Scalabrinian missionaries
decry killing of indigenous leader in Amazon Rainforest
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| Pope Francis greets representatives of indigenous communities of the Amazon basin during a visit to the Peruvian city of Puerto Maldonado in January 2018 (AFP) |
Missionaries in Brazil say the murder of an indigenous
leader in the country’s rainforest sounds the alarm on recent policies that
have opened up protected Amazon territory to mining.
By Linda Bordoni
Scalabrinian Missionaries in Brazil say the murder of an
indigenous leader in the Amazon shines the light on a “truly alarming”
situation that allows for the destruction of an extraordinary habitat for
economic gain.
Emrya Wajãpi, leader of the indigenous Wajãpi people,
was killed on July 23 in Amapá, a region in the far north of
Brazil, bordering French Guyana.
According to witnesses he was stabbed to death by gold
miners who entered the protected reserve of the Wajãpi community.
90% of the Amapá region is covered by the Amazon Rainforest
and much of the area is officially protected, but recent government policy has
opened the Amazon up to mining and this has led to growing encroachment on
indigenous land – especially forests – by miners, loggers and farmers.
In a statement released after Emrya Wajãpi’s murder, Sr.
Neusa de Fatima Mariano, superior general of the
Scalabrinians, condemned his killing which she described as the “fruit of
hate campaigns perpetrated against indigenous peoples.”
Calling it an “operation to destroy the indigenous peoples
of Brazil,” Sr Neusa said “It is incredible how today there are exploiters of
natural riches who, for their economic interests, have the possibility of
entering the northern Amazon Forest and of killing a leader of the Wajãpi
community.”
She said they are openly allowed “to invade a territory,
destroy a society, and devastate an extraordinary habitat”.
Appeal to support the rights of indigenous people
Sr Neusa went on to declare the support of her Order for a
campaign launched by the Brazilian bishops' Indigenous Missionary
Council that has forcefully condemned the operation conducted by the
government.
She expressed her belief that instead of nurturing hate
talk, the Brazilian government should “encourage respect for indigenous
peoples, take measures against the 'invasion of their land, uphold their
rights”.
Rights monitors have denounced the killing of Emrya Wajãpi
and expressed concern that it is part of a global trend of attacks on
environmentalists.
Statistics show that in 2018, more than 160 land and
environmental defenders were killed—many of them Indigenous.
Pan-Amazon Synod of Bishops
Highlighting his own, and the Church’s concern for our
common home and for the rights and dignity of all peoples, Pope
Francis has called for a Special Assembly for the Amazon of the Synod
of Bishops on the theme: Amazonia: New Paths for the
Church and for an Integral Ecology that will take place in the
Vatican in October 2019.
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