Newsletter n 779

 

– Indigenous leaders do not believe that proposals for improving indigenous health care will be implemented.

 

– Assembly strengthens organization of Indigenous Women from the northeast and east regions.

 

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– Leaders do not believe that proposals for improving indigenous health care will be implemented

Indigenous leaders from the Javari Valley, in the state of Amazonas, believe that measures for improving indigenous health care in the region, defined in a public hearing held on August 15 in Atalaia do Norte will not be actually implemented. The hearing was organized by the 6th Chamber of the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, which received reports on serious health care problems in the region.

 

A serological investigation carried out by the National Health Foundation (Funasa) involving 309 indigenous people in 2006 showed that 24.9% of them were infected with hepatitis delta virus (the most aggressive form of the disease). In addition, 85.11% of the indigenous people had been infected with the hepatitis A virus.

 

A Behavior and Conduct Commitment Instrument (TAC) was signed by the organizations attending the hearing contemplating various actions to reduce the number of affected indigenous people and protect the indigenous area. Clóvis Marubo, coordinator of the Indigenous Council of the Javari Valley (Civaja), was not pleased with the result: “Several agreements have been defined but nothing has changed. I do not think this one will change anything. An agreement will not change anything. We would like something more immediate.”

 

The priority measures which were defined include the completion of the serological investigation, so that the precise number of indigenous people infected with hepatitis and other diseases can be known. The TAC also defined that Funasa will be building 4 basic health care stations and provide 12 refrigerators for conserving vaccines by the end of 2007. With this structure established, the immunization program for preventing hepatitis and other diseases would be resumed early in 2008.

 

According to the agreement, the National Foundation for Indigenous People will start to inspect some areas along the Curuça and Javari rivers. 

 

Also according to the TAC, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office in the state of Amazonas will begin an investigation to inspect reports of corruption involving Funasa and the mayor of Atalaia do Norte, Rosário Conte. According to Civaja, more than R$  200,000 were earmarked for hiring technical experts to work in indigenous villages, but it seems that  only 16 people were hired and most of them are working in Atalaia.

 

There are 47 villages in the Javari Valley, which is located on the border with Peru, where about 3,500 people from the Matis, Kulina, Kulina Pano, Mayoruna, Kanamari, and Marubo people are living, besides non-contacted indigenous groups.

 

 

Assembly strengthens organization of Indigenous Women from the Northeast and East regions

 

Strengthened to fight for land and better organized. That is how 120 female warriors belonging to more than 40 indigenous peoples left the 1st Assembly of Women from the Northeast and East Regions. Now they have a permanent representative in the Coordinating Board of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples from the Northeast Region, Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo (Apoinme).

 

Coming from nine different states, those women discussed issues affecting their peoples and themselves individually. The meeting, organized by Apoinme, prepared a diagnosis of the situation of indigenous women in the northeast and east regions, based on the presentations made by the participants.

 

The main issue which affects these women is the lack of land. “We need land to fight for other collective (health, education, etc.) or individual rights as our rights as indigenous women,” summarizes Pretinha Truká, one of the coordinators of the event.

 

The Growth Acceleration Program was highlighted in the final document of the Assembly, as it includes projects in favor of indigenous lands and for putting an end to deforestation activities of farmers, which threaten the territories and life of different ethnic groups.

 

Mention was also made of invasions of territories of the Tupinikim, Guarani (Espírito Santo) and Pataxó (Bahia) peoples by eucalyptus monoculture projects of the Aracruz Celulose and Veracel companies and of the Jenipapo Kanindé people (Ceará) by sugarcane monoculture projects of the Ypióca company.

 

Among other issues affecting women particularly, domestic violence was particularly focused on. “There are cases of violence inside the communities. We discussed here that violence is not a cultural issue. It needs to be discussed within the community with husbands, women, children…,” explained Pretinha Truká.

 

Side by side with men

Strengthening the women’s organization was also one of the objectives of the Assembly. For this purpose, they created a women’s committee made up of women from northeastern and eastern states and appointed Ceiça Pitaguary, from Ceará, to coordinate Apoinme.

 

“We left the assembly strengthened to fight side by side with men, not behind them or ahead of them,” stressed Pretinha. During the presentations, it was recalled that macho attitudes and discrimination on the part of companions and other participants in the indigenous movement often prevail. But it was also recalled that women have always taken part in the struggle for land and rights, in land reoccupation actions and in discussions within the community. “Now, we will make our participation more visible and seek more spaces to enhance it”, summarized the Truká leader.

 

Against the Transposition

To protest against the transposition of the São Francisco River and the indigenous policies adopted by the government, which have been unable to ensure the rights of indigenous peoples, the assembly closed with a parade at Praça da Liberdade (Freedom Square) in the downtown area of Belo Horizonte. The female warriors also reported violence against indigenous peoples and their leaders.

 

 

They also paid homage to leader Maninha Xukuru-Kariri, who died in 2006 for lack of assistance. October 11 was defined as the day of resistance of indigenous women from the northeast and east regions in her honor.

 

 

Brasília, August 16, 2007

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