Brazil: murder of indigenous leader highlights threat to way of life
Brazil: murder of indigenous leader highlights threat to way of life
Jorginho Guajajara’s killing is believed by members of his tribe to be the result of conflict with loggers in their Amazon territory
Flávia Milhorance in Rio de Janeiro
Thu 16 Aug 2018 02.30 EDT
Indigenous people in the Brazilian Amazon are mourning the murder of a community leader who campaigned to protect the forest from logging amid escalating violence in the region.
Jorginho Guajajara, a cacique, or leader, of the Guajajara people, was found dead near a river in the city of Arame, Maranhão state, at the weekend.
Members of the tribe say his death was the result of a fierce conflict provoked by the incursion of loggers into their land. Up to 80 Guajajaras have been killed in the area since 2000.
“Jorginho’s body was found dumped by a stream which is renowned for being a dumping ground for Guajajaras killed by loggers or people connected to them,” said Sarah Shenker, a senior researcher at Survival International, the global movement for tribal peoples’ rights.
More:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/aug/16/brazil-jorginho-guajajara-amazon-indigenous-leader
He was a leader of the Guajajara people, who call themselves the Guardians of the Amazon and have faced repeated threats from a powerful logging mafia
Tribal chief of the “Guardians of the Amazon” murdered by illegal loggers in Brazil
Friday, August 17th 2018 - 09:25 UTC
An indigenous leader has been found murdered in Brazil, exposing the growing threat to tribes fighting illegal logging in the Amazon, campaigners and authorities said. Jorginho Guajajara was found dead in the northern state of Maranhao with his neck broken, rights group Survival International said. Police in Maranhao confirmed on Thursday they were investigating the case.
He was a leader of the Guajajara people, who call themselves the Guardians of the Amazon and have faced repeated threats from a powerful logging mafia operating on their territory.
“This is just one of many murders in Maranhao... due to the indigenous people’s work to protect their land against loggers,” said Sonia Guajajara, an indigenous leader who is standing to be Brazil’s next vice president.
“Our people can no longer afford to stand by while the government does nothing, and they are paying for that with their lives” she said.
More:
http://en.mercopress.com/2018/08/17/tribal-chief-of-the-guardians-of-the-amazon-murdered-by-illegal-loggers-in-brazil
~ ~ ~
INDIGENOUS ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENDER KILLED AS LOGGING MAFIA TARGETS TRIBE
Posted on August 15, 2018 by GJEP staff
Warning: some people may find the details and image below disturbing
A leader of an Amazon tribe acclaimed for its environmental defenders has been killed, the latest in a series of deaths among the tribe.
The body of Jorginho Guajajara was found near a river in the Brazilian state of Maranhão. He was a leader of the Guajajara people, acclaimed internationally for their work as the ‘Guardians of the Amazon’ in the most threatened region in the entire Amazon.
Franciel Guajajara, one of the Guardians of the Amazon, explains their work.
It is not yet clear who killed him, but a powerful logging mafia has repeatedly targeted the tribe for its work protecting both its rainforest home, and the uncontacted members of a neighboring tribe, the Awá, who also live there, and face catastrophe unless their land is protected.
More:
https://globaljusticeecology.org/blog/
(The article is located around 75% of the way down the page.)
~ ~ ~
