A new report on the destruction caused by mining within the Yanomami indigenous land points to cases of sexual abuse, harassment and the supply of alcoholic beverages, in addition to the increase in deforestation in the Amazon.
According to the document produced by the Hutukara Associação Yanomami and the Associação Wanasseduume Ye’kwana, with technical assistance from ISA (Instituto Socioambiental), in 2021, the destruction associated with mining grew 46% in the indigenous land compared to 2020. The devastation reached 3,272 acre. Monitoring has been done since 2018 and this was the largest increase ever recorded.
In addition to the percentage growth, mining is advancing into new areas of Yanomami land.
To verify the destruction caused by mining on the protected land, images from the Planet and Sentinel 1 and 2 satellites were used. After that, every six months, flyovers are carried out to validate the destroyed areas detected.
In some parts of the indigenous land, there are reports of sexual abuse and harassment of women and children. This is the case in the surroundings of the Apiaú River (in the course of which there is a voluntarily isolated people, the moxihatëtëma), where, according to the document, alcoholic beverages and drugs are frequently offered.
The report exemplifies a kind of relationship arranged between a young Yanomami girl and a gold digger, in exchange for goods.
Another case mentioned in the vicinity of this river is that of a prospector who allegedly offered drugs and drinks to indigenous people and who, when everyone was drunk, raped a child.
The presence of weapons among the miners means that the indigenous people no longer resist harassment out of fear, say the authors.
There are also reports of sexual exploitation of indigenous women on the Mucajaí and Couto Magalhães rivers.
These two rivers would be among the most impacted by illegal mining. In addition to them, the Uraricoera, Parima, Apiaú, Novo, Catrimani and Lobo d’Almada rivers and the Inajá and Surucucus streams are the main bodies of water that suffer from mining activity.
The authors indicate that from 110 to 273 communities may be affected by mining on indigenous lands. This amounts to 56% of those living in the area or about 16,000 people.
With the illegal garimpeiro presence on the protected land, indigenous people feel insecure to move around, “whether because of explicit threats against their lives by garimpeiros, or because of the simple hostile presence of non-indigenous people,” says the report. The fear would even impact the way of life of the communities, with restrictions on hunting, fishing, farming and communication with other communities.
The document also mentions the health crisis in the indigenous land, such as the increase in malaria cases and child malnutrition, a situation that has recently gained prominence with a photo of a Yanomami girl lying in a hammock with her ribs exposed.
“Child malnutrition is a complex and multi-causal phenomenon, but in the Yanomami context the influence of mining is unequivocal and decisive”, say the authors. The presence of miners in the region would also make it difficult for indigenous people to access health services.
Among all the problems mentioned, there is also mention of the Yanomami children who were sucked and spit out by mining dredges while swimming in the Uraricoera River, which passes through the Makuxi Yano community. Both died. The case took place last year.
The report also points out some recommendations on the part of the communities, such as inspection, launching of regular mining operations, ethnoenvironmental protection bases in strategic locations and the articulation of projects with alternative income for communities close to mining, which can help to neutralize the harassment, with the promise of money, from miners to the local population.
When contacted, the Ministry of Justice said that Funai (National Indian Foundation) should be contacted.
Funai, in turn, said that it is unaware of the study and does not comment on unofficial data.
The institution also states that “illegal mining in the Yanomami Indigenous Land is a chronic problem” and that it has five ethno-environmental protection bases in the area that carry out inspection and monitoring.
Funai blames previous administrations for illegal mining and claims, without justifying or presenting data, that in the past Brazilian indigenous policy was “guided by hidden interests, lack of transparency and a strong presence of non-governmental organizations. A scenario dominated by intermediaries, in which the Indians were made up of maneuver mass, and which the press, curiously, does not look into”.
President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) openly defends mining on indigenous lands (despite the data on the destruction that the practice causes and the risks to indigenous people), he is against the demarcation of new indigenous lands (despite these being areas of high preservation of the Amazon, for example, and which have the lowest deforestation figures) and is critical of NGOs, having even made unsubstantiated accusations about fires and interference with government data against some of them.
The current president of Funai, Marcelo Augusto Xavier da Silva, is a PF (Federal Police) delegate. Last year, Xavier provoked the opening of an investigation by the PF to investigate a federal prosecutor who works at Funai itself and who prepared a legal opinion in favor of the indigenous people.
According to the note that Funai sent to the report, currently, the problem of illegal mining is exacerbated by the increase in the number of Venezuelan miners.
Funai also cites the recent fight against illegal mining by the Yanomami operation, coordinated by the Ministry of Justice, which “resulted in the destruction of 22 aircraft, in addition to the seizure of another 89 and inspection of 87 clandestine airstrips in the indigenous land”. It also cites the Curare XIV/Ágata operation and other operations to combat illegal mining that took place in 2021.
“Together with the Secretariat of Integrated Operations/MJSP, [Ministério da Justiça] Funai has maintained an intense action in the repression of crimes that occur in that region, in an articulated and integrated way”, says the note.
