News from Survival International

‘Inside job’ as Peru eyes gas in uncontacted tribes' land

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:03:37 +0100

A Nanti man. His tribe's land is set to be invaded as Peru furthers its gas exploration into protected areas.
© Survival

Secret plans reveal Peru is actively pursuing new gas reserves inside protected tribal land, a flagrant violation of laws that prevent such projects.

The Nahua-Nanti Reserve in southeast Peru is known for its uncontacted Amazon tribes, but more controversially, for a wide stretch of gas fields called the Camisea project.

Only last month, despite 75% of one gas block already dominating the reserve, Peru’s Ministry of Mines and Energy gave the Camisea consortium the green light for more gas exploration.

And now Peru has gone further, releasing plans for the country’s first state-owned oil block, which will be inside the legally protected area.

Known as Fitzcarrald, and owned by PetroPeru, Survival can reveal the new site is projected to be east of Camisea’s Block 88.

In April, Peru gave Camisea permission to expand its gas fields further into protected land.
© A. Goldstein/Survival

If confirmed, its location will cut the Nahua-Nanti Reserve in half, and put uncontacted tribes’ lives in immediate danger.

Peru’s indigenous organization FENAMAD says ‘there is no doubt the government is attempting to cut up indigenous territories for gas exploration…which will be reflected in the genocide and ethnocide of indigenous peoples.’

The new plans are a clear violation of a 2003 Supreme Decree prohibiting any new development of natural resources inside the Nahua-Nanti Reserve.

Survival’s Director Stephen Corry said today, ‘These steps not only jeopardize the future of uncontacted and contacted tribes in the reserve, but also go entirely against the law. Previous gas exploration in this area has decimated Indian tribes, so it’s astonishing that the government is prepared to contemplate history repeating itself, and doesn’t appear to care what the consequences are.’

Note to Editors
- See how the Fitzcarrald site will encroach on the Nahua-Nanti Reserve (pdf, 3 MB)
- Download Peru’s 2003 Supreme Decree on the Nahua-Nanti Reserve (pdf, 83 KB)

Tribal girl raped and murdered in Chittagong Hill Tracts as repression continues

Tue, 15 May 2012 12:33:44 +0100

A family from the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh, where killings, torture and rape against tribal people are common.
© Mark McEvoy/Survival

An eleven-year old girl from the Chakma tribe in Bangladesh has been raped and murdered by a settler.

Sujata Chakma and her younger brother were grazing cows near their village when she was attacked on 9 May.

A suspect has been arrested, but local indigenous people have little faith he will be brought to justice.

Between January and May this year, at least six Jumma girls and women have been raped. Rina Dewan of the Hill Women’s Federation says, ‘The setters continue to commit rape with impunity; not a single rapist has ever been brought to justice, and this is the single greatest factor contributing to the recurrence of this heinous crime.’

The government of Bangladesh has moved hundreds of thousands of settlers into the Chittagong Hill Tracts, home to eleven tribes, known collectively as Jummas.

The settlers have displaced many of the indigenous Jummas, who have also been subjected to violent repression by the army. Jumma women and young girls are especially vulnerable to violent sexual attacks.

Whilst this violence continues unabated and with seemingly little attempt by the authorities to prosecute the perpetrators, evidence has emerged of further attempts to undermine the rights of the indigenous Jumma people.

A confidential circular, from the political wing of Bangladesh’s Ministry of Home Affairs, has recently emerged. The document was distributed to government officials last year in the run up to the UN International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on August 9th.

It warned government officials not to contradict the official government policy that there are no indigenous people in Bangladesh – only ‘tribal people’ and ‘small ethnic groups’.

It went on to recommend that no government support should be given during Indigenous Peoples’ Day and that steps should be taken to publicise that ‘there are no indigenous people in Bangladesh’.

This circular comes in the wake of amendments to the constitution in June 2011, which controversially failed to recognize the estimated 50-60 indigenous peoples living in Bangladesh as ‘indigenous peoples’, in line with the United Nations understanding of the term.

Instead, it describes them as, ‘tribes, ethnic groups, ethnic sects and communities’. The government of Bangladesh has since announced that it will remove all references to ‘indigenous’ and ‘Adivasi’ from government documents, laws and even school textbooks.

