caracas, aug 25 (ips) - venezuela's yanomami indians, as well as
the rest of the country's indigenous groups, are suffering from
government neglect, officials say.
according to the state-run central office for statistics and
information (ocei), seven of every ten indigenous communities in
the venezuelan state of amazonas have no access to schools and
nine of every ten lack medical attention.
about 15 percent of venezuela's indigenous peoples, or some
315,000 indians, live in amazonas, located southeast venezuela.
only seven of every 100 indians have fixed jobs and of this
number, about 60 percent receive income lower than the minimum
rural wage of 78 dollars monthly.
ocei said the yanomamis comprise the biggest ethnic group in
the country, numbering more than 12,000 persons.
officials from the agency stressed that more than 70 percent
of the ethnic communities in the country did not have titles to
the lands they occupied.
in the state of amazonas, 1,500 of the 5,700 housing units
depend directly on water from the rivers polluted rivers of
canada and riachuelos. almost 4,000 of the homes had no toilets
and about three thousand had no access to street lighting.
ocei also revealed that in amazonas, one of every two
indians between five and 24 years old has not been to school and
the illiteracy rate among their communities has to about 50
percent.
on the national level, only 11 percent of the venezuelan
population are illiterate.
''the situation has worsened, and if the killing of yanomamis
in brazil has made people more sensitive to the issue, the
indians' daily living conditions should call for more reflection,
concern and solidarity,'' ocei officials say.
the officials were referring to the aug, 15 massacre of about
50 yanomami by illegal miners, known as ''garimpeiros'', in
brazil's amazon province.
survivors of the massacre told brazilian reporters and police
who visited the area that the miners first shot the men, and then
killed the women and the children with machetes.
''this crime has justly generated a wave of condemnation and
repulsion,'' they added. (end/ips/trd-sp/caf/cs/93
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