The swabs are insufficient, disinformation is rampant and many experts have reported the lack of sanctions for those who violate the quarantine. This all adds up to the denialist statements by the President and his supporters and to the minimization of dangers by the Governors of some states.
Amazonas, with its capital Manaus, has been identified as one
Brazil - Being Indigenous in world's second most infected country
(ANS - Manaus) - In Brazil, the pandemic is still advancing with great strides: almost 1.5 million infected and 61,884 confirmed victims. Unfortunately, the official data in the second country most severely hit by Covid-19 is not a complete picture of the Brazilian situation.
of the hardest hit. For this reason, some leaders of the Yanomani villages have invited the populations to take refuge in the Amazon forest to get away from the risk of contagion, while the members of the Saterè Mawè tribe have prepared infusions based on tree bark, with anti-inflammatory virtues, tea, mint, mango, garlic and ginger.
Moreover, Indigenous peoples also face deforestation, which has not slowed down; indeed, it has increased by 64% in April compared to the same month last year.
The tragedy of the situation is told in the letter of a professor from São Gabriel da Cachoeira, relaunched by the Salesian missionary Fr Roberto Cappelletti:
"The arrival of the Coronavirus to São Gabriel, the most Indigenous municipality in Brazil, as large as Northern Italy, was the most feared thing (...) Unfortunately, it was not possible to stop its advance: people continued to arrive clandestinely, and these reckless people brought the virus to Indigenous land. When the news of the first positive case came out, many understood that the situation could precipitate, collapse, while others continued to stand in line in streets, in front of banks, to receive government emergency help (...)
As a teacher and with, in my heart, my will to put myself at the service of the good of my people and especially the families of my pupils, I've made myself available to go on the streets of the city of São Gabriel and in the more distant villages to help in an awareness-raising campaign against Covid-19. And to this day I continue what I feel is an important mission. In many villages there is no water, there is no possibility of social distancing, much less sanitizing or masks.
What is most beneficial on the one hand, but that worries on the other, is the way of life of the little ones, their smiles, their little attention to washing ... They are like this, we are like this, we are Indigenous, we are from this land, this virus they brought it to us from afar and now we are afraid. We know we have low immune defenses, we have no chance of finding a bed in the hospital ... They say it will be a massacre, cause countless deaths, here with us; I don't want to believe it ... Do not forget us Indigenous people in your prayers."
Further information is available on: www.missionidonbosco.org