The government’s attack on the term ‘indigenous’ and on the celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Day is even more surprising given that in previous years the Prime Minister herself sent messages of support to the country’s indigenous peoples on Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Her party’s election manifesto also contained the term indigenous (Adivasi) several times.

Survival’s Director, Stephen Corry said today, ‘Instead of worrying about whether ministers might accidently use the term ‘indigenous’, the government of Bangladesh should be ensuring that Jumma women and young girls are safe from rape and murder. The record of prosecuting those responsible for these atrocities is scandalous – it’s high time that the government put its priorities in order and respected the rights of the Jummas’.

Note to Editors:

The original document is available to read here

Paraguay overflight confirms Brazilians’ destruction of Ayoreo land

Mon, 14 May 2012 12:19:28 +0100

A Survival International overflight of the Chaco forest in Paraguay has confirmed fears that cattle ranchers are destroying the last hiding place of uncontacted Ayoreo Indians.

Aerial views of the Chaco in northern Paraguay show large tracts of barren land that have been deforested to make way for hundreds of cattle.

Brazilian owned companies River Plate S.A. and BBC S.A have both been caught illegally clearing land that belongs to the Ayoreo.

Contacted members of the tribe have repeatedly expressed their fear for the lives of their relatives who remain hidden in the forest.

But the farmers continue to operate in the area, despite several court charges brought against them.

A Survival spokesperson who was present during the overflight said, ‘The thing which struck me most was how small the Ayoreo’s area is.

‘Anyone living within the core must be very well aware of what is going on around them and feel very threatened. The encroaching farms are like a tightening noose and it cannot be easy to cross to reach other undisturbed areas.’

Government authorities recently confirmed the presence of uncontacted Ayoreo on River Plate’s land, but it is unclear what actions will be taken to protect them.

Indians ‘cry with happiness’ at Brazilian Court ruling

Fri, 11 May 2012 11:27:00 +0100

Pataxó Hã Hã Hãe Indians lobby the Brazilian authorities to uphold their land rights
© José Cruz/ABr

The Pataxó Hã-Hã-Hãe Indians of Brazil are celebrating a Supreme Court decision to allow them to live undisturbed on their land.

The Pataxó, of Bahia state, have been subjected to violent conflict for decades as ranchers have been occupying their indigenous territory.

They have been pushing to be able to live undisturbed on their ancestral land, a right guaranteed to them by Brazil’s constitution and by international law.

After a long judicial battle, Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled this month that the ranchers must leave the area.

The Pataxó sang and danced at a ceremony to welcome the decision. One Indian said, ‘Today our damaged heart is crying with happiness’.

State Deputy Padre Ton emphasized that this land is for the Indians, ‘chased away and evicted by the violence they suffered’.

The Brazilian authorities are now responsible for resettling the ranchers.

Bushmen’s fear as Botswana’s security forces return to the Kalahari

Thu, 10 May 2012 09:54:00 +0100

Bushmen are being arrested despite their right to live and hunt in the CKGR.
© Survival

Botswana’s security forces are arresting and intimidating Bushmen, despite the tribe’s legal right to live and hunt in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR).

Survival has received several reports that a large group of police officers have set up a permanent camp close to the community of Metsiamenong, which famously resisted Botswana’s brutal evictions.

So far police have made at least 5 arrests after finding hunted meat in the community. No charges have been brought so far. Soldiers and paramilitary police are also reported to be in the reserve.

Whilst the Bushmen are legally allowed to hunt inside the reserve, the government has made it impossible by unlawfully refusing to issue a single hunting permit.

One Bushman living inside the reserve said, ‘Since the arrests, the lives of the Bushmen have changed significantly. The government has sent in armed forces to intimidate us, making our lives very difficult. We depend on the natural resources of the CKGR for our food. How are we expected to survive if we cannot hunt?’

Botswana’s High Court upheld the Bushmen’s rights to their land in 2006 after a long legal battle, but it wasn’t until 2011 that they won the right to access water.

Bushmen in Metsiamenong celebrate their victory in 2006.
© Survival

Government officials had sealed the tribe’s well in an effort to drive them from the reserve, resulting in the death of at least one tribeswoman close to Metsiamenong.

Survival’s Director Stephen Corry said today, ‘We are extremely concerned by reports that Botswana’s security forces have set up a camp close to Metsiamenong. This is a clear attempt to intimidate and undermine the human rights the Bushmen battled to save. It will not succeed.’

Note to Editors:

Learn more about the Bushmens forced eviction in Survival’s photo-gallery.

Amazon road could cut uncontacted tribes’ land in half

Fri, 04 May 2012 09:45:42 +0100

Uncontacted Mashco-Piro are believed to live in the path of the road. One band of the tribe were recently spotted further south.
© D. Cortijo/www.uncontactedtribes.org

Peru’s Congress is about to approve a highly controversial road that will slash in half the territory of at least two uncontacted tribes.

Congressmen are considering a law that could declare the project a ‘public necessity’, and consequently bypass huge indigenous opposition.

The proposed road will run across the southeast of Peru’s Amazon from Puerto Esperanza in the Purus region near Brazil, to Iñapari.

Three highly important protected areas lie in its path, including the Madre de Dios Reserve for uncontacted Indians.

The project notably omits reference to uncontacted tribes, as well as opposition from the region’s indigenous peoples, who make up 80% of the population.

They fear the road will attract an onslaught of illegal loggers and colonists who would devastate their forest and the uncontacted Indians living there.

In an appeal to Congress, indigenous organization ORAU said, ‘Do not get carried away by a small group of legislators who want to turn the Purus into a desert’.

Puerto Esperanza’s Catholic priest Miguel Piovesan is widely considered to be the main driver behind the project.

In a recent leaked email Piovesan insisted, ‘There is no danger of a logging invasion’.

However Peru’s comprehensive failure to curb illegal logging in the Amazon has been internationally condemned.

More than 114,000 people have signed a Survival petition to stop the invasion of illegal loggers on uncontacted tribes’ land.

Survival’s Director Stephen Corry said today, ‘It is highly suspicious as to why Piovesan and his friends in Congress wish to build a road in an indigenous area that has almost no support from indigenous people. This ‘we know what’s best for you’ attitude is not only patronising, it’s deadly, as the last 500 years of colonialism and “development” of indigenous lands has shown.’

India: Illegal ‘human safari’ road still open 10 years on

Thu, 03 May 2012 09:35:00 +0100

India's illegal 'human safari' road remains open 10 years after ruling to close it.
© G Chamberlain/ Survival

A road at the centre of a ‘human safari’ scandal in the Andaman Islands is still open, exactly ten years after India’s Supreme Court ordered its closure.

The Andaman Trunk Road (ATR) cuts through the reserve of the Jarawa tribe, and has been internationally condemned for facilitating their exploitation.

The practise of ‘human safaris’, in which tourists are promised the chance to ‘spot’ the Jarawa as if they were animals in a park, was first exposed by Survival in 2010.

The findings revealed how biscuits and sweets were thrown from vehicles on the road to lure the Jarawa closer.

Since then, the UK’s Observer newspaper has revealed how tourists and police have been caught entering the reserve to watch and film the tribe.

India’s Supreme Court ordered the Andaman administration to close the ATR in May 2002. The Islands’ authorities have refused.

Senior Survival campaigner Sophie Grig has flown to the Andamans to call for the road to be closed, and an alternative route established.

Survival’s Director Stephen Corry said today, ‘The Andaman authorities might be putting measures in place to try to control the use of the road, but it is clear that these measures don’t get to the root of the issue. The fact is 250 vehicles are still entering the reserve on a daily basis. The only way of ensuring the Jarawa are free to choose their way of life for themselves is by closing this illegal road.’

Amazon Indians’ fishing ritual brought to halt

Wed, 02 May 2012 12:28:57 +0100

Enawene Nawe man. Drastically low fish stocks in the Indians' rivers have left them 'desperate'
© Fiona Watson/Survival

The Enawene Nawe Indians of the Brazilian Amazon have said they feel ‘desperate’, as their annual fishing ritual has provided them with almost no fish.

This is the fourth year running that the Indians have encountered drastically low fish stocks in their rivers, and the second year in which the ritual could not be properly performed.

This year’s catch is reportedly even lower than in 2009, when the Indians faced a catastrophic food shortage.

The lack of fish is blamed on pollution from the dams being built in the Juruena river basin. The Indians did not give their consent for the project, and have warned, ‘We don’t want the dams dirtying our water, killing our fish, invading our lands.’

