The Maasai people of Tanzania are being met with a specific form of violence - gentrification!
Their government is forcibly evicting them from ancestral lands. Why?
Tanzania’s government claims the Maasai are voluntarily relocating. They’re making them leave out of greed. What’s their real plan?
Tanzania’s tourism minister confessed their REAL plan is to build a game reserve on the Maasai’s land.
Building the reserve would take away land that’s supposed to be protected as it’s an UNESCO World Heritage Site. If Tanzania’s government proceeds with the reserve, roughly 70,000 to 150,000 Maasai people will be forcibly displaced, but they’re not going down without a fight.
Maasai are actively disrupting the build wherever they can. They’ve been met with tear gas and gunfire.
Some Maasai elders are actively speaking out about the violence they’re fighting. Historically and currently, gentrification is a form of violence Black people face around the world.
Eviction in any form is one of anti-Blackness’ greatest weapons. Like the Maasai we must band together, expose corrupt governments, and make it clear we won’t go easily.