San paralegal trainees say the San community has for too long been left out in access to human rights knowledge and protection.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Human Rights Day: San Paralegals National Reflection and Planning Workshop, stressed that it is imperative to include them in decision-making bodies.
The training was conducted by the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) with the support of the European Union.
One of the trainees, Hendrik Naoatu, said it is imperative that the San community be involved in the drafting or contributing to the development of laws that affect them.
Naoatu further added that the San people should also be involved at the stage where they are represented by their own people or community-chosen representatives in Parliament.
"Which means we want more people in parliament to speak on behalf of the sound people. We don't want someone to represent us; we want ourselves to represent ourselves because we have the same feeling about ourselves. A fellow San has the same feeling for a fellow San person.
Another trainee is Lorraine Mukuyu, a San paralegal from the Hai//om community in Otjiwarongo.
Mukuyu stressed the importance of being equipped with the right information to take back to their communities.
She said that access to proper human rights knowledge is essential not only in addressing challenges the San people face daily but also for helping them regain and strengthen their identity.
"So that I can take back and then also encourage them and empower my people about the rights that they have. The rights that are inclusive for some people are way back already. We have lost identity. We did not know about that; we only thought about the language. But then I realised, which was also a part of the training, that we lost our identity way back. And then it is a good thing for me for them to tell them so they can regain their identity. "
For the trainees, the Human Rights Day workshop highlighted how the San community continues to be affected by a lack of human rights knowledge.
They said the training is vital because it equips them with information as equal citizens.
The LAC/EU project aims to strengthen the ability of San communities to understand, claim, and effectively assert their human rights.