National campaign to support the Yanomami generates intense mobilization in civil society

The Yanomami have recently graced the cover of several newspapers in the country and around the world with the news of hundreds of deaths of children due to hunger. The images of the malnourished bodies of children and the elderly generated intense commotion and solidarity actions spread throughout Brazil. Civil society quickly organized itself and launched anti-hunger and health care campaigns on behalf of the Yanomami. Lupa do Bem compiled the main ones for those who want to collaborate:

The Central Única de Favelas – CUFA and the Frente Nacional Antirracista allied themselves in the campaign “Favelas com Yanomamis”. The goal is to raise 3 million reais, which will be used to supply food and build two health centers in the territory. In all, R$300,000 have already been raised. For more information, visit the CUFA website: https://favelascomyanomami.com.br/.

Ação pela Cidadania also set up a large campaign called SOS Yanomami. Collaboration is possible with donations from R$15.00 through the website: https://www.acaodadacidadania.org.br/

Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil – APIB, Coordenação das Organizações Indígenas da Amazônia Brasileira – COIAB and Conselho Indígena de Roraima – CIR also joined forces in publicizing the channels for direct donation to Yanomami associations. For more information, visit the profile on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apiboficial/ or send an email to apib.se@apiboficial.org.

Understanding the crisis

The Yanomami Indigenous Land forms the largest forest-covered indigenous territory in the world. Located on the border between Brazil and Venezuela, it is home to several populations, including isolated indigenous peoples. In Brazil alone, TI Yanomami has a population of almost 27,000 inhabitants and an extension of 9.6 million hectares, an area equivalent to twice the state of Rio de Janeiro.

The territory was demarcated in 1992 and has a history of intense and constant conflicts linked to contact and predatory exploitation of the region by non-indigenous people, in particular, activities related to mining. Shortly after demarcation, in 1993, garimpeiros murdered 16 Yanomami, including a baby, in a massacre that was judged as genocide by Brazilian justice. It was the first and only time that the Brazilian court had convicted the defendants of genocide in the country’s history.

In recent years, invasions by miners have intensified and from 2018, with the dismantling of assistance and inspection bodies, the health crisis in the territory has worsened. It is estimated that in 2020, there were around 20,000 miners in the Yanomami T.I. Gold mining brings violence, disease and environmental degradation wherever it goes. At T.I Yanomami, cases of young people being tricked and sexual violence against girls and women have become common, as well as the increase in cases of diseases that are often fatal for the indigenous people, such as the flu, pneumonia and malaria, and mercury poisoning.

According to Oswaldo Souza, a journalist at Instituto Socioambiental – ISA, a non-governmental organization that has maintained a solid partnership with the Yanomami for more than two decades, “the whole picture is aggravated by the dismantling of assistance to the indigenous people. In addition, the invaders have taken over part of the service infrastructure, such as landing strips and health posts”.

The environmental degradation caused by illegal mining in the region has also aggravated these populations’ access to food. Despite inhabiting the largest indigenous land in Brazil, the Yanomami are facing food shortages. With the sharp increase in deforestation and polluted rivers, hunting and fish became increasingly rare, making it impossible to consume animal protein. Agriculture, done in the traditional way, has also become insufficient in this context of occupied and degraded land.

As Souza explains, “the garimpo violence makes it difficult for medical teams to be present and for the distribution of medicines and food. Without food and medical care, the condition of the sick worsens. As the indigenous economy depends on family labor, traditional subsistence activities become unfeasible with people permanently ill or working in mining, in a vicious circle of hunger, physical weakness and scarcity”.

In an article published on the ISA website, Oswaldo Souza points out all the circumstances that led to the outcome of the news of 570 deaths of children under five years old between 2019 and 2022. The article was made to clarify the countless false news that began to circulate after the scandal. To learn more, visit the article at the link.

How to measure the impact of mining on indigenous lands

To calculate the impacts of mining, the Federal Public Ministry – MPF, in partnership with Conservation Estratégica, developed an online tool that estimates the financial value of socio-environmental damage caused by illegal mining in the Amazon. The platform calculates the monetary value of the damage generated by illegal activity in the forest, taking into account the deforestation caused, the silting up of rivers and the consequences of mercury contamination in nature and human health.

The calculation is obtained from a combination of criteria such as the amount of gold extracted, the type of mining used (alluvial, raft or well), the location of extraction, the area and the affected populations, among other requirements. If the user does not have all this information, the tool uses average parameters of the most common forms of illegal mining already detected in the region.

It is hoped that the calculator can be used as a tool to help public bodies and society in preventing and combating illegal gold extraction in the region. The calculator can be accessed here https://calculator.conservation-strategy.org/#/

DO YOU WANT TO SUPPORT THIS CAUSE?

You can donate to:

Central Única das Favelas

PIX: doacoes@cufa.org.br

Crowdfunding: www.vakinha.com.br/3425141

Bank deposit: Bradesco – 237, Ag. 0087, Current account 3582-3 and Itaú-341, Ag. 0402, Current account 17369-4.

Ação pela Cidadania

PIX: sos@acaodacidadania.org.br

For donations via credit card, Pay Pal, boleto and Pic Pay, visit the website: https://www.acaodadacidadania.org.br/

APIB, COIAB AND CIR

Bank deposit: Associação Ypasali Sanuma – Banco do Brasil, Branch: 0250, Current account: 125.892-3 or PIX CNPJ: 34.141.441/0001-25

Bank deposit: Conselho Indígena de Roraima – CIR: Banco do Brasil, Agency 2617-4, Current Account: 59027-4 or via PIX: Conselhodaf@gmail.com, CNPJ:34.807.578/0001-76.

Bank deposit: Hutukara Associação Yanomami – PIX CNPJ: 07.615.695/0001-65.