VICE News, learns how Batwa pygmies, who are forced out of the forest to survive the fight against discrimination and poverty in Uganda.
Driven from their ancestral homes by the creation of the Mgahinga and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in southwestern Uganda, the Batwa Pygmies have been reduced to a tiny community of about 1,000 people living in slums around Kisoro District, a town where tourism flows annually to the visit parks and see its famous mountain gorillas.
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While conservation tourism booms, most Batwa are considered ultra poor, have an extremely low life expectancy, and are struggling to have their rights recognized for three decades.
In recent years, a Batwa organization called UOBDU has sought legal action, arguing that the country’s national parks was seized unlawfully from the indigenous population. This is not yet resolved.
