FORCED
OUT OF
THE FOREST

The Batwa tribe were forced to leave their land by government authorities in Uganda.

Removed from their forest dwellings by government authorities to establish the Mgahinga and Bwindi Impenetrable National Parks, the Batwa pygmies now live in slums around Kisoro. This town sees tourists stream through each year to visit the parks created to protect the country’s endangered mountain gorillas. However, while conservation tourism booms, the Batwa tribe has fallen into extreme poverty, resulting in an exceptionally low life expectancy. In turn, they also struggled to have their legitimate rights as an indigenous tribe recognised over the last three decades.