co~sLAI co~sLAI REGISTERED WITH THE DIRECTOR OF POSTS AND TELEGRAPHS AS A NEWSPAPER Volume V No. 1 Organ of the Botswana Democratic Party (JANUARY, 1967 OUR NATIONAL CHARACTER MANY a newspaper Correspondent that covered the Botswana Independence Celebrations in September and tried to give an assessment of the festive activities, agreed that a distinguishing characteristic of these celebrations was an absence of fuss and excitement. Many of them thought they could detect bewilderment and puzzlement in the faces of the many spectators who lined the streets of Gaberones, and watched the foreign dignitaries drive past in their flag-bearing cars, without any awareness of the significance of the occasion for their future. The South African Pictorial Magazine, "Scope", sums it up by saying that they knew "something very important was happening, but many did not seem to know what it was." The correspondent continues, however, to make some observations by which knowingly or not, he lays open the nature of the Batswana as a people, when he remarks: "In sharp contrast to the often violent events that had marked the granting of independence to Black African countries to the north of them in the preceding ten years, Botswana's great day passed off with quiet dignity, and an almost complete lack of incident ..... so subdued and noiseless were the celebrations." "Quiet dignity . subdued and noiseless" - sums up adequately the distinguishing characteristic of the Batswana, for, like an individual a nation has a character by which it can be distinguished from others. These are characteristics of a Motswana that have often been mistaken for timidity, and at other times for canceit or stubbornness. Because he prefers to go about his daily tasks quietly and with a minimum of fuss and noise, he has often been looked down upon by his more boisterous neighbours, who, as a rule express themselves in high-piched voices, and move about in a swaggering gait, and put on "somebody-who-maters" airs. These are all conscious or unconscious devices to make up for the absence of that intrinsic human quality - courage, both moral and physical. It is common knowledge that a dog barks, snarls, bares its teeth, arches its tail and back, ruffles its mane, simply because it is in mortal fear, while most of us will have learned by unpleasant experience to take heed of the dog that approaches you without a snarl or a growl. Besides, the noisy and excitable make-up of an individual or a nation does not, and cannot lend itself to an impassionate and balanced assessment of issues, something in which we hope the people and government of Botswana will have a lesson or two to teach the world and the continent of Africa in particular. What has often been mistaken for stubbornness in a Motswana is an innate desire to be accorded the basic recognition that he is a human being and grown up man or woman, particularly from those who may be employers or supervisors of labour. Such recognition has the tendency of drawing from his loyalty to, nd respect for those above him, a fact which it would be worth much for members of other racial groups in this country to know. In addition a Motswana likes to be given an opportunity to voice his complaints if he has any, to be listened to with sympathy, if only to have it explained why so and so cannot be done for him. He does not have that deceptive submissiveness that is often mistaken for obedience, under which, more often than not a great deal of pained feeling and bitterness is provided with a medium within which to accumulate and smoulder, erupting somewhere into the violence that, according to Scope, has become a common experience in some African countries to the north of us. If members of other races with whom we share common boundaries, or who have come to make their homes here, to live among, and work with the Batswana, were to appreciate some of these distinguishing characteristics of the native inhabitants of this country we may yet be saved much of the heart ache and misery that has torn the rest of the Continent of Africa. TRIBESMAN KILLED IN AMBUSH S Eight African terrorists who ambushed unarmed Rhodesia tribsmen 300 miles west of Salisbury have been captured by the Rhodesian Security Forces. It is said one tribesman was killed in the ambush. For your PRINTING at STATIONERY i ,OTSWANA PRESS ," (PTY.) LTD. P.O. B of)4 Mafeking -PRINTERS OF THIS NEWSPAPER MATONA A BOTSWANA Ke RAMSAY DIANE MOLEFE Botswana bo a ipela bo tsere Ipuso Namane tse ditona di semeletse, Tshoso-e- rweleng ke Seretse-a-Sekgoma Lelekantwa la bana ba ga Khama Seshaba sa Botswana lo ikakole Lo itlhophetse motho yo montle Seretse Le