While illegal mining isn’t a new development, the problems that the Amazon is facing has become detrimental to people’s lives, more so now than ever.
A report in BBC shares the story of a very remote village in the Brazilian Amazon called the Palimiú. On May 11, anindigenous leader from the Yanomami tribe named Dario Kopenawa got a distressed phone call from someone in the village. With a population of around 1,000 people living in big communal houses that sit on the Uraricoera riverbanks, you can’t even reach it by car, it’s either via plane or boat if you’re willing to take the time to travel via water.
While the call wasn’t said to be anything new for Kopenawa – who is privy to pleas from the many rainforest communities, he explained that this one was different this time around. The man on the other end of the line told him, “They attacked us, they almost killed us.” The person told Kopenawa that the people that attacked them were garimpeiros, or what they called illegal gold miners. The group had arrived on seven motorboats, armed with automatic weapons, which they began shooting aimlessly.
Although the Yanomami attempted to fight back using bows and shotguns as they hid behind the trees for protection, one indigenous tribesman was grazed on the head by a passing bullet, while four miners were also injured. The illegal miners left after thirty minutes, but not without telling the tribe that they would be back for revenge. After hearing that, a number of the Yanomami women left the jungle with their children in fear in the hopes that they’d find refuge away from the attackers, but in their rush, two boys – one five-years old and the other just one year in age – ended up tragically drowning.
The Palimiú village is situated on one of the biggest indigenous reserves in Brazil, which is said to be comparable to Portugal and 27,000 people. And while mining is illegal in their area, miners and diggers have managed to find ways to do their illegal work in the area nonetheless.
According to Kopenawa, “Garimpeiros are all over the place,” explaining that he avoids heading to the places where the miners are because he receives death threats. And now, after having gotten a disturbed call from one of the villagers, he knew that he needed to tell the authorities because ‘something had to be done.’
The very next day after he informed the authorities, a team of federal police went to Palimiú on a small plane with Junior Hekukari, who happens to be the head of the local indigenous health council. As they left the area, Hekukari said that the noticed some boats whose engines were off, drifting on the water in the hopes that they wouldn’t be noticed. When these men in the boats got closer to the shore, the men shot a number of times in the direction of the village.
Hekukari explained, “The agents screamed ‘Police, police’ but they didn’t stop. They had no respect.” As the officers responded to the call, the gun fight got worse. Just five minutes later, the men left and thankfully, no one was hurt. After Hekukari shared the events that had taken place, Kopenawa was shocked to hear about it. If these illegal miners were brave enough to attack the police, then ‘none of his people was safe’ he said.
To make matters worse for the village, the garimpeiros continue to invade the indigenous reserves, more so during the leadership of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro since he has planned to open portions of the area to agriculture and mining. According to the non-profit group Instituto Socioambiental (ISA) estimates there are around 20,000 illegal miners in the Yanomami territory alone. And worse, Hekukari even said that “they do what they want because they know nothing will happen to them.”
Federal prosecutor in the state of Roraima, Alisson Marugal, explained that the miners are emboldened by the fact that gold prices continue to rise alongside the order of the government’s indigenous affairs agency, Funai, that ordered a drop in field work due to the pandemic. Meanwhile, he explains that “Illegal miners did not self-isolate or do social distancing. In fact, they intensified their activities.”
The reserves have been on the best and most effective ways to protect the Amazon, which is the world’s biggest rainforest. Due to its size, the Amazon also helps to store large amounts of carbon that aids in slowing down global warming. But since President Bolsonaro is not a huge supporter of climate change, plus he happens to have very powerful agribusiness leaders as his backers, he believes the Amazon is too big for the amount of people that live there and that they stand in the way of development within the country.
Meanwhile, Bolsonaro’s own father happened to be a garimpeiro, and the president is quite critical of the Yanomami territory extension which was founded back in 1992, in a region known for its vast mineral riches at that. Kopenawa happens to live in the state capital of Boa Vista, where he heads the Hutakara, or the indigenous association, who share that “Bolsonaro supports the garimpeiros” and that he has zero interest in keeping the Yanomami area protected. He went on to say, “Our territory is being disrespected. And our calls for help are not being heard.”
