![]() ![]() When the rains stop, the loggers will be back. We need enough people to message him that he takes notice… You, me, our friends, our families. "We have to change that before it's too late. But right now it's just not his priority. He can send in the federal police to catch the loggers, and keep them out for good. In the words of Colin Firth, who is supporting our campaign: "One man can stop this: Brazil's minister of justice. The Awá will doubtless survive as well, but only if the campaign in defence of their land is similarly vociferous. The largest little-contacted tribe in Amazonia, the Yanomami, survived because a 20-year campaign secured the protection of their lands in 1992. We have seen tribal peoples' lands protected repeatedly over the last 40 years. Cynics might argue that it won't happen, that the fast buck will always triumph, but that's really an admittance that we are the savages, unfettered by any rule of law, common decency or humanity. It merely entails respecting the laws and rights which governments claim to uphold. ![]() However, we believe, profoundly, that there will still be Amazon Indians at the end of the century. The "integration" of these peoples is the theft of their self-sufficiency, and their condemnation to the lowest rung of a steep and greasy ladder – or worse, death. Some individuals might leave to explore the outside, but most will return home to its invaluable advantages: free food and housing, as opposed to scraping a living in shantytowns and slums, where life is usually nasty, brutish and short. On their own territory, they can adapt to change as they wish. That can happen if no one else wants the land, it's inaccessible to outsiders or, most importantly, there's the political will and strength to ensure it remains with the Indians. On the other hand, when it's protected, most of their problems evaporate. Indigenous peoples represent less than one percent of Brazil's 192 million people and occupy 12 percent of the national territory, mainly in the Amazon.When land is taken, tribes simply don't survive. The campaign also aimed to persuade Brazilian Justice Minister Jose Eduardo Cardozo to send in federal police to evict loggers, ranchers and settlers from Awa lands.Īccording to Survival, there are roughly 360 Awa who have been contacted by outsiders, many of them survivors of brutal massacres, along with another 100 believed to be hiding in the rapidly-shrinking forest.īrazil's National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) FUNAI estimates that there are 77 isolated indigenous tribes scattered across the Amazon. ![]() Last April, Survival launched a campaign spearheaded by Britain's Oscar-winning actor Colin Firth to focus world attention on the plight of the Awa, warning they were threatened with "genocide" and "extinction." Survival Director Stephen Corry urged Brasilia to "remove all invaders from the Awa indigenous territory as a matter of urgency, and put in place a permanent land protection plan which will enable them to live in peace and security on their land." In letters to Brazilian diplomatic missions in those cities, Survival supporters warned that "if the invasion and destruction are not halted now, we believe that the Awa have little chance of surviving," the group said. Survival International, a leading advocate for tribal peoples' rights worldwide, sponsored protests in London, Madrid, Paris, Milan, Berlin, The Hague and San Francisco to pressure Brazil to honor its pledge to remove loggers, ranchers and settlers from demarcated Awa territories. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |