Increasingly critical situation for Brazil's indigenous peoples.
| Autor | Martins, Jose Pedro |
Brazil again made headlines in the international press during the entire month of January because of the controversy surrounding the Rio de Janeiro government's decision to raze the Aldeia Maracana, a building that once housed the Museu do Indio.
Indigenous families have lived in the building for years, and the Rio government called on the courts to evict them. Indigenous organizations and civil society throughout Brazil and other countries condemned the attitude of Rio de Janeiro Gov. Sergio Cabral.
The still-unresolved episode is only one example of the tensions in many Brazilian indigenous communities. It is a perfect example of how the country, including the press, still does not understand the way of life, the thinking, and the culture of the first inhabitants of Brazil. And, since there is no understanding or deserved respect, the road remains open for a permanent state of violence against the indigenous and their customs, and especially their children, some of whom were among the victims of recent serious violent incidents.
Incident in Amazonas, threats of "mass suicide"
Three Indian children died in the state of Amazonas shortly after the first round of municipal elections in early October 2012 (NotiSur, Nov. 16, 2012). They were part of a group of nearly 2,000 Indians who had gone to the city of Atalaia do Norte to vote. Some media reports said the group had received money from politicians to finance the trip from the villages to the city. But those politicians were not elected, and the Indians did not get paid and were left stranded in the city without any money to return home. They were living in extremely precarious accommodations, and three children died while dozens of people had to be hospitalized. Later, the Indians returned to their villages, but with many health problems caused by the deplorable conditions they had to endure in Atalaia do Norte.
On the eve of the municipal runoff elections in late October 2012, the media and social networking sites reported that a group of Guarani-Kaiowa from Mato Grosso do Sul had threatened to carry out a "collective suicide" to protest their situation as victims, which has been made worse, historically, by the invasion of their homelands.
Neglect, oblivion, and denial had supposedly led the Guarani-Kaiowa of Pyelito Kue in Mato Gross do Sul to call for "collective suicide." However, at no time did leaders, in a communique to denounce the situation of their people, speak of suicide...
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