Issued: 14^th October 2004

Press Release

Return Pilgrimage of the Resettled

The resettled people of the Mohale Dam area will undertake a return pilgrimage to their sunken homesteads on Friday, 22^nd October 2004. More than six years after they had been forced to leave their villages to make way for the water they will come back for this emontional reunification.

The journey around the Mohale Dam is organized by the Transformation Resource Centre (TRC) as part of its 25^th Anniversary Celebrations. TRC has worked with the affected communities on resettlement, compensation and rehabilitation issues for the past years by empowering and motivating the victims of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP). The major successes in this struggle are the ombudsman’s hearings and the formation of a new organization called SOLD (Survivors of Lesotho Dams).

The bus tour to the Highlands is expected to raise mixed emotions of sadness about the homes lost and of excitement about the beginning of a new life. Musical performances, speeches and a braai within sight of the Mohale Dam wall will complete the journey.