Rights of indigenous people and rainforest devastation - Statement of one Amarakeri Indian from Madre de Dios

With the colonization and human activity, what threaten the rainforest ethnic groups in Peru, so they finally lose their independence, their traditions and unique culture and last but not least, their home  in next few decades. Immigrants, oil companies, prospectors, loggers, cocaine mafia and sometimes even a terrorist organization displace indigenous populations from their traditional territories, and the Indians can hardly resist. A significant threat is also the spread of Christianity, what reverts the ancient shamanic rituals. Some tribes have hit a modern civilization that have adapted, exchanged traditional clothing for jeans and a football t-shirt and live in a civilized way of life. 

Large areas of the forest was already irreversible damage and Indians are moving more and more into the heart of the jungle or forced to slave to the settlers and adapt to the conditions of consumerism. Traditional values ​​of life are dying together with the independence of unique rainforest communities. In 1974 the government approved the first law of indigenous communities, which legalized the right of indigenous peoples to their land. But this area must be registered with the Ministry of Agriculture, so in fact the Indians didn't have right to their land and anyone could take it. In addition, at this time the government didn't have priority to protect indigenous peoples.

Other laws in the 70s gave the right to own land and newly established ethnic groups and communities that is necessary establish a legal person, who will represent them. In the 70s and 80s Indian ethnics began to organize abundantly and created various organizations such as International Association for Development of the Peruvian Amazon (AIDESEP), the Coalition of Indigenous Nationalities (CONAP). Since then founded a number of other regional and political interest groups, what identified the particular geographically and their function was useful as intermediaries between ethnic groups and state authorities in the Amazon. 

In 1999, another law was passed, the aim should be to protect the natural environment, sustainable development and respect for the rights of indigenous peoples. This law, however, met with resentment of the most important interest groups and provoked strikes throughout the Amazon, as in fact suppressing the rights of Indians and opened new possibilities for multinational companies and investment firms without provide to local populations tax relief and without obtain any similar benefits or compensation. 

The situation was worse when in 1995 President Fujimori signed a new law legalizing the colonization of Indian territory that is inhabited by at least two years. No one wanted to understand that in the most of the forest Indians live semi-nomadic way of life and move from place to place, so a huge part of their territory looks forlornly in a moment, but in fact is an integral part of their traditional historical territory. 

Another serious threat is the production of oil and natural gas. In the 90s Fujimori caused a danger rampant terrorism. The most of capital and investment had come just from extraction. The government wanted to help multinational companies prospecting potential deposits in areas as Madre de Dios and Camisea, which are the most affected. Today the exploration and production are more limited, but this is more a side effect of incompetent government policy than trying to save the forest. The threat of gradual destruction still continues, not only in Peru. 

The illegal logging occurs in the worst degree mainly in the southeastern part of the jungle of Madre de Dios, where Amarakeri Indians live. Big iron monsters are changing the most beautiful Amazon forest to a large muddy hole. Begins penetrate into the unique Tambopata Nature Reserve, which is home for otters, condors, jaguars and anacondas. With each new mine planet is losing hundreds of endemic species of flora and fauna and land cover becomes uniform gravel surface. Big machines of companies remain behind them big dead anacondas and other animals. 

Statement of one Amarakeri Indian from Madre de Dios 

"We are born, we work, live and die here in the Peruvian valley of the river Madre de Dios, it's our earth - the only thing in the world, what we have with animals, plants and small farms. It's an environment what we intimately know, understand it and trust in it, and we know well how to use this land. We are not like those who are trying to destroy everything around them and let forest forever ruined. We respect the forest, but we also benefit from it. 

A lot of people have asked us why we want so much land. They think that we can not keep all the crop. But we work in it differently than they, we protect it and try to keep its richness for future generations of our children. Some people like to work on some part of the land, but then destroy it, leave and move to another place. But this we can not, after all, we were born here. Without our forest, we will all die. Except region of Madre de Dios, other parts of the Peruvian jungle are only sparsely populated. The forests are dense here, but the soil is poor in nutrients, so we have to cultivate a completely different way than people in areas that are far and more densely populated, more polluted, less forested, but with fertile soil. Our system would not work in a small area. Strangers do not know how to best use the wealth of its nature. Instead, they just take what nature gives them, but they nothing returne. They take wood, nuts, but most of all, gold. 

Men of the mountains all day are doing the same things all the time, fetch gold, cut the trees and other things. After a while they get bored all day chewing coca leaves, they eat bad and after few months go away. Engineers still drink their coffee and watch others at work. 

We do similar things as they do, but always let the forest to recover again. Cultivate our farms, hunting, fishing and collect forest produce, so we are self-sufficient and do not need anything else. We also build houses, canoes, educate our children, play and enjoy life. Also our own work can satisfy all our needs, without destroying the environment in what we live. 

At the northern part of Madre de Dios wood is more important than gold and Shintuye saw has the biggest revenue throughout the county. In other parts from the wood is produced various things as a canoes, boats for sale and materials for the construction of houses for the settlers. It is said that Madre de Dios is a forgotten country, but people from other parts of Peru or national and multinational companies didn't forget us, trying to get our land and natural resources. That's why we founded the Federation of Indian Madre de Dios and we want to defend our country and its riches. 

Since 1974, people ask us if we have our country registrated under the Act on indigenous communities. Authorities keep us their promise, but the truth is that only one registration acquired to our community, and it's up to the 5,000 hectares. You might ask why we want registration right now, when we were still living without it. The answer is that today we have to protect our country from many people who want to take it and who had never threaten us before. 

I still come to Puerto Maldonado to seek some protection from government offices, no one wants to meet us and no one wants to expel the invaders who have occupied our country. Conversely, when we defend our country against intruders, accuse us that we are wild uncivilized barbarians. 

Other problem are the administrators of the National Park. According to them, we must not use fishing barbasco (herbal poison) in rivers in our area, although we does not belong under the administration of the park. He argues that barbasco kills all the fishes, but we had always been hunting and rivers are still full of fish. Foreign people kill fish more with dynamite. Fishing is the main source of our food, except agriculture. We hunt mainly fish boquichico. First we throw barbasco into the water and then hunt the fish with bow and arrows. We will never stop eating fish, and no one will dictate us how we hunt! 

We do not prohibit to others live here and use the wealth of the forest, or we aren't resist with new things. On the other hand, we also want to have benefits from the development of the forest, not just large companies and settlers. But we also want to preserved the natural wealth for future generations of the settlers and the Indians. " 

Source: http://www.agecolodge.blogspot.com/2014/08/prava-puvodnich-obyvatel-devastace.html

Sometimes i'm thinking how we, humans from civilization, must to be ridiculous to the Indians, in that foolish clothes, make up, what poisons we eat and enjoy it, with a manner of behavior and our life that have nothing in common with who we are, with our origin ... makes me want to cry ... when I see how people from cities laugh to Indians and how ridiculous they seem to be to the towns people ... once we will learn from them, if they will be still here...

We wish a nice day to everybody