Tears for My Land: A Social History of the Kua of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR), Tc'amnpoo is an amazing book. It is a welcome voice from within the CKGR and beyond. Kuela Kiema was born there sometime between 1966 and 1969, a Kua (not a Bushman, San, Khoisan or Mosarwa). "Our oppression comes in different forms and one of these is what we are called". The CKGR is Tc'amnpoo to the people who live there. There are actually six Kua language groups who have lived from time immemorial in Tc'amnpoo - "Our Land". They were relocated to New Xade and Kaudwane between 1997 and 2002, and only a few have returned to live inside the reserve following the 206 High Court decision that entitled them to return home.
"Mistakes are made because many people, including researchers, do not realise that we identify ourselves differently according to whom we are speaking. If I meet a Tswana or Bantu I say I am a Moswara, but if I meet a Naro or any other of my people, I refer to myself as Dcuikhoe. When speaking Setswana I call myself a Mosarwa, but when speaking English, I use the term Bushman or San" (page 14). Kwela goes on to list nine San languages that represent distinct cultures and groups of Kua (other researchers have listed up to 16). That the Kua are a diverse group of people becomes negated when others think of them only as Basarwa - an imposed term that is resented - as is the label "nomads".
