Thy smiling, lovely fields have more flowers
than the most elegant land abroad,
"Our woods have more life,
"our life" in thy bosom "more love."
– Brazilian National Anthem
“... our people sent us to talk to the whole world. They (or the Army) promised: Listen Yanonami, we will make a quartel (barracks) here to protect you, so as not to allow any garimpeiro (robber) or any other person who mistreats the povo indígena (indigenous people) enter here. So they put up a house for themselves and brought in electricity. Now they are causing trouble. [The soldiers] are soltieros (unmarried). Their wives live in Boa Vista. Arriving there, they begin to mix with the índias (Indian women). They ask them to sleep with them and give them food, rice and flour. They are using our índias. And now our women estão com doença (carry diseases)”
– Davi Kapenawa, an índio, speaking to the Conselho Indigenista Missionário (Missionary Council of the Indigenous People)
In October, 2000, the Comissão de Direitos Humanos (Human Rights Commission) of the Câmara Federal (the Federal Legislature) received a denúncia (complaint) that the Yanonami women were being sexually abused by soldiers.
From the begining, deputy Marcos Rolim, president of the Comissão (Commission), wished to hold a public hearing on the matter with the leaders of the indigenous people and the leadership of the military stationed in the Amazon invited to testify in order to discuss the problem. But the Exército (Army) was prepared and suggested that the members of the Comissão first go to the Yanomami village to verify the truth of the complaint.
The visit took place in February of the following year. The Comissão, along with the índio Davi Kopenawa, went to Surucucus, a region of the Yanomamis where there’s also a forward base of the Army – and where cases of abuse were reported.
The military authorities of the region took rather strict measures. Since then, soldiers have been prohibited from leaving the outpost without authorization, and are absolutely prohibited from coming close to the cachoeira (waterfall) where the índios bathe.
Even if this prompt response did much to resolve the immediate problem, such cases of abuse are not isolated and the perpetrators are not only soldiers. Only recently, in a June, 2006 report the Conselho Indigenista Missionário reported “that children and adolescents, between 6 and 17 ears of age have been the primary victims of sexual violence against indigenous people during the last three years.”
The report of the parlamentary Comissão to the Câmara (House of Deputies) is both emblematic and captures the sensitivity of the situation in all its shades:
“Thus we arrived at the maloca da unidade (a traditional structure or shelter of the indigenous people) where about ninety Yanomani tribespeople lived. The adult males were away, on a expedição de caça (hunting expedition) and were to return within two days. A part of the women were out na roça (in the fields) two hours away. Inside the macola there were a couple of índios idosos (elderly Indians), apparently more than sixty years of age, some meninos and meninas (children) between 10 and 12 years old, three babies and six young índias (Indian women) between the ages of 14 and 18. Outside the maloca, were about 15 other crianças (children) who were running around and playing with their arrows.
“At the beginning, the situation seemed difficult, nearly impossible. First, inside the maloca, the darkness became ever greater as the índios tried to ‘protect’ themselves from the invading cameras by closing all the openings to the outside.
“Davi, who lives in another Yanomami region, quite far from the Surucucus, began a conversa (a conversation) with the people explaining who were what brought us here. It was a long conversa, that one imagines, has to reflect a different sense of time) experienced by the Yanomamis when they converse.
“Appraised of the purpose of our presence among them, the oldest índio let us speak with Judith – the first menina (child) to have had sexual relations with the soldiers. A new difficulty emerged. Judith confirmed that this had happened to her, but then told us that she didn’t want to talk more about the matter. So Davi returned to arguing about the importance of our investigation, etc.
“After much further conversa, Judith began to talk. She told us, in detail, all that happened to her. He recounted how she took the initiatve to go to the soldiers’ outpost a procurar comida (in hopes of getting food). She said for a long time, the solders gave her bolachas (cookies), leftovers, alcoholic beverages, and other little presents such as linha (string). Afterwards the solders passaram a convidá-la para ir ao mato (started to invite her to bed) or to take a bath in the cachoeira (waterfall); that as time went on, they conditioned their offers of food, alcoholic drinks and other presents to her atendimento (going along) with such requests.
“Finally, Judith recalled how she acquiesced to the requests of the soldiers, that she grew afeiçoada (fond) of them, and thought one wanted to namorar (fall in love) with her. So she had sexual relations with him and that he made sure that she condinued to receive the soldiers’ gifts. When she found that she estava grávida (was pregnant), the soldier disappeared.
“Judith is an índia who’s particularly bonita (pretty). Her face does not hide well the features of a menina (child). Even today, she could barely be 18. The boy she had with the soldier was already a menino of 3 maybe 4 years of age... Most likely, Judith had sex relations with the soldier when she was between 12 and 15 years of age.
“Helen’s depoimento (testimony) was very similar. He stood at the other end of the maloca in the company of a third índia who also reported to have had sexual relations with the soldiers. The third índia, however, simply added her name to the testimony of the other two, without going into further details. Helena recounted an identical process of aproximação (grooming) e posterior abuso sexual (and subsequent sexual abuse) on the part of the soldiers...
“The índias who talked to us did not report that they submitted to having sex through threat of force or rape. Instead, the reported, very candidly, how they were led to having sexual relations through a jogo de artifícios (game of trickery) characterized by aproveitamento (using of a person) and exploração (exploitation).
So closes the report of the Parliamentary Comissão.
Of the 41 cases of sexual abuse that the report of the CIMI records during the period between January, 2003 and August, 2005, listing the names, places and circumstances of each, 20 took place against crianças (children) between the ages of 6 and 13, and 11 against adolescents of ages between 15 and 17.
The fact is, that in the fragile relationship existing between the indigenous peoples and those who call themselves civilized, the indigenous peoples are frequently subjected to some type of violence – be it physical, emotional or cultural
The rights of the indígenas (indigenous peoples)
Our Constitution is quite clear in defining the rights of the povos indígenas (indigenous peoples): “Indians shall have their social organization, customs, languages. creeds and traditions recognized, as well as their original rights to the lands they traditionally occupy, it being incumbent upon the Union to demarcate them, protect and ensure respect for all of their property (art. 231).
Respect for the social organizations, the customs, languages, beliefs and traditions of the povos indígenas is required by the Brazilian Constitution. By the Brazilian Constitution they also have rights over the lands that they occupy in the course of their periodic migrations.
This means that their lands can not be taken from them. It means that their women can not be violated.
But no less important, it also means that we don’t have the right to atraer-los (entice or seduce them) into entering a smug civilization where they become depersonalized and discarded.
No comments:
Post a Comment