European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 28, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Member of a weaving cooperative in Odi left demonstrates her skill Small store below in Village near Gaborone unusual tree rises dramatically out of the dry Brush landscape right. Democracy and a stable rapidly growing Economy said u s ambassador to Botswana John f. Zordok in an interview in Gaborone there Are no political prisoners of human rights abuses and the country has a generally Good human rights  amnesty International reports. Jeremiah Scabo. 56, the owner of a Small trading store in a Village near the capital City said that since Botswana gained Independence there Are More goods better material and better toads there s no inner trouble we have a Good  the people of Botswana Are. For the most part Well led and clothed the health care system focuses on primary care and prevention and 80 percent of the children Are immunized by the age of one the turning Point Lor Botswana was the discovery of Large deposits of diamonds shortly alter the country gained Independence. Profits from the diamonds provided the hard working practical people a Means to pull the country up by its Bootstraps Botswana is now the largest producer of Gem Stone Quality diamonds in the world the Economy is also lulled by Copper and Nickel mines and beef production the Botswana meat commission is Africa s largest meat Export company cattle is still a Standard by which a Man s wealth is judged More impressive to what the Botswana have done with the earnings of the Diamond Copper Nickel and beef  Kordek said they have not wasted it on while elephant projects they have put the Money into further development of the nation primarily  the country has a progressive attitude toward its natural resources setting aside roughly 17 percent of its land As National Parks some of the largest herds of wild animals in Africa roam in the Northern Chobo National Park which the country Hopes to make a favorite destination for safari seeking foreigners the country s elephant population has not been devastated by poachers As it has in other parts of Africa and is actually increasing the government is also pragmatic when it comes to health care doing what it can with limited resources to prevent disease and to provide equitable health care to All said or. Pal  area peace corps medical officer despite the country s Prosperity it is still poor by standards of the industrialized world. There is High unemployment and Many people live by subsistence farming or raising Small amounts of livestock. The majority of the population lives in the Eastern part of the country the Kalahari desert covers much of the Southwest making it unlivable education is highly valued with the government striving to provide nine years of Basic education for everyone. To want More education Seabo said. Our children must be better educated and we need More teachers because of a Lack of teachers Many teaching positions Are filled by peace corps workers in addition the government with developmental Aid from other nations has sent thousands of Botswana to universities in the United states and Europe Kordek said Many military officers Are also trained in the United slates which provides Botswana with about $20 million m Aid a year. Kordek attributes Botswana s achievements to democracy democracy is basically at the grass roots of this  he said it was not a new concept to the Botswana the Kotla is the traditional meeting place in each Village where people gather usually with the chief to freely discuss argue and share ideas about a particular Issue or concern said Brig Gen m a Phelo. Chief of staff of the Botswana defense Force democracy has worked in Botswana in part because the country has not been divided by tribal Marfaro hinted five percent of the Botswana Are from the Tswana tribe the country s Success is even More remarkable in Light of the turmoil on the other Side of its Borders Angola is torn by different factions trying to Gam control of the country Namibia struggles to to Independent of South Africa and South Africa is dealing with the unrest caused by its racist policy of apartheid although Botswana has no political or diplomatic lies with South Africa and opposes apartheid it is economically dependent on its Southern neighbor importing most of its food from South Africa the majority of other imports and exports also go through South african ports the South africans have made raids into Botswana looking for members of the banned african National Congress an activist Chi our lighting against apartheid which sometimes travels from Zambia through Botswana to South Africa those raids have angered Botswana the country is trying to beef up its army of less than 5,000 men to better respond to threats from South Africa. But Botswana has limited recourse against its infinitely More powerful neighbor. Botswana strives to control its own destiny but the economies of the two countries Are so tightly linked that its future will to some extent be determined by what happens in South Africa. . Monday August 28.1989 the stars and stripes Page 17