The Ecumenical Campaign of Fraternity 2010 has as objective to strengthen the bonds of fraternity and cooperation among the Christian Churches and people of goodwill in promotion of an economy in service of life, without exclusions, creating a culture of solidarity and peace.

 

Christian communities in this campaign are called to promote as in the words of the gospel "Do not accumulate for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and worms consume, and where thieves break in to steal. Rather store for yourselves treasures in heaven" (Mt 6, 19-20). "No one can serve two masters: either he will hate the one and love the other, or cling to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and riches" (Mt 6, 24). Jesus assumed this practice, in daily life, assuming simplicity in the use of material goods, in solidarity with the poor, free distribution of the gifts of God.

 

The theme of the Campaign of Fraternity "Economy and Life" seeks to arouse all persons of good will to reflect on the neoliberal economic model and its consequences for all humanity. The motto: "You can not serve God and riches" (Mt 6, 24), is an illumination, which helps us to position ourselves before that model we defend, that of life or that of death.

 

Indigenous peoples help us to reflect on the meaning of this Campaign, telling us with their daily practice that economy is a chain that relates us to each other, thus necessary to be considered a whole, such as: education, health, economy, culture, religion, guarantee of the territories and their physical integrity, finally a conjunction of practices that involve the life and being of a people. A people is autonomous when planning their actions in a way that constructs their life project, ensuring their sustainability and also that of future generations. These actions can be short, medium or long term. This theme provokes a deep reflection on the models of survival of each people, which involves all practices that contribute to a real project of development.

 

In Brazil, of the 27 Brazilian states, 24 have indigenous peoples, a total of 230 peoples who live with the national society, speaking 180 languages. In addition to these, there are 67 indigenous peoples in situations of isolation and risk of extinction or who are still not contacted. Of these, 15 are in the state of Rondônia. The majority of peoples still live their traditional economies. The basis of their commercial relations is the exchange or sale of products created in the villages, such as flour, artisan work/crafts and others. The Indigenous economy can be considered a living historical example of self-sustainability and integration with the environment, to the extent that indigenous peoples have survived and reproduced historically according to their own models, with limited interaction and integration with the economy of the market.

 

The earth is mother to the indigenous peoples, a sacred being who deserves respect, not needing to have the meaning of merchandise and profit. It is worth emphasizing that many of these peoples do not have their traditional territory regularized, still others are not even recognized by the policy of the federal government and continue to be discriminated against by the official agency. Social and cultural rules, individuals and collectives, which structure the indigenous economies and the processes of ethnodevelopment, contributed so far to the preservation of environmental quality and biodiversity.

 

The indigenous peoples have always had their own ways of developing economic relations between individuals, families and communities. Economy of reciprocity, solidarity and ethnodevelopment, self-sustainability and autonomy is the result of everyday life in indigenous communities. These relationships are based on the practice of reciprocity, that is, giving and receiving. These actions are part of a single movement and exchanges between people and between groups are permanent. Reciprocity ensures the permanent redistribution of goods within the community and prevents just one person from accumulating a greater part of the wealth of the group. In the indigenous communities there is no discrimination, they welcome and value the elderly and there are no abandoned children, the joy is celebrated by all and the pain of one is a pain of the entire community

 

It is an economy in which coexistence, solidarity and reciprocity are fundamental elements, economic activities reconcile the capability to produce (those who know the objects of native art, for example, know how they are always made with great capacity and beauty), knowledge and respect for nature, the traditional knowledge of the group, beliefs and the visions of each of earth’s peoples.

 

In the state of Rondônia, there exist at least 15 peoples that maintain distance from contact with our society. As a consequence, they live their economies in the full sense, without interference of capitalist logic, for which profit and the accumulation of money is above everything, even life itself. People who are isolated and at risk are there to show us that despite the logic of the market and consumerism that imperils the world, it is possible to survive without being impacted by the ideology of the market.

 

Regarding major projects encouraged by the government and the false projects of sustainable development in contrast to all traditional and cultural practice of the indigenous peoples, encouraging livestock, the planting of coffee, sales of timber, mining ore, poultry, tourism, construction of hydroelectric plants. These projects enter the villages without the proper preparation and condition of maintenance, making it very clear the non- participation of the community in project design, as well as political and social comprehension.

 

There are many challenges that indigenous peoples experience in the state of Rondônia: agribusiness, the use of agrotoxins on lands that border farms, dams; highways, tree monocultures (complexos de Madeira), gas lines, petrochemical exploration, poorly maintained roads. The large projects generate dependency and insecurity in the area of self-sustainability and encourages the search for projects outside the financial community. On the other hand, the construction of hydroelectric dams, which divert the rivers and dry the streams, have repercussions on the subsistence and physical survival of indigenous peoples who are directly or indirectly impacted.

 

A Fraternity Campaign of this year, will help Christians men and women look at these existing economic models, which challenge the logic of the capitalist market and propose an economy based on relations of reciprocity and in harmony with nature. As the indigenous Seattle said, "the earth is our mother, if we destroy her, we are destroying ourselves."

 

Porto Velho, 17 February of 2010

CIMI-Roraima