Title: BRAZIL: YANOMAMI LEADER RISES TO THE DEFENCE OF HIS PEOPLE
by mario osava
rio de janeiro, aug 28 (ips) -- david kopenawa appeared in the
amazonian village of haximu in late july with his body painted in
black to show that he was prepared to go to war to defend his
people, many of whom were massacred there by miners.
but for the moment, he is helping the state authorities to
investigate the massacre and find the bodies of his ''brothers
and sisters'' that died at the hands of the 'garimpeiros,'
informal miners who, kopenawa says, look like ''pigs'' as they
root up the ground in search of gold.
but no one, neither the authorities, nor david kopenawa, knows
for sure how many bodies are hidden away in the depths of the
amazonian forest.
the national indian foundation (funai) says about 70 yanomami
were murdered by 'garimpeiros,' in the village of haximu in
mid-july.
but french anthropologist bruce albert, who has been living
with the yanomami for many years, stated in a report he did for
the brazilian 'committee for the creation of the yanomami park,'
that 18 amerindians died in two massacres in early and late july.
the report was released on friday.
david kopenawa's efforts to defend his people and their 94,000
square kilometre (sq.km) territory have a similar objective as
the struggle of environmentalists: save the amazon's forests, on
which the yanomami depend for their survival.
for this the un environment programme (unep) conferred the
1988 global-500 award on kopenawa and other brazilians like chico
mendes, an amazonian leader assassinated in december 1988 by
large landowners.
kopenawa's struggle gained prominence in 1987, when
'garimpeiros' invaded his territory en masse and murdered four
people close to him, including his uncle.
his crusade against the aggression perpetrated on his people
and nature took him to many countries and the united nations.
he still travels abroad to make contacts, give lectures and
participate in international meetings, but more recently he has
been devoting most of his time to winning the confidence of his
people, scattered in about 200 villages and speaking four
different languages.
his mission is to transmit to the yanomamis his knowledge of
''the outside world'' and so cushion the shocks caused by the
meeting of theirs and the ''modern world,'' separated by enormous
cultural differences.
he speaks three of their four languages well and has a fair
knowledge of the fourth. (more)
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kopenawa, his original name, means 'bee with a sting.'' he
obtained the biblical name of david from a priest who works in
the amazon, from whom he also learnt portuguese, which permits
him to be an ambassador of his people to the rest of the country.
''he is a very intelligent person, has a great desire to
understand things and is devoted to his effort to defend his
people,'' says claudia andujar, a swiss photographer who took
brazilian nationality and knows the yanomami.
she adds that david is closely tied to the earth and would not
move to the city like other amerindian leaders. ''he is a shaman,
a spiritual leader, who has visions for healing and leading his
people. he always speaks from the heart, with authenticity.''
some brazilian authorities still doubt whether the yanomami
massacre occurred. ''there are no corpses. without them the crime
cannot be proved,'' said federal police director wilson romao.
amazonian politicians who, david kopenawa maintains, are
behind the miners and encourage them to invade indigenous lands,
describe the massacre as an invention.
but david, other amerindians, anthropologists and groups that
defend indigenous rights have no doubts. for them, the fact that
four survivors said their relatives were shot and hacked to death
is enough because, as david says, yanomami do not lie.
obtaining precise data on the killings has proved difficult
because the area is forested and sparsely populated and
travelling to and through it is difficult, while survivors are
scattered in many areas.
anthropologist albert said there had been various clashes in
july between the haximu yanomami and the miners, whom the
amerindians accused of stealing a shotgun from them.
in the first fight, five amerindians died, then two
garimpeiros and finally 13 other yanomami, according to the
anthropologist, who said the miners had numbered 23.
he reported that haximu, which the 'garimpeiros' attacked and
burnt, is located on the venezuelan side of the border, and that
most of its residents managed to flee through the forest.
albert got his information from a group that included four
wounded, two of them small children. they travelled 80 kilometres
to an outpost the yanomami park committee has at toototobi, in
the brazilian state of amazonas. he said the survivors had
cremated 17 bodies.
claudia andujar fears that other corpses may never be found
and that the world may never know how many people died because
the yanomami traditionally cremate their dead.
she heads the yanomami park committee, which helped david
kopenawa get foreign support for his struggle against the
'garimpeiros' on yanomami territory. (more)
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the miners numbered as many as 30,000 between 1987 and 1989,
but military/police operations to drive them out have reduced
them to about 600.
their presence has meant more than 20 massacres, epidemics,
and the death of 1,500 of the 10,000 yanomami who live in brazil,
according to alfredo silva wapixana, president of the association
of indigenous peoples of roraima.
the yanomami are the most numerous of the nine amerindian
groups that live in roraima state, which borders on guyana and
venezuela.
the july killings have again placed the spotlight on david
kopenawa and his struggle to rid their territory of the
'garimpeiros.'
they have also highlighted the permanent risk the yanomamis
face: pressure from politicians, powerful economic groups and the
military for the government to reduce the size of the territory
it awarded them in 1991. (end/ips/trd/so/mo-vh-im/kb/93)
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[c] 1993, InterPress Third World News Agency (IPS)
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