The drastic fish shortage is being blamed on the construction of dams in the area
© Survival International

During the Yãkwa ritual, Enawene Nawe men spend months in the forest, building wooden dams to trap fish, then smoking the fish and taking them to their villages by canoe.

This is a key part of the tribe’s culture, and crucial to the Indians’ diet as they do not eat meat.

Brazil’s Public Ministry has implemented an ‘emergency program’ and ordered the government’s indigenous affairs department, FUNAI, and the dam construction companies, to buy fish for the tribe.

Yãkwa has been recognized as part of Brazil’s cultural and historic heritage, and UNESCO has called for it to be ‘urgently safeguarded’.

Colin Firth campaign for Brazilian tribe breaks records in just 3 days

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 10:03:46 +0100

Colin Firth's appeal has generated more than 10,000 protest emails.
© Survival

A campaign launched by Colin Firth to save the world’s most threatened tribe has generated more than 10,000 protest emails to the Brazilian government in just three days – a record for protest action for tribal peoples anywhere in the world.

The Survival International campaign aims to save the Awá tribe, whose lands are being illegally invaded and destroyed.

In a video appeal, Colin Firth asks viewers to send a protest message to Brazil’s Justice Minister, who has the power to send in federal police to evict the loggers, ranchers and settlers who are ravaging the tribe’s land.

In his appeal Colin Firth says, ‘The Awá’s forest is being illegally cut for timber. When the loggers see them, they kill them. Their bows and arrows are no match for guns. And at any other time in history, that’s where it would end. Another people wiped off the face of the earth, forever. But we’re going to make sure the world doesn’t let that happen…’

Brazil’s Justice Minister José Eduardo Cardozo has yet to respond to the barrage of messages, but told a Brazilian journalist, ‘Unfortunately we have a lot of violence in relation to indigenous peoples, and the scale is such that it is impossible, for any government, to prevent situations as they unfold.’

Stephen Corry, Survival International’s Director, said today, ‘If Brazil allows more of its original people to be sacrificed for some truckloads of timber it will be an enduring stain on the history of a great nation, an irredeemable tragedy for humanity, and of course a catastrophe for the Awá. Brazil is one of the richest countries in the world, but does it have the strength to uphold its own laws?’

Colin Firth launches campaign to save ‘Earth’s most threatened tribe’

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 09:05:18 +0100

Oscar-winning film star Colin Firth today launched a major Survival International campaign to save ‘Earth’s most threatened tribe’ – the Awá of the Brazilian Amazon.

The centerpiece of the campaign is a short film, featuring an appeal by Colin Firth and music by Grammy-winning composer Heitor Pereira.

The Awá are a small tribe whose territory has been invaded by a vast army of illegal loggers, ranchers and settlers. Astonishing graphics on the campaign website show the devastating destruction of the Indians’ forest – which is happening faster than any other Amazon tribe.

The situation is now so critical that several Brazilian experts have spoken of a ‘genocide’ and ‘extinction’.

There are around 360 contacted Awá. Many are the survivors of brutal massacres. It is believed that 20-25% more are hiding in the rapidly-shrinking forest, desperately seeking a refuge from the constant destruction.

The campaign aims to persuade Brazil’s Justice Minister to send in federal police to clear out the loggers, ranchers and settlers, and keep them out.

Survival’s film features unique footage of the Awá, who rarely allow outsiders in to their communities. Highlights include scenes showing the Indians’ extraordinarily close relationship to their pets; the moonlit ritual in which the Awá talk to their ancestors’ spirits; and the devastating destruction caused by loggers and ranchers, who set whole hillsides alight.

Survival’s Director Stephen Corry said today, ‘The Awá are threatened by the armed loggers, but also by our own apathy. Yet these campaigns have been repeatedly shown to be successful. If enough people, in Brazil and around the world, show they care, Awá children will be able to grow up in peace on their own land. That’s been proved over and over again.’

Note to Editors:

1. Other unique and exclusive films are available on the campaign website: www.survivalinternational.org/awa

2. Exclusive photos and further footage is available.

3. Survival’s Research Director Fiona Watson, one of the world’s leading experts on uncontacted tribes, is available for interview.

4. ‘Uncontacted’ means people who have no peaceful contact with anyone in the mainstream or dominant society. Read a Q and A about uncontacted tribes.

