Having just returned from summer vacation, I have been thinking a lot about the past 7 months here in Botswana. There have been so many ups and downs but what stands out the most to me is just how much I’ve grown to truly appreciate this country’s culture and history. Botswana’s history is one filled with love and inclusivity, a narrative that is so often untold about African nations. Instead of war and poverty, Botswana was a country that was able to rise above the racial tension that existed at the time and forge ahead to create a truly mixed nation.

Photo Caption: Me channeling my inner Zebra (Botswana’s national animal) during Botswana’s 50th anniversary.

Botswana was declared an independent nation on September 30th, 1966. Prior to this, it was called Bechuanaland, its name given by the British while they were in control. Unlike South Africa which was under the Apartheid system imposed by the Afrikaners, Bechuanaland was largely left alone. After negotiations with the British crown in London in 1895, Khama III, with two other chieftains, were able to attain sovereignty for this British protectorate in exchange for some land to build some railways (see: Cecil Rhodes and the Cape to Cairo railway).

Things ran more or less smoothly until Sir Seretse Khama, Khama III’s grandson, fell in love with Ruth Williams while studying in Oxford. Seretse was black and Motswana; Ruth was white and British. Under increasing pressure from South Africa (remember, Apartheid) and his own people, Seretse and Ruth continued to fight for their love and eventual marriage. At one point, South Africa even banned Seretse from its borders. Eventually, however, his own country began to accept the relationship and in 1965, after the introduction of a new self-government, Seretse took his place as Bechuanaland’s first prime minister, with Ruth by his side. In 1966, as the British began dismantling many of their overseas colonies, Bechuanaland became independent, renamed itself Botswana, and elected Seretse Khama as its first president.

Botswana’s flag represents this history: a blue background to symbolize rain, Botswana’s life blood, the center black stripe represents its majority population while the two white stripes are a nod to the racial harmony and diversity that Botswana adopts.

In 1967, a year after independence, the first diamond was discovered in Botswana. This discovery would allow Botswana to become one of the fastest growing new democracies on the African continent. Many argue that this discovery was timely for another reason: had diamonds been discovered prior to independence, no one knows whether the British would have let go so easily.

– Kevin Nigarura (WCAS ’16)