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Survival International News
07.01.2009
An Anglo-French oil company is poised to send more than 1000 workers into a remote part of the Peruvian Amazon inhabited by uncontacted Indians.
The company, Perenco, has just been given the go-ahead from the Peruvian government to drill for oil in the region. It is estimated to be the biggest oil discovery in Peru in 30 years.
Perenco denies the existence of uncontacted tribes in the area, despite confirmation of their existence by Peru’s government, Ecuador’s government, the company that used to work in the area (Barrett Resources), and Peru’s indigenous organizations. Ecuador’s government has even allocated US$38,000 to protect the tribes, and Barrett admitted contact with them was ‘probable.’
Peru’s national indigenous organization, AIDESEP, is opposed to Perenco’s plans. It has appealed to Latin America’s top human rights body, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, urging it to help prevent Perenco working in the region.
Despite this, Perenco intends to construct 14 oil wells and transport between 1400 and 1680 workers into the area. Contact between them and uncontacted Indians could end in violent conflict or the decimation of the Indians by disease.
Survival’s director, Stephen Corry, said today, ‘Perenco seems determined both to push ahead with its mega-project, and also to deny that the uncontacted Indians even live there. It ought by now to realise that the seemingly isolated jungle it is operating in is actually the ancestral home of several Indian groups, who will very likely see its workers as invaders. Everyone else has acknowledged this, including Perenco’s predecessor.’
For more information please contact Miriam Ross at Survival International on (+44) (0)20 7687 8734 or (+44) (0)7504 543 367 or email mr@survival-international.orgWatch Survival's Short film 'Uncontacted Tribes'
The company, Perenco, has just been given the go-ahead from the Peruvian government to drill for oil in the region. It is estimated to be the biggest oil discovery in Peru in 30 years.
Perenco denies the existence of uncontacted tribes in the area, despite confirmation of their existence by Peru’s government, Ecuador’s government, the company that used to work in the area (Barrett Resources), and Peru’s indigenous organizations. Ecuador’s government has even allocated US$38,000 to protect the tribes, and Barrett admitted contact with them was ‘probable.’
Peru’s national indigenous organization, AIDESEP, is opposed to Perenco’s plans. It has appealed to Latin America’s top human rights body, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, urging it to help prevent Perenco working in the region.
Despite this, Perenco intends to construct 14 oil wells and transport between 1400 and 1680 workers into the area. Contact between them and uncontacted Indians could end in violent conflict or the decimation of the Indians by disease.
Survival’s director, Stephen Corry, said today, ‘Perenco seems determined both to push ahead with its mega-project, and also to deny that the uncontacted Indians even live there. It ought by now to realise that the seemingly isolated jungle it is operating in is actually the ancestral home of several Indian groups, who will very likely see its workers as invaders. Everyone else has acknowledged this, including Perenco’s predecessor.’
For more information please contact Miriam Ross at Survival International on (+44) (0)20 7687 8734 or (+44) (0)7504 543 367 or email mr@survival-international.orgWatch Survival's Short film 'Uncontacted Tribes'
07.01.2009
A blockade mounted by more than 50 protestors stopped British mining company Vedanta entering the land of the Dongria Kondh and other Kondh tribes under cover of darkness last night.
The FTSE 100 company plans to mine bauxite on the Dongria Kondh’s sacred mountain in the state of Orissa, laying waste to the forests they depend on for their survival.
Last night’s action follows high level meetings at the weekend between Vedanta’s billionaire chairman Anil Agarwal and Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who backs the mine. After the meeting, Agarwal told journalists that mining would start ‘within a month or two’.
India’s Supreme Court has approved Vedanta’s plans, but the mine is yet to receive the environmental clearance required for it to go ahead.
The stand-off between local villagers and Vedanta’s bulldozers at the blockade site continues. Protestor Ajun Chandi, who has received a series of threatening phone calls from Vedanta, says, ‘You must let the whole world know what Vedanta is doing.’
Survival’s director Stephen Corry said today, ‘Vedanta won't be able to hide its work by invading the Kondhs’ land at night. It doesn't even have official approval. Whether or not it gets it, the Dongria aren’t likely to agree to their homeland and most sacred site being destroyed. Vedanta is trying to intimidate the tribespeople. This is an appalling way for a major British company to behave, it isn't going to work and Vedanta must now expect international opposition to grow.’