a gata lefatshe o nasa fela A nyenya le bagolo le babannye. Morwa Khama o gama a iketlile, Masire ke ene motshwara kgamelo Ba gama ka kgamelo di le thataro Ya bosupa ba setse ba e tsentse. Tiya mokwatla Masire o itsetsepele, Lefatshe la Botswana le go lebile Le mafatshe otlhe a go utlwetse 0 se nne lefufa wa rethefala. BAMANGWATO BURIAL SOCIETY (B.B.S.) LEKGOTLA LA BAMANGW ATO LA GO FITLHA BASWI A 0 ITSI KA GA BAMANGWATO BURIAL SOCIETY RE BONE GONE GOMPIENO! IKWADISE MO LEKGOTLENG LA BAMANGWATO LA GO FITLHA BASWI SE LEKGOTLA LE SE EMETSENG KA NAKO YA GO LE LOSO Bamangwato Burial Society e emetse ditiro tse di latelang fa o swetswe:(a) Re tla ntsha Lekese/Kobo ya go fitlha moswi (b) Re tla ka dikoloi tsa rona (c) Re ntsha seaparo (d) Re emetse go thusa ka Dijo; tse di tshwanang le Tea, Sukiri, Boupi jalo jalo. (e) Re dira dithulaganyo le bakokelo go re tshegeletsa Setoto go fitlhela nako ya fa re se batla. RE DITSALA TSA BA BA SWETSWENG BAMANGWATO BURIAL SOCIETY (B.B.S.) e tIa fitiha baswi ba rona ka madi a ko tlase; le ka Tiotlo e tona, le ka Phitlho e masisi. Rulaganya go nna mongwe we Lekoko la Bamangwato Burial Society gompieno! Se diege gonne ga go motho o ka laolang nako ya Loso. Rulaganya le: THE SECRETARY/BOARD OF DIRECTORS, BAMANGWATO BURIAL SOCIETY, P.O. BOX 69, SEROWE. Seshaba sa Botswana lo ipeleng Thema o lo belege ka Ipelegeng O disitse dikole le dikokelo Le ditiro o ntse a di akanya Ke utlwile Tsoebebe a ntshebetsa A re, "Thema ke ene serunya sa tiro" Kana ke mosimane wa kgopana 0 tsere emo sa phiri e kotame. Maabane ke etetse Bokalaka Ke fitlhetsa Dambe a epa tshimo A utlwa fa go tla agwa letamo La go nosa korong le katunu (cotton) A re ene ga a na sepe le tihale O batla motsoko go goga peipi Tsheko ke ene mmaya masimo 0 dule Tona ya Leruo le Temo. Haskins o fetotse seemo O tla tswa digolo di sa bolelwe O pelo-tshweu ke Lekgoa-Motswana Ke mfitlhetse a tlhobotse dibaki A tshwana le thakadu seepa- dikhuti Ga a epe maruswa o batla khumo O batla kgotlho'kwa tlase ga lefatshe Meepo ke yone boswa jwa lefatshe. Nwako ke ene morongwa kgakala O rongwa Aferika le kwa moseja Go tihola fa folaga ntse a foka E kwebu ya Botswana kokama seshaba E re file seriti re le bannye. Moja-morago ke ngwana wa ga Kgabo. Ngwana ke yoo Ma,gosi lo mmelege Fa lo o ja, lo mo ngathele lemipi. A heelele lona bana ba Botswana! to tshege-tshege lo bo lo ipitike Lo tshwane le mmutla wa maphakela Tshwarang tiro tsotlhe ka boipelo Tiro ga se fela Ofisi - Gaborone Le ya masimo ke pelega seshaba Mathata a a sa bolong go retela Lo tshwaragane le Puso lo a fedise Mafufa a mannye lo a lebale. JANUARY, 1967 THERISANYO - CONSULTATION PAGE TWO JANUARY, 1967 THERISANYO - CONSULTATION PAGE THREE BOTSWANA BECOMES 120th MEMBER OF THE UNITED NATIONS AS our readers are no doubt aware it has been the expressed intention of the Bechuanaland Democratic Party that on the attainment of the independence status Botswana would seek her place in the United Nations Organisation and its specialised agencies, the Organisation for African Unity and such other international bodies whose membership would be of benefit to Botswana. This intention - call it promise if you wish, was uppermost in the mind of the President of Botswana - Sir Seretse Khama, for so soon after independence Celebrations he dispatched a mission to New York to place before the United Nations an application for membership. The Botswana delegation comprising the Minister of State, the Hon. M. P. K. Nwako, ex Minister of Agriculture; Profesor Z. K. Mattews - ambassador designate to United States and Botswana's Permanent Representative to U.N. and Mr. Pheneas P. Makepe, one of Prof. Mattews' first Secretaries, left Gaberones on their first leg to New York on the evening of October 6th and having made a brief stop in London arrived in New York on the evening of October 8th. The delegation was met at the airport on arrival by a Mr. F. Brown of the British Mission and Were by intervention saved the hazard of immigration formalities. The first day at the United Nations was spent on the completion of the necessary protocol arrangements and on a series of introduction to several U.N. celebrities. The welcome was warm and cordial. The application by Botswana which was sponsored by Britian and other Commonwealth countries in the Security Council was considered by the Security Council on Friday 14th October, 1966. Lord Caradon, leader of the British Mission and Chairman of the current session of the Security Council led the discussions and expressed his joy and that of his Country that Botswana had ultimately attained independence and was justifiably seeking her place in the United Nations.