Attacks against the Guarani

The Guarani from Brazil want part of their ancestral land back

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Around 100 heavily armed policeman arrive at the Guarani community of Apy Ka’y to oversee while the houses of the Guarani are flattened by bulldozers. This after the application of a big land owner had been granted by the government. The former inhabitants of the village are now forced to live at the roadside. In the past 8 Guarani have already been knocked down and killed by vehicles while one of them has died as a consequence to massive pesticide spraying.

The incident has raised horror in Brazil after the new interim-government under Temer has come into power after a coup d'état. Nonetheless some reprisals against the Brazilian population have been successfully preveneted up to now by massive protests by the population. The abolution of the ministry of culture was cancelled as the measure was seen to allow the interim-government more control over public opinion. At the background of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro a push to allow policemen who kill civilians being judged by a military tribunal instead of a lawyer has been successfully prevented.

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A man had been killed during an attack of armed gunmen against the Guarani community Tey´i Jusu in the South of Brazil. He was a local medical staff member at the age of about 20. One of the community members had succeeded to film the attack from a certain distance. You can hear shoots and screams in the video as well as fires lighting up the fields in the vicinity. The video can be viewed over the project “Tribal Voice” from Survivial International. It needs to be assumed that the attackers had been hired by the local agribusiness and stock farming lobby.

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Call for urgent action

by Survival International Germany

The Brazilian congress considers a far reaching change of the constitution which would put the survival of indigenous folks at threat.

The change request of the constitution - known as PEC 215 - shall give anti-indigenous great land owners the right to veto against the acknowledgement of indigenous land rights. It should even become possible to revoke already granted rights for land.

You may read the whole articel from Survival online in German: here , or you may just write a letter to the Brazilian government:

To: renan.calheiros@senador.leg.br
Cc: dep.eduardocunha@camara.leg.br
Bcc: info@survivalinternational.de (this one is optional, however it will give Survival an overview of how many people have actually signed)
Dear Senator Calheiros and Deputy Cunha,

I urge you to do all in your powers to ensure that PEC 215 is not approved. Many legal experts say it is unconstitutional and the Ministry of Justice, FUNAI and many more are opposed to it.

PEC 215 is a huge threat to Brazil’s indigenous peoples, who have made their opposition clear. It could block the recognition of their territories, meaning violent land conflicts – which are already killing Indians nationwide – could escalate and lands stolen from the Indians might never be returned. This is a clear violation of Brazilian and international law, which could result in the destruction of whole peoples.

It is vital for the survival of Brazilian Indians that Congress upholds their hard-won constitutional rights, and does not approve PEC 215.

Yours sincerely,
»Your Name«
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Indigenous folk attacked by armed gunmen

Survival International Germany, press release; translated into English

The rifleman who had been engaged by local cattle breeders arrived with approx. 10 trucks on the land of the Guarani in the federal state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. The rifleman had been firing several times at the village of the Guarani people and had set multiple houses on fire. Since that day attacks against the Guarani repeat every night.

We assume that the stock breeders want to take revenge against the Guarani because of a recent effort by the Guarani to occupy some of their former land. Although Brazilian as well as international right would grant and guarantee all indigenous folks of Brazil to live on their land the Guarani had been displaced by cattle breeders usurping their land. The cattle breeders do often send armed forces in order to attack the Guarani and to assassinate their leaders. This is the way the stock breeders try to keep the Guarani away from their land.

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about the situation of the Guarani

out of a report about a re-occupation, Survival

The Guarani people are weary … they are tired waiting for justness and the fulfillment of promises from the government. According to the Brazilian constitution the Guarani should already have received their ancestral land in 1993. 22 years afterwards many of the Guarani are still destitute and without land. Huddled onto a tiny piece of land - in many cases along dangerous roadsides - the Guarani are suffering from environmental pollution, diseases, hunger and one of the highest suicide rates in the world.

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The Guarani can not succeed alone

coverage by Survival International (online-Version for this message)

A short time after people of the Guarani have tried to re-occupy some of their ancestral land Survival reports the following: After several attempts to contact this community we have finally been talking with their leader called Marcio. Marcio had been hijacked together with about 30 relatives. They had been round up on the cargo area of a truck, driven away and finally unloaded at a roadside.

Marcios message for us was the following: ‘It is just terrible up here. The offenders had attacked us in the middle of the night. They have burned down all our belongings. They have shot on us. Some of my relatives have been injured and many of us have fleed. I do not know where they are now and how they are.’

Marcio could only escape by good luck. Leaders of the Guarani are systematically assassinated; one after the other. Semião Vilhalva, who was the leader of the neighboring community was assassinated and killed just three weeks ago by cattle breeders.

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Indigenous folk attacked by private armed forces

out of a press release from Survival International, Germany e.V.

… The Guarani community of Pyelito Kuê had tried to occupy part of their ancestral land two days ago. Since then they have to suffer from recurring attacks against their community. It was reported that a woman of the community was raped and beaten down. She had been brought to hospital. …

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Guarani in Brazil shall be disloged from their land

message by Survival International

The Apy-Ka´y community is very afraid of losing their tiny peace of ancestral land. It is just a remainder of the primeval forests they had once possessed in abundance. Most of it has already been destroyed by the land grabbing for industrial farming.

Their desperation comes out well in this touching video (“Our land means so much to us”) which is part of Survival`s „Tribal Voice“ project.

Once they are displaced indigenous people will have to dwell in miserable shacks at the roadside.

The Guarani are fighting for their land; however it takes a very high price. Damiana was the mother of three sons all of whom have been killed in the fight for their land. Private armed forces have already shed an eye on them.

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Leader of the Guarani assassinated

Once again a leader of the Guarani has been killed. Survival International proposed us inter alia to write an email in order to call the situation of the Guarani to attention of the Brazilian government.

Report and Call for Action by Survival International:

You may write an email to:

To: sg@planalto.gov.br and info@survivalinternational.de

Your Excellency,

I am deeply concerned that your government has failed to map out the lands of the Guarani tribe of Mato Grosso do Sul. Without their ancestral land, the Guarani cannot survive. Their leaders are being killed one by one, their children are dying of malnutrition and they suffer one of the highest suicide rates in the world.

Please uphold the constitution and demarcate the Guarani’s lands immediately, before more lives are lost.


Sincerely,
»Your Name«

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