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Global forum to discuss indigenous exclusion in Brazil
Criado em 05/12/13 15h46
e atualizado em 05/12/13 15h49
Por Mariana Tokarnia
Fonte:Agência Brasil
Brasília – Indians have no claim. Indians are lazy, hardly human. Such conceptions have been deeply ingrained in Brazilian society until very recently, according to Tonico Benites, MA in Social Anthropology, and himself one of the Guarani-Kaiowá people. Only with the 1988 Constitution were indigenous Brazilians finally recognized as citizens. Over 400 years of exclusion still haunt the lives of these populations to this day.
Benites will be a speaker at the upcoming World Forum on Human Rights set to take place in Brasília from December 10 to 13. He will join Pakistani writer-activist Tariq Ali and Brazilian jurist Ela Wiecko Volkmer de Castilho to debate the recognition of indigenous peoples as rights holders.
The 2010 census found that nearly 0.5 % of Brazil's population is indigenous. It's 896,900 people from 305 ethnic groups, who account for 274 languages spoken in the country in addition to Portuguese.
"They [the Indians] just can't afford to live comfortably – they are only striving to survive. They strive for such basic things as food,” the anthropologist said.
Most indigenous communities in Brazil are deprived of quality healthcare or education. Portal Brasil, the official federal government website, reports 105,700 Indians are enrolled in grade 1-5 classes, accounting for 51.7 % of indigenous students and less than one-eighth of the total native population. And 4,000 Indians, 0.44% of the population, attend cross-cultural teaching-level degree courses taught in 20 public institutions.
Another major issue is land demarcation. The census identified 505 indigenous territories covering a total 12.5% of all Brazilian territory (106.7 million hectares) where 517,400 Indians (57.7% of the total) were found to live.
“In two days, I've been to three Guarani Kaiowá territories in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Only one of them is officially recognized as such, but this adds up to nothing. Three there were no schools or healthcare facilities in neither of them,” he explained. “Under the law, these services are every citizen's rights. But I couldn't find them even in existing demarcated areas.”
Conflicts over land abound. Chiefs had been killed in two communities visited by Benites. He believes this situation is the result of longlasting neglection and exclusion from the legal system, a legacy that still echoes today. According to him, immediate needs like food must be addressed. Meanwhile, other issues that can ensure long-term safety, especially land tenure, must be addressed. Benites went on to advocate some form of a redress policy.
“We must make it up to them. Throughout history, indigenous people have been forced off land and treated as subhuman creatures,” he pointed out.
Edited by Marcos Chagas / Nira Foster
Translated by Mayra Borges
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