Uncontacted tribe photographed in Colombian Amazon

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 17:10:00 +0100

Previously uncontacted Nukak emerged from the forest in the 1980s after being forced from their land by violent armed groups
© Gustavo Pollitis/Survival

An uncontacted tribe has been photographed from the air in the Colombian Amazon.

The Indians, thought to be members of the Yuri tribe, live in the Rio Pure National Park, created in 2002 for their protection.

A report by conservation organization ACT Colombia states that there is evidence of another three uncontacted tribes in the area.

ACT and the Colombian National Park Service released the photographs to bolster protection for the Indians.

The park lies close to the Brazilian border and has been increasingly invaded by illegal gold-miners and loggers in recent years.

Illegal armed guerrilla groups are also present in the area, placing the lives of the Indians at extreme risk.

Survival is monitoring the situation and has written to the Colombian government urging it to ensure the safety and survival of the uncontacted Indians.

Innu man completes historic 4,000 km walk

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 09:52:00 +0100

The Innu of north-eastern Canada are celebrating the completion of an historic 4,000 km walk through Nitassinan, their ancestral territory.

The initiative of a young Innu man, Michel Andrew (known as ‘Giant’), the walk aimed to raise awareness of the Innu’s escalating diabetes crisis and reconnect young Innu with nutshimit (‘the country’): the taiga, tundra and rocky barrens that sustained the Innu for millennia.

Giant’s walk began in the winter of 2009 as a solo journey; he left his community of Sheshatshiu with just an axe, toboggan, stove and tent.

During the final stage, approximately 40 Innu walkers joined Giant, crossing the frozen interior of sub-arctic Quebec and Labrador together. They ate caribou, partridge and porcupine hunted along the way.

Michel Andrew’s walk is thought to be the first crossing of Nitassinan since the once-nomadic Innu were pressurised into settling in communities in the 1950s and ‘60s by the government and Catholic Church.

Celebrations are taking place in the Labrador community of Sheshatshiu on Wednesday 18th April 2012, in what is thought to be one of the biggest gatherings of Innu in recent years.

‘There was zero diabetes among our people before, when our grandparents were living in the country, hunting and eating healthy country foods,’ said Giant. ‘Today, only a few families from my community go to nutshimit. They eat the white man’s food – canned food from the store – and drink alcohol.

‘It hurts me to think about it. I want my walk to show our people that our way of life in the country is a healthy life. Otherwise in another 10 years, what will happen? The whole community could have diabetes. Everybody could be losing limbs.’

Survival’s Director Stephen Corry said today, ‘The walk has engendered self-esteem and collective pride in being Innu, which the government and Church tried so hard to erode. It shows that, despite the injustices and tragedies of recent years, the unique Innu spirit is still strong.’

Joanna Eede, Editorial Consultant to Survival International, joined Giant for two weeks of the walk. Photos and footage available. For interviews, please contact: (+44) (0)20 7687 8700
Alex Andrew, organiser of ‘The Young Innu Cultural Health Walk’ is available for interviews on cell no: 001 709 897 4181

Notes to Editors:

• For 7,500 years the Innu were semi-nomadic hunters, crossing Nitassinan in search of the vast herds of caribou that migrate across their land. Since their land was confiscated and they were pressurised into settling, rates of diabetes, alcoholism and suicide have soared.
• Settlement also coincided with a number of industrial developments on Innu territory, including mining concessions, hydropower schemes, forestry projects and road developments.
• Current rates of diabetes in Sheshatshiu and Natuashish:
– Sheshatshiu 235 out of a population of 1500 (15%).
– Natuashish 55 out of a population of 600 (9%).
• In April 1999, the UN Human Rights Committee described the situation of Canada’s indigenous people as ‘the most pressing issue facing Canadians’, and condemned Canada for ‘extinguishing’ aboriginal peoples’ rights.
• Giant’s walk has become known as ‘The Young Innu Cultural Health Walk.’
• Six Innu Nations will be represented by their Chiefs or Deputy Chiefs at the Sheshatshiu celebrations.
• The book ‘Giant’s Dream – a healing journey through Nitassinan’, written by Nikashant Antane (Alex Andrew), is available from www.creativebookpublishing.ca
• ‘We are One – a celebration of tribal peoples’ by Joanna Eede is available at www.survivalinternational.org/weareone