground where we let’s engage our vehicle. About ten kilometers and two Johnny Clegg songs later, we arrive at Platfontein. “Platfontein ? What are you going to do there ? “, the receptionist at the old-fashioned hotel, the Kimberley Club, asked us, where the old photos still hanging on the walls between hunting trophies bear witness to the glorious past where English and Dutch pioneers came…
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