Country: Zimbabwe

Group: Doma

Date Finalized: 12 October 2022

Team: Team: Austyn Evans (lead), Anthony Un, Kelsey Dwyer, Aria Robinson, Noelle Collings

Content Warnings: Starvation, discrimination, ethnocide

Approximate Time Period: 2000s – present

The Doma, also referred to as “tree-people,” have lived in the Mwanzamutanda mountains, likely as one of the first populations living in the territory of present day northern ZImbabwe. They are indigenous hunter gatherers, and this is still their way of life today. The Doma make up approximately .03% of Zimbabwe’s population and are isolated from the rest of Zimbabwe. The Doma’s access to hunting was put to a stop for the first time in their history when the Zimbabwean government passed the Land Acquisition Act (MRGI, 2018). This act prohibits hunting in their native land. The Doma people are at serious risk of starvation because of the Land Acquisition Act. The Doma are being forced to change their lifestyles from hunter-gatherers to farmers. This is a concept that they are unfamiliar and unsuccessful with. It will lead to even worse cases of starvation. The Doma only receive “occasional maize seed .. as food aid” (Kanengoni, 2017). The Zimbabwean government took indigenous land and prevented a traditional practice. Seventh Day Adventists have also moved into Doma territory in an attempt to erase their culture and beliefs, even claiming that they are “trapped” in their religion (Cultural Survival, 2016).

There is a lack of in depth evidence (1/3); however with the few sources out there that are reliable and about the topic I think that they are strong enough to back this case.

Sources

  1. CNBC Africa. (Sept 12, 2016). Zimbabwe’s Doma children on the margins of society. https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2016/zimbabwes-domas/
  2. Cultural Survival. (2016). Observations on the State of Indigenous Human Rights in Zimbabwe Prepared for United Nations Human Rights Council. https://www.culturalsurvival.org/sites/default/files/media/uprforzimbabwe2016.pdf
  3. Kanengoni, T. (2017, June 15). Doma community faces challenges as nature reserve designation restricts hunting, fishing. Global Press Journal. Retrieved October 12, 2022, from https://globalpressjournal.com/africa/zimbabwe/doma-community-faces-challenges-nature-reserve-designation-restricts-hunting-fishing/
  4. Minority Rights Group International, World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples – Zimbabwe : Doma, April 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5ba359607.html [accessed 29 September 2022]