For more information please contact Miriam Ross at Survival International on (+44) (0)20 7687 8734 or (+44) (0)7504 543 367 or email mr@survival-international.org
The FTSE 100 company plans to mine bauxite on the Dongria Kondh’s sacred mountain in the state of Orissa, laying waste to the forests they depend on for their survival.
Last night’s action follows high level meetings at the weekend between Vedanta’s billionaire chairman Anil Agarwal and Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who backs the mine. After the meeting, Agarwal told journalists that mining would start ‘within a month or two’.
India’s Supreme Court has approved Vedanta’s plans, but the mine is yet to receive the environmental clearance required for it to go ahead.
The stand-off between local villagers and Vedanta’s bulldozers at the blockade site continues. Protestor Ajun Chandi, who has received a series of threatening phone calls from Vedanta, says, ‘You must let the whole world know what Vedanta is doing.’
Survival’s director Stephen Corry said today, ‘Vedanta won't be able to hide its work by invading the Kondhs’ land at night. It doesn't even have official approval. Whether or not it gets it, the Dongria aren’t likely to agree to their homeland and most sacred site being destroyed. Vedanta is trying to intimidate the tribespeople. This is an appalling way for a major British company to behave, it isn't going to work and Vedanta must now expect international opposition to grow.’
For more information please contact Miriam Ross at Survival International on (+44) (0)20 7687 8734 or (+44) (0)7504 543 367 or email mr@survival-international.org
23.12.2008
Contact with the outside world is bringing death to the tribes of the Andaman Islands, who famously survived the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.
Eight members of the Onge tribe died this month after drinking an unknown liquid from a container that washed ashore on their island reserve.
In 2004 the Onge were reported to have saved themselves by running to higher ground when they saw the sea recede prior to the tsunami. The eight people who died from poisoning this month made up eight percent of the tribe’s population, which stood at only one hundred before the tragedy.
In November, a man from the Jarawa tribe was killed in a conflict with poachers who were fishing illegally in the Jarawa reserve. The tribe also killed one of the fishermen.
The invasion of their land by poachers is threatening the Jarawa’s existence, depleting their food sources and risking bringing further conflict and diseases to which the tribe have no immunity. The Jarawa number 320 and have only had friendly contact with outsiders for ten years.
For the first time, a Jarawa has spoken out about poaching on camera. Survival’s director Stephen Corry said today, ‘It’s a bitter irony that these tribes, who made headlines when they survived the tsunami, are dying due to contact with outsiders. They have lived on the Andaman Islands for up to 60,000 years – if they are not to be wiped out, their land must be protected.’
For more information please contact Miriam Ross at Survival International (+44) (0)7504 543 367 or email mr@survival-international.org
Eight members of the Onge tribe died this month after drinking an unknown liquid from a container that washed ashore on their island reserve.
In 2004 the Onge were reported to have saved themselves by running to higher ground when they saw the sea recede prior to the tsunami. The eight people who died from poisoning this month made up eight percent of the tribe’s population, which stood at only one hundred before the tragedy.
In November, a man from the Jarawa tribe was killed in a conflict with poachers who were fishing illegally in the Jarawa reserve. The tribe also killed one of the fishermen.
The invasion of their land by poachers is threatening the Jarawa’s existence, depleting their food sources and risking bringing further conflict and diseases to which the tribe have no immunity. The Jarawa number 320 and have only had friendly contact with outsiders for ten years.
For the first time, a Jarawa has spoken out about poaching on camera. Survival’s director Stephen Corry said today, ‘It’s a bitter irony that these tribes, who made headlines when they survived the tsunami, are dying due to contact with outsiders. They have lived on the Andaman Islands for up to 60,000 years – if they are not to be wiped out, their land must be protected.’
For more information please contact Miriam Ross at Survival International (+44) (0)7504 543 367 or email mr@survival-international.org
22.12.2008
The biggest tribal news story of 2008 was the publication of photos of an uncontacted tribe on the Brazil-Peru border, says Survival International.
