Bullfrog Films
25 minutes
Grades 7-12, College, Adult

Directed by Chris Walker
Produced by Television Trust for the Environment

DVD Purchase $79, Rent $45

US Release Date: 2000
Copyright Date: 2000
DVD ISBN: 1-59458-481-8
VHS ISBN: 1-56029-865-0

Subjects
African Studies
Anthropology
Developing World
Economics
Geography
Global Issues
Globalization
History
Human Rights
Humanities
Indigenous Peoples
International Studies
Social Justice
Sociology
United Nations

Life Series
Regopstaan's Dream

Kalahari Bushmen fight to live on ancestral land in South Africa.

"Against very long odds, the San of the Kalahari have rebounded from the brink of extinction and, as this film details, are now locked in an ironic legal battle to regain a piece of their ancestral homeland." Timothy McGettigan, Professor of Sociology, University of Southern Colorado

On March 21st, 1999, at a ceremony in the Kalahari desert, 300 of the world's remaining Bushmen were granted 125,000 acres of their own land for the first time by the South African government.

25 years earlier, they'd been evicted from the Kalahari by the previous, apartheid government of South Africa who said they were "too westernized" to cohabit with the wild animals in the National Park.

Forced to live in shanty conditions on a patch of land just outside the park, their eviction was just one more chapter in a genocide that had gone on for generations -- white settlers who arrived in South Africa in the 17th century had actually hunted the Bushmen for sport. As South Africa's respected broadsheet, The Mail and Weekly, summed it up, the Bushmen's story is "the most brutal, yet ignored, shame in this country's history."

Regopstaan Krupier was an elder in the Khomani clan of the Bushmen who initiated the fight to regain control of their ancestral lands. Regopstaan's Dream follows the story of his son, Dawid Krupier's campaign to make the dream come true -- by making sure the South African government honor their agreement to allow him and his extended family rights to live in their Kalahari home.

The producer of this program has collected extensive resources at www.tve.org/life/archive/life17main.html

The other titles in the series are:

1. Life: The Story So Far - How the globalized world economy affects ordinary people.

2. Geraldo Off-Line - Globalized economy affects Brazilian factory worker.

3. From Docklands to Dhaka - English MD travels to Bangladesh to improve community health.

4. An Act of Faith: The Phelophepa Health Train - A group of health professionals tours the most deprived regions of South Africa providing care.

5. The Philadelphia Story - Globalized economy affects American jobs.

6. The Boxer - Young male looks to escape Mexican poverty by becoming a boxer in the United States.

7. The Seattle Syndrome - Were the WTO protesters right in their effort to protect workers and the environment from exploitation?

8. The Right to Choose - Women are denied human rights in Ethiopia and northern Nigeria.

9. At the End of a Gun: Women and War - The devastating effect that the civil war in Sri Lanka is having on women.

10. The Summit - The UN General Assembly meets to review progress on social justice worldwide.

11. All Different, All Equal - Examines progress in women's rights globally.

12. India Inhales - Activists combat tobacco companies that target India.

13. The Silver Age - Growing population of elderly worldwide seeks purpose and care.

14. The Cost of Living - AIDS drugs unaffordable in developing countries.

15. The Posse - Rap group in Sao Paulo, Brazil, expresses social problems.

16. Credit Where Credit is Due - Micro-credit organization in Bangladesh provides loans to village poor.

18. Untouchable? - The caste system and bonded labor are still alive and well in India.

19. Because They're Worth It - Micro-credit, education, health information, and hope provided to impoverished Chinese.

20. For a Few Pennies More - Iodine deficiency causes health problems in Indonesia.

21. In the Name of Honour - Kurdish women fight for their rights in Northern Iraq.

22. God Among the Children - Community organization works with at-risk youth in Boston.

23. Without Rights - Palestinians are denied human rights.

24. Lost Generations - Poor health and poverty condemn people in India to sub-standard lives.

25. Educating Lucia - The odds are against girls getting an education in Zimbabwe and throughout much of Africa.

26. A-OK? - Examines prospects for Vitamin A distribution programs in Guatemala and Ghana necessary for children's health.

27. Bolivian Blues - Explores the success of new initiative to reduce widespread poverty.

28. The Outsiders - Explores the moral and economic dilemmas that adolescents face in the Ukraine today.

29. The Debt Police - Uganda seeks external debt relief and fights internal corruption.

30. The On-going Story - Final episode examines the international community's commitment to linking social and economic development with human rights.

NOTE: A second series called City Life is now available.

Web Page: http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/lsrd.html

Reviews
"Against very long odds, the San of the Kalahari have rebounded from the brink of extinction and, as this film details, are now locked in an ironic legal battle to regain a piece of their ancestral homeland."

Timothy McGettigan, Professor of Sociology, University of Southern Colorado