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| Guarani Indians
© João Ripper/Survival |
During the night of 12 October 2002, about 200 Kaiowá Indians were thrown out
of the village of Tey Cuê in an area called Caarapó, and are now camped on the
side of a highway near the town of Dourados, under plastic tarpaulins. Their
homes and possessions were burned; they now have little food and no access to
clean water.
This group of Kaiowá has being trying to recover its land, Takuára, for
years. The land – in Juti, Mato Grosso do Sul – was stolen from them in 1953 by
cattle ranchers who renamed it Fazenda Brasília do Sul.
After years of lobbying without success for the authorities to recognise
their traditional land in line with the Brazilian constitution, the Indians
decided to return to their land in April 1997. They began to rebuild their
community and plant gardens. But the ranchers who had occupied the area went to
court and a judge ordered the Indians out. In October 2001, more than a hundred
heavily armed police and soldiers forced the Indians to leave their land. They
were made to settle in Caarapó, an area already populated by other Guarani,
supposedly for only a short time while the government's Indians affairs
department (FUNAI) negotiated their return to their land. But nothing happened,
and the Indians were left stranded on the land of other Guarani, who, because of
tensions and a lack of resources, have now expelled them. Takuára / Fazenda
Brasília do Sul has now been identified as an Kaiowá territory – but FUNAI
continues to delay demarcating the land, leading to unnecessary anguish and
suffering for the community.
The Kaiowá are desperate to return to their sacred land, their tekoha.
Araldo Veron, one of the Indians camped on the roadside, has told reporters that
his father Marcos Veron, the group's leader, has talked of committing suicide.
While still in Takuára, Marcos, said 'This here is my life. My soul. If you
take me away from this land, you take my life.' The Kaiowá have experienced
a terrible wave of suicides since they were
driven from their land.
Survival is calling on the Brazilian government to take action so that the
these Kaiowá may return home. See How you can Help to get details.
View Related Material for a closer look at the Guarani suicide epidemic.