The photos made headlines all around the world and even prompted false claims they were a hoax. They were published to draw attention to the illegal logging forcing uncontacted Indians to flee from Peru into Brazil – making them possibly the world’s first ‘uncontacted refugees’.
2008’s other top tribal stories:
• Plans to build a series of massive hydroelectric dams flooding Penan villages in Malaysia are leaked via the internet.
• Satellite photos expose Brazilian company Yaguarete Pora illegally bulldozing forest in Paraguay in one of the remotest corners of the planet – the last refuge of uncontacted Ayoreo-Totobiegosode Indians.
• Diamond company Gem Diamonds pushes ahead with plans for a massive diamond mine in the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, from where the traditional owners, the Bushmen, have been evicted. Gem Diamonds gains approval from the government on condition they do not provide Bushmen with water. The water may, however, be used for wildlife.
• Hundreds of remote Indian tribesmen, the Dongria Kondh, dance in protest against plans by mining company Vedanta to destroy their sacred mountain for bauxite. The Dongria, armed with traditional weapons, sing and dance their way through the state capital in Orissa.
Survival’s director, Stephen Corry, said today, ‘For centuries the treatment of tribal peoples was a hidden genocide. Finally, it's beginning to be covered by the mainstream press. This will eventually create the groundswell of public opinion needed for these crimes to be stopped. The world is waking up, but there's still a long road ahead before tribes stop being seen as backward primitives, waiting for the so-called 'progress' which usually destroys them.’
For more information please contact Miriam Ross at Survival International on (+44) (0)20 7687 8734 or (+44) (0)7504 543 367 or email mr@survival-international.org
The photos made headlines all around the world and even prompted false claims they were a hoax. They were published to draw attention to the illegal logging forcing uncontacted Indians to flee from Peru into Brazil – making them possibly the world’s first ‘uncontacted refugees’.
2008’s other top tribal stories:
• Plans to build a series of massive hydroelectric dams flooding Penan villages in Malaysia are leaked via the internet.
• Satellite photos expose Brazilian company Yaguarete Pora illegally bulldozing forest in Paraguay in one of the remotest corners of the planet – the last refuge of uncontacted Ayoreo-Totobiegosode Indians.
• Diamond company Gem Diamonds pushes ahead with plans for a massive diamond mine in the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, from where the traditional owners, the Bushmen, have been evicted. Gem Diamonds gains approval from the government on condition they do not provide Bushmen with water. The water may, however, be used for wildlife.
• Hundreds of remote Indian tribesmen, the Dongria Kondh, dance in protest against plans by mining company Vedanta to destroy their sacred mountain for bauxite. The Dongria, armed with traditional weapons, sing and dance their way through the state capital in Orissa.
Survival’s director, Stephen Corry, said today, ‘For centuries the treatment of tribal peoples was a hidden genocide. Finally, it's beginning to be covered by the mainstream press. This will eventually create the groundswell of public opinion needed for these crimes to be stopped. The world is waking up, but there's still a long road ahead before tribes stop being seen as backward primitives, waiting for the so-called 'progress' which usually destroys them.’
For more information please contact Miriam Ross at Survival International on (+44) (0)20 7687 8734 or (+44) (0)7504 543 367 or email mr@survival-international.org
22.12.2008
The Colombian army has assassinated an indigenous Colombian man.
The man, Edwin Legarda Vasquez, was ambushed by soldiers on a road at four o’clock in the morning on 16 December in a remote part of rural Colombia.
Vasquez was shot in the chest and managed to escape 800 metres up the road before collapsing. At the time of the attack, he was driving a vehicle belonging to local indigenous organization, CRIC. Vasquez’s wife, Aida Marina Quilcue, is currently one of CRIC’s most prominent leaders.
Vasquez’s death is the latest in a long line of assassinations of indigenous people by Colombian authorities in recent years. The series of killings has prompted calls for Colombia’s president, Alvaro Uribe, to be tried in an international court for genocide.
The man, Edwin Legarda Vasquez, was ambushed by soldiers on a road at four o’clock in the morning on 16 December in a remote part of rural Colombia.
