progress =
moving forward towards a destination; development towards an improved or advanced condition
There are two versions of Survival's ground-breaking report 'Progress can kill: how imposed development destroys the health of tribal peoples'. Both are free to download.
Download the full report
The full length, in-depth report for those wanting to know more.
61 pages, PDF
Download a shorter version
for the general reader. Also available as a printed booklet from our bookshop .
19 pages, PDF
Prime Minister Stephen Harper MP
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa
K1A 0A2
Canada
9 May 2008
Dear Prime Minister,
Times New Roman
Helvetica
11pt
12pt
14pt
The Innu’s plight is an international embarrassment to a wealthy country like Canada. Since they were pressured into settling in fixed communities by the Canadian government and Catholic church in the 1950s and 1960s, life in the communities has been marked by extremely high levels of alcoholism, petrol-sniffing amongst children, violence, and record levels of suicides. Obesity and diabetes are now chronic problems.
Furthermore, the process by which Canada agrees to negotiate comprehensive land claims with peoples such as the Innu is grossly unfair, and puts the Innu at a serious disadvantage. Canada must recognise the Innu's right to own their land, and live on it as they choose.
Yours sincerely,
(your full name )
Will my letter make a difference?
Yes. Time and again, letters from Survival supporters have called governments and organisations to account. Policies have changed and lives have been saved.
Should I post, fax or e-mail?
The most powerful way is to print and post your letter. We will e-mail you a ready-to-print PDF of your letter, together with postage information. We sometimes also publish e-mail addresses or fax numbers where there is a realistic chance of these being read. However, e-mail addresses change and fax machines get unplugged. If you can, please post your letter.
Dr Tarso Genro
Ministro da Justiça
Ministerio da Justiça
Esplanada dos Ministerios, Bloco T
Brasilia DF 70064-900
Brazil
9 May 2008
Dr Genro,
Times New Roman
Helvetica
11pt
12pt
14pt
I am very concerned about the situation of the Guarani-Kaiowá tribe in Mato Grosso do Sul state. Most of the Guarani are crammed together in tiny reservations where there is not enough land to cultivate and sustain them. Overcrowding has resulted in high rates of suicide, alcohol abuse, internal violence, and severe malnutrition among children.
I urge you to take immediate steps to identify and demarcate all the territories claimed by the Guarani-Kaiowá. The long delay in recognising their land rights is putting the Indians' health and survival at risk. Unless and until the Guarani's land rights are fully recognised, I fear the situation will get worse.
Yours sincerely,
(your full name )
Will my letter make a difference?
Yes. Time and again, letters from Survival supporters have called governments and organisations to account. Policies have changed and lives have been saved.
Should I post, fax or e-mail?
The most powerful way is to print and post your letter. We will e-mail you a ready-to-print PDF of your letter, together with postage information. We sometimes also publish e-mail addresses or fax numbers where there is a realistic chance of these being read. However, e-mail addresses change and fax machines get unplugged. If you can, please post your letter.
HE President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Presidente da República Federativa do Brasil
Gabinete do Presidente
Palácio do Planalto
Praça dos Três Poderes
70150-900
Brasilia DF
Brazil
9 May 2008
Your Excellency,
Times New Roman
Helvetica
11pt
12pt
14pt
I am extremely concerned about the Yanomami people. Over 1,000 goldminers are working illegally on their land, polluting the environment and introducing fatal diseases to the Indians. The government funded Yanomami health care programme is in chaos and doctors and vital medicines are not reaching the communities. Yanomami are starting to die of diseases.
Many Yanomami oppose Congress’s plans to open up large-scale mining on their land and have not been adequately informed or consulted about the proposals.
I urge you to uphold the Constitution and remove the miners from the Yanomami territory, and resolve the health crisis as a matter of urgency. I also urge you and your government to prohibit any form of mining on their land as the impacts will be disastrous for such an isolated people.
Yours sincerely,
(your full name )
Will my letter make a difference?
Yes. Time and again, letters from Survival supporters have called governments and organisations to account. Policies have changed and lives have been saved.
Should I post, fax or e-mail?
The most powerful way is to print and post your letter. We will e-mail you a ready-to-print PDF of your letter, together with postage information. We sometimes also publish e-mail addresses or fax numbers where there is a realistic chance of these being read. However, e-mail addresses change and fax machines get unplugged. If you can, please post your letter.
H.E. President Ian Khama
Office of the President
Private Bag 001
Gaborone
Botswana
9 May 2008
Your Excellency,
Times New Roman
Helvetica
11pt
12pt
14pt
As you assume your new post as President of Botswana, I hope that this will signal a change in policy towards the Bushmen of the Kalahari.
After being forcibly removed from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, many Bushmen living in the resettlement camps are exposed to diseases including HIV/AIDS, which they never experienced before. Alcoholism and depression is widespread.
The High Court ruled that the evictions of the Bushmen were illegal and unconstitutional. I urge you to embrace the spirit of this ruling by allowing all of the Bushmen who wish to return home to do so, and by allowing them to hunt for food and to access their own water using the pre-existing borehole at Mothomelo, within the reserve.
Refusal to allow the Bushmen to use their existing borehole at Mothomelo can only be interpreted as a clear sign that you are determined to continue the past government’s misguided policy of keeping the Bushmen from returning home.
Yours sincerely,
(your full name )
Will my letter make a difference?
Yes. Time and again, letters from Survival supporters have called governments and organisations to account. Policies have changed and lives have been saved.
Should I post, fax or e-mail?
The most powerful way is to print and post your letter. We will e-mail you a ready-to-print PDF of your letter, together with postage information. We sometimes also publish e-mail addresses or fax numbers where there is a realistic chance of these being read. However, e-mail addresses change and fax machines get unplugged. If you can, please post your letter.
The Hon Kevin Rudd MP
Prime Minister
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600
Australia
9 May 2008
Dear Prime Minister,
Times New Roman
Helvetica
11pt
12pt
14pt
I am gravely concerned that in a prosperous country like Australia, the indigenous population continues to suffer appalling health problems. Only if they can regain some measure of control over their lives and lands will their chronic health problems, such as a lower life expectancy and higher infant mortality than most Australians, be improved.
The answer to these problems is not to remove control of Aboriginal peoples’ lives and communities from them, but to give them a greater say over decisions that affect their future.
Yours sincerely,
(your full name )
Will my letter make a difference?
Yes. Time and again, letters from Survival supporters have called governments and organisations to account. Policies have changed and lives have been saved.
Should I post, fax or e-mail?
The most powerful way is to print and post your letter. We will e-mail you a ready-to-print PDF of your letter, together with postage information. We sometimes also publish e-mail addresses or fax numbers where there is a realistic chance of these being read. However, e-mail addresses change and fax machines get unplugged. If you can, please post your letter.