Southern Africa Fight for Rhino initiative to save our African rhinos. A statement from the organsiation issued today says:
“The Southern Africa Fight for Rhino is a proudly African initiative that seeks to stir up and mobilize true African warriors into a strong united force determined to restore our African struggle for rhinos into the hands of indigenous Africans who have the plight of our African heritage at heart. For a long time the fight for our rhinos has been dominated by some big foreign organisations who are reaping some big monies from donor funds yet are doing very little to support our African initiatives to stop the mass slaughter of our rhino, and secure our rhinos once and for all. Whilst we appreciate their efforts in this struggle, it has always been our statement that as long as the struggle is still dominated by few African whites with backing from western or eastern organisations, it is condemned to failure.
Very few African governments will ever buckle to foreign pressure let alone listen and attend to demands from the the minority white race, such is the state of African politics that even a legitimate petition for better management of Africa’s own wildlife heritage will be rubbished as imperialist. It is only when we the majority indigenous Africans, black, white, blue, yellow whatever color as beautiful as the rainbow, joins the struggle in our masses and with a united voice, to create more awareness and most importantly to petition our governments and CITES COP17 in what we believe is the sustainable way of managing our wildlife resources, THAT is when the struggle for our wildlife begins. Just consider the recent #feesmustfall protest by university students and how the government was left with no choice but to yield, only because the indigenous African had risen.
Does that mean the minority group and the foreign organisations have no part to play in this African struggle? Not at all, but as long as they choose to go at it alone no victory is guaranteed. This is the kind of spirit that inspired the birthing of the Southern African Fight for Rhinos. African solutions for African problems, with our foreign counterparts rallying behind us, not them dictating our direction.
The invitation to be a part of this initiative is open to all who love the African rhino and who cannot imagine a rhinoless Africa. The rhino are being allowed to leave African soil, where they have roamed for millennia, by our governments, due in part to lack of political will. We cannot imagine that to see a rhino in 20 years time, we must fly to America, or Australia! The rhino being farmed like domestic cattle, with no horn!
Let us rally together in this and let’s mobilise as many as we can to accomplish the Southern Africa Fight for Rhino’s main aim. To eventually head up a CITES petition, in time to be handed over to CITES COP17, who will be on South African soil from the 24th of September, to the 5th of October.
If we can prepare our ground well, this is a very big opportunity to express our dissatisfaction with the way they are handling the situation, and at the same time presenting our demands for better international legislation.
It is our responsibility to preserve our African rhinos and if we don’t up our struggle then a rhinoless Africa is awaiting our future generations, and we will have noone to blame but ourselves. By Kenesias Dambakurima and the Voices for African Wildlife
Post published in: Environment