Vasquez was shot in the chest and managed to escape 800 metres up the road before collapsing. At the time of the attack, he was driving a vehicle belonging to local indigenous organization, CRIC. Vasquez’s wife, Aida Marina Quilcue, is currently one of CRIC’s most prominent leaders.
Vasquez’s death is the latest in a long line of assassinations of indigenous people by Colombian authorities in recent years. The series of killings has prompted calls for Colombia’s president, Alvaro Uribe, to be tried in an international court for genocide.
Blog
19.11.2008, Johanna Havemann, 0 Comments
R eindeer herding, fishing and pure nature.
Indigenous peoples from four different counties.
The Sámi are the indigenous peoples of the Arctic Area of the Nordic countries. Reindeer husbandry and fishing have always been important livelihoods of the Sámi, who are closely bound to nature, and for whom nature is important.
Sápmi, the Sámi Country, includes areas of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. Sápmi starts at the middle of Norway and includes the eastern regions of the Kola Peninsula. The natural landscape varies greatly in this area.
The Sámis have traditionally divided the year into eight seasons, depending on the changes in nature during the year. These seasons are winter, late winter, spring, late spring, summer, late summer, autumn and late autumn. Each season offers many different possibilities for activities.
To learn more visit: http://www.galdu.org/
Indigenous peoples from four different counties.
The Sámi are the indigenous peoples of the Arctic Area of the Nordic countries. Reindeer husbandry and fishing have always been important livelihoods of the Sámi, who are closely bound to nature, and for whom nature is important.
Sápmi, the Sámi Country, includes areas of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. Sápmi starts at the middle of Norway and includes the eastern regions of the Kola Peninsula. The natural landscape varies greatly in this area.
The Sámis have traditionally divided the year into eight seasons, depending on the changes in nature during the year. These seasons are winter, late winter, spring, late spring, summer, late summer, autumn and late autumn. Each season offers many different possibilities for activities.
To learn more visit: http://www.galdu.org/
27.08.2008, Johanna Havemann, 0 Comments
Italian film ‘Birdwatchers’, selected as one of the films in competition for the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival, highlights the plight of the Guarani-Kaiowá Indians in Brazil, whose lands are being destroyed to produce biofuels for cars and other vehicles.
Birdwatchers (‘La Terra Degli Uomini Rossi’) is a love story set in rural Brazil between the daughter of a wealthy land owner and a young Guarani shaman apprentice, as their two worlds collide against the backdrop of land invasion, suicides, and rebellion.
The film marks the acting debut of the Guarani Indians in leading roles, including Abrisio da Silva Pedro (Guarani name: Chirivy Poty'i, or ‘beautiful little boy’) as the shaman apprentice. 230 Guarani, who had never acted before were involved in the making of the film. It is written and directed by Chilean/Italian film maker Marco Bechis, and stars Italian actor Claudio Santamaria (Casino Royale), and leading Brazilian actor Matheus Nachtergaele.
[...]
>> http://www.survival-international.org/news/3643
Survival International has opened a fund, in association with the film, to help the Guarani defend their rights, lands and futures:
> http://www.guarani-survival.org/en
Visit the film’s website:
> http://www.birdwatchersfilm.com/
Birdwatchers (‘La Terra Degli Uomini Rossi’) is a love story set in rural Brazil between the daughter of a wealthy land owner and a young Guarani shaman apprentice, as their two worlds collide against the backdrop of land invasion, suicides, and rebellion.
The film marks the acting debut of the Guarani Indians in leading roles, including Abrisio da Silva Pedro (Guarani name: Chirivy Poty'i, or ‘beautiful little boy’) as the shaman apprentice. 230 Guarani, who had never acted before were involved in the making of the film. It is written and directed by Chilean/Italian film maker Marco Bechis, and stars Italian actor Claudio Santamaria (Casino Royale), and leading Brazilian actor Matheus Nachtergaele.
[...]
>> http://www.survival-international.org/news/3643
Survival International has opened a fund, in association with the film, to help the Guarani defend their rights, lands and futures:
> http://www.guarani-survival.org/en
Visit the film’s website:
> http://www.birdwatchersfilm.com/
Goal: raise awareness in order to defend rights and lifes of indigenous peoples worldwide
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