The Bushmen appeal to Leonardo DiCaprio
In an advert published in Hollywood’s Variety magazine in September 2006 the Bushmen appealed to film star and Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio for help.
DiCaprio is currently starring in a movie, Blood Diamond, about the war and misery fuelled by the diamond industry in Africa.
‘Friends have told us that you are in a film, Blood Diamond, which shows how badly diamonds can hurt,’ wrote the Bushmen. ‘We know this. When we were chased off our land, officials told us it was because of the diamond mines.’
The Bushmen wrote again to DiCaprio after diamond companies began exploration on their land.
Blood Diamond, which also stars Jennifer Connelly and Djimon Hounsou, opened on December 8 in the US.
BBC Special Report on the Bushmen evictions.