The Massacre of the Amazon Yanomami by Land Invaders

JULY 6, 2023

BY GABRIEL LEÃO

The Yanomami child stares with blank eyes out of a body reduced to skin and bones by extreme hunger. The image of the Yanomami humanitarian crisis circled the globe early this year. On Jan. 21, the Health Ministry of the new government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silvadeclared a medical emergencyin Yanomami Indigenous territory deep in the Amazon rainforest that for years has been invaded by illegal miners and loggers, and more recently, organized crime.

Months later, little has improved. In an exclusive interview with the Americas Program, Indigenous leader Kleber Karipuna of the Karipuna people from Rondônia, a Northern state that is part of the Amazon, blamed successive Brazilian governments for the Yanomami plight, particularly aggravated by neglect and hostile policies carried out during the time of President Michel Temer (2016-2019) and intensified under President Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2023).

Karipuna, who is also Executive Coordinator of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB), stated, “In the past, there were times when we had policies to protect Indigenous lands that were more effective. But as time went by, they disintegrated and they became even weaker in the last years, to the point of disappearing, leaving Indigenous lands vulnerable. In the case of the Yanomami, they suffered from government negligence, exposing them to illegal miners, loggers and drug dealers.”.

Karipuna paints a grim picture of a beautiful land overrun by illegal armed bands with little or no control by authorities. The Yanomami face violence and disease, forced prostitution, forced displacement, famine, rape, illness and corruption of minors, among other grave human rights violations. Lula’s Justice minister, Flavio Dino, has called it a clear case of genocide.

More:
https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/07/06/the-massacre-of-the-amazon-yanomami-by-land-invaders/