Marginalised for decades, Pygmy peoples are fighting for recognition and land rights. Even the term ‘pygmy’ is laced with historical racism and prejudice, they are not treated as equal citizens in their home country. At the heart of pygmy culture is their forest, central to their spiritual beliefs, and ancestral heritage it is also their source of food and livelihood. Large swathes of their land is being exploited by international companies without the consent of the Pygmy peoples.
But the Pygmy movement is growing and organising fuelled by the younger generation, their momentum sustained by solidarity.