Yanomami grappling with malnutrition, malaria after miners' expulsion
3 Min Read
Six months into the Lula administration's crackdown on miners in the area, the Yanomami people now have to deal with the long-term effects of malaria and malnutrition.
-
Indigenous people march to protest against the killings of Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira and freelance British journalist Dom Phillips, in Atalaia do Norte, Vale do Javari, Amazonas state, Brazil, June 13, 2022 (AP)
Six months into the Lula administration's crackdown on miners in the area, leading an operation to drive out illegal miners from the largest Indigenous reserve in the nation, the Yanomami people still live in dread and grapple with a legacy of murder, devastation, and disease.
Despite praising the government's crackdown, a new report from three Indigenous organizations released on Wednesday emphasized the difficulties that still need to be overcome in order to adequately address the humanitarian crisis brought on by the invasion of wildcat miners during the Jair Bolsonaro years.
"Today, we have a result, there are no more miners. But we are enduring what has been left behind," said the Indigenous leader Júnior Hekurari, who leads one of the report-related organizations, the Uhuri Yanomami Association.
The report is a cry for assistance from the Yanomami as they continue to suffer from starvation and infectious diseases while anticipating a potential return of the banished miners, according to statements from community leaders, satellite imagery, and official data.
"There is a worry that, once the publicity from the Yanomami crisis passes, the efforts to overcome the crisis will tend to decline, with less investment, fewer human resources and so on," according to Estêvão Benfica Senra, an Instituto Socioambiental (ISA) researcher. The ISA is a civil society group that helped with the report.
In the Portugal-sized Indigenous area, which is home to approximately 30,000 Yanomami and Ye'kwana people, including isolated communities, the authorities celebrated last month having expelled 90% of the 20,000 miners in the area.
The report states that the authorities' plan to drive out miners by restricting access to land and rivers and managing airspace was successful. However, certain garimpeiro settlements continue to rebuff security forces' efforts to drive them out, obstructing the delivery of relief to surrounding towns.
Read: Four illegal gold miners in Yanomami territory shot by Brazil's police
Food packages frequently fail to reach the populations in need, and health centers are often still closed, as a result of the inconsistent distribution of humanitarian relief and the provision of healthcare services in general.
The massive wave of malaria imported by unlawful mining activity is a serious threat. Malaria is attacking them from all directions, according to Hekurari.
The number of malaria infections reported since January 1 is 12,252, which is 80% of the cases expected to be reported in 2022. Despite this, preventative and care initiatives have not been stepped up.
Senra cited a place close to the Venezuelan border where the situation is "dramatic", saying, "We haven't heard of a big campaign, a big drive to fight malaria in Auaris, for example."
In addition to strengthening current initiatives on Yanomami territory, he thinks the information in the report will assist the government in improving its strategy when it conducts similar operations in other Indigenous areas.
"We’re asking of the government, don’t abandon us again. The Yanomami need protection," said Hekurari.