Moreover, the Bolsonaro government has been pushing their agenda in Congress, one that does not protect the Amazon nor the indigenous people, but rather is a move to further their political and financial gain. The Chamber of Deputies is said to be due to vote on a proposed bill that would ‘legalize the private occupation of public land.’ Then there is another proposal that is working towards reducing the indigenous areas in existence.
Prosecutor Margual shares, “Illegal miners have been emboldened… by a discourse that legitimizes their work. Indigenous communities are under extreme pressure.”
They Explain, ‘It’s Obvious There’s No Political Will’
Kopenawa happens to be the son of a very respected shaman and leader David Kopenawa, who happened to lead the campaign in the making of the Yanomami reserve. He was even given the nickname ‘Dalai Lama of the Rainforest,’ who had also shared back in 2014, “White men who have money, want more. They want to destroy more. That’s their tradition: they’ve got no limit.”
Sadly, just last year, illegal mining activities destroyed an area that’s equivalent to 500 football fields on the Yanomami land said the ISA, and given the events that are taking place, even more land with be destroyed in this year as well. In addition, the garimpeiros have managed to pollute the river waters with mercury, which is a metal they use to separate the gold from the mud. And worse, the miners are also known to have brought drugs, alcohol, and in recent months, Covid-19 infections into the indigenous communities.
Although it’s no secret as to what they are doing in the area, many want to know why no one is bothering to do anything about it? A former official at Funai commented, “It’s obvious there’s no political will.” This official even quit the year before because he “couldn’t stand it anymore. There are some powerful people involved in illegal mining who may be able to limit or prevent any action.”
Despite having severe budget cuts, raids are conducted by Funai and carried out partnered with the federal police, the army and the environmental protection agency, Ibama. But they happen to be so irregular that one former official said that the raids hardly have any impact, leaving the garimpeiros to make their way back quickly as if nothing happened.
The only member of parliament that’s part of the indigenous group and a representative of Roraima, Joenia Wapichana, shares that there needs to be an ideological change at the agency since it’s currently being led by federal police with known associations to the agribusiness. She explained, “Funai used to be a friend of the indigenous people.” But now that’s just not the case. Now, she says, they often oppose the needs and demands of the local communities while asking police to look into the indigenous leaders that are critical of the agency.
When asked for a response to these allegations, Funai claimed that they had no one available for an interview, while the office of President Bolsonaro didn’t bother to respond to the request for a comment at all.
In order to attempt to stop the attacks, the Yanomami used the time as the pandemic raged across the Amazon to build a barrier on the Uraricoera, which is Roraima’s longest river. The hope was to stop the transit of boats around the Palimiú. They also share that they thing the May attack on the area was ‘in retaliation’ when they had intercepted and seized a vessel carrying equipment and petrol.
There were even audio messages shared on WhatsApp, in a group that said to be used by illegal miners, talking about how the attackers were linked to a facção, or a criminal organization. In fact, one of Brazil’s most notorious and biggest gangs, the First Command of the Capital, or PCC which is an acronym for their initials in Portuguese, is famous for operating in Roraima, which is a poorly populated state that’s located on one of the most used drug trafficking routes.
Alisson Marugal even shared that many were suspicious that criminals were actually hired to protect the mining fields, but they were also said to be behind the recent fighting. Marugal said, “We’re seeing some heavy weapons arriving in the camps,” even describing some sections as “no-man’s land.”
Kopenawa claims that just five days after the police checked in on the area, the Palimiú was attacked once more. This time, the attack occurred at night when several boats with people arrived and started shooting again. Reportedly they also fired tear gas, which the Yanomami people struggled with when their eye and throats began to burn because of it. Kopenawa also said, “My people thought they were being bombed.”
Just a few days before, the Supreme Court ordered the Bolsonaro government to take stricter actions to protect the village, as well as other indigenous communities, telling them to force the garimpeiros to leave the area or possibly remove them forcibly. But considering the fact that, regardless of the warning, nothing happens.
Kopenawa also said that the Yanomami people are tired of waiting, explaining “We’re under threat. Our patience has ended.” Yet not one knows if action and prevention against these illegal miners will ever take place.
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