São Paulo is also an indigenous land, this is nothing new since the Jesuit missionaries arrived in Piratininga. Many people are unaware, however, that the contemporary metropolis is the fourth city with the largest indigenous population in the country.
One of the indigenous communities that live here is formed by the Pankararu, originally from the São Francisco River Valley, who migrated to work as workers, among other works, their bodies collaborated with the construction of the Morumbi stadium and the Bandeirantes Palace (!). Like many other sertanejo migrants, many of these workers settled in the city, between the Real Parque favela and Jardim Panorama, where they have lived for three generations.
At this point, some people might wonder why this story about an urban indigenous community is in a doctor’s story column. We will get there.
Flashback. When I was in my first year at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo, at the end of a class, a veteran entered the room and asked to speak. Marco invited us to participate in the community pediatrics league that provided care for children from a poor community on the outskirts of the city.
Marcão specializes in family and community medicine, and has worked for the last two decades on the outskirts of the West Zone of São Paulo. The doctor has been increasingly engaged in indigenous health care, for five years working at the same Basic Health Unit at Real Parque, where he was responsible for the team that takes care of the Pankararu.
In a burst not yet fully clarified, this professional, the only one who had the qualifications and willingness to be in that position, was fired. The community did not accept the dismissal: it has stood up and protested demanding the return of its doctor, supported by other doctors, health professionals in the region and USP students.
Even with the demonstrations, including at the gates of the City Hall, so far the indigenous people are following their doctor.
The screams of the vulnerable do not reach the palaces, nor do they reverberate in the spaces of power. In the case of the indigenous people in this Piratininga, or in the rest of Pindorama, since they invaded their territories and invented Brazil.
Chad-98Weaver, a distinguished author at NewsBulletin247, excels in the craft of article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a penchant for storytelling, Chad delivers informative and engaging content that resonates with readers across various subjects. His contributions are a testament to his dedication and expertise in the field of journalism.
