Last week, an indigenous representative denounced that a Yanomami teenager had been raped by prospectors and killed. In addition, a second child would be missing.
In recent days, after reports of the disappearance of the village where the children would come from, an appeal has grown on social media: “Where are the Yanomami”.
Here’s what we know so far about the case:
What happened?
On April 25, indigenous leader Júnior Hekurari Yanomami, president of Condisi-YY (District Council for Yanomami and Ye’kwana Indigenous Health), published a video in which he denounced the rape and death of a 12-year-old girl in the Arakaça community. , in the Waikás region, in Roraima. A second child is said to be missing after falling off a boat.
Garimpeiros would have been responsible for the rape and disappearance, according to the indigenous leader.
There is a large and growing presence of illegal mining in the Yanomami indigenous land.
President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) openly defends the legalization of mining on indigenous lands. These areas, in addition to providing security for the indigenous people, guarantee protection against deforestation in the Amazon, with very low rates of destruction recorded.
what was done
The complaint led to actions by the PF (Federal Police), the MPF (Federal Public Ministry), Funai (National Indian Foundation) and Sesai (Special Secretariat for Indigenous Health).
The teams were in the Arakaça village on April 27th and 28th.
According to the authorities, “after extensive investigations and surveys of information with indigenous people in the community, no evidence was found of the practice of crimes of murder and rape or death by drowning.”
Júnior Hekurari Yanomami recently stated that, during the investigation at the site, the teams found a garimpeiro camp a few meters from where the village was located. The camp was reportedly burned by police forces.
How was the Arakaça village
According to a note from Condisi Yanomami, parts of the village’s structure were burned and the indigenous people were not there. Some appeared only after about 40 minutes.
“After insisting, some indigenous people reported that they could not speak, as they had received 5 g of gold from the miners to keep silent,” the note states. “It can be seen from the videos that these indigenous people were coerced and instructed not to report any occurrence that happened in the region, making the investigation difficult.”
The document points to reports by indigenous people that other crimes had already occurred in the region. They mention that, recently, a prospector, claiming to be the father of a newborn, would have taken the baby to Boa Vista, capital of Roraima.
According to the note, there were still possible marks of a body cremation at the site.
THE Sheet contacted the Federal Police and Funai to obtain more details about the situation found in the Arakaça village. The PF did not provide details, it only reinforced the note published a few days ago in which it was stated that the authorities had not found signs of crime.
So far, Funai has not responded to the questions sent.
Where are the Yanomami
The note from Condisi Yanomami states that it is customary and tradition, after the death of a loved one, to burn the place where a tribe lived and look for a new place to live.
The situation of the Yanomami indigenous land
A recent document produced by Hutukara Associação Yanomami and Associação Wanasseduume Ye’kwana, with advice from Isa (Instituto Socioambiental), points out prospectors involved in cases of sexual abuse, harassment and supply of alcohol to Yanomami.
One case cited occurred on the outskirts of the Apiaú River and involves a prospector who allegedly offered drugs and drinks to indigenous people and who, when everyone was drunk, allegedly raped a child.
The document says that illegal mining is advancing into new areas of indigenous land and that, in 2021 alone, the destruction associated with mining grew 46% in indigenous land compared to 2020 and reached 3,272 hectares.
