May 11, 2022

10:05

Diovana Rodrigues – From Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – “We want the federal government to immediately remove the miners from the Yanomami Indigenous Land so that we can retake and organize our communities, because we are living in fear with the miners,” the statement is from the president of the Yanomami and Yek’wana Indigenous Health District Council (Condisi-YY), Júnior Hekurari Yanomami, in an interview to CENARIUM.

Previously, the leadership had denounced the alleged rape and murder of a 12 year old girl in the village Aracaçá, in the region of Waikás, in northern Roraima (RR). Then there was the burning down of the community areas and the disappearance of the indigenous people, a fact that mobilized the social networks, especially Twitter, with the tag “CADÊ OS YANOMAMI”.

About the location of the original Yanomami people, Junior said that “they are in the Yanomami Indigenous Land, on the banks of the Uraricoera River, in the middle of the miners. They are far from the community, they are not close to it. He went on to say that “[the police] have made a statement and will continue investigating, but I don’t know, because I don’t have any information.

No assistance

With regard to the federal government’s assistance to the Yanomami indigenous people, it is revealed that they remain alone, in the middle of the Amazon Forest, suffering constant threats from miners. “In the Yanomami Indigenous Land it is difficult to communicate and also to access, because the communities are very isolated,” he says of the contact established with the community.

“We need to reorganize our communities to plan ourselves, to give a future to the children, to tell our stories. So it is difficult to be in the middle of the miners. With them threatening the community, it is impossible to live like this. We want to reorganize to put indigenous health care in the communities, because the health professionals are not going because they are afraid of the miners. So it is very difficult for the Yanomami indigenous people. We are being mistreated. We don’t deserve this. Those who are paying a high price are children and women, we need respect. We are human beings too. Society, help us to put pressure on the federal government. We are suffering,” pleads indigenous leader Junior Hekurari Yanomami for governmental and social aid.

Dialogue

With the objective of investigating the work of the investigation and dialoguing with indigenous leaders, the Senate and House Human Rights Committees will be in the Aracaçá community on Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12.