The Life Of The Amazonian Indigenous Tribe At The Edge Of The Loggers For Loggers

The Guardians of the Forest (Sarah Shenker/Survival International)

ARARIBOIA - An indigenous Brazilian tribe in Brazil was shot dead for protecting his land from illegal logging. This death angered the world. The black record of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is getting longer. The Amazon forest was not only burned, its native tribes were slaughtered.

Paulo Paulino Guajajara and Laercio Guajajara were patrolling the Arariboia region in the northeastern state of Maranhao, Friday 1 November 2019 when an attack occurred.

According to a report by Survival International, a group that defends indigenous rights, Paulino was shot in the neck and died instantly in the forest. While Laercio was shot in the back. He managed to escape.

Paulino and Laercio are members of the Guardians of the Forest. This group consists of more than one hundred indigenous tribesmen who have long struggled to protect forests from logging.

Survival International researcher Sarah Shenker said violence and death threats from indigenous forest ranger tribes had been going on for years. Unfortunately, it is too difficult for the criminal to touch the perpetrators of violence.

"There is a lot of impunity. The authorities do not want to protect indigenous lands. Their racist words and anti-indigenous genocide proposals give a kind of green light," Shenker said, quoted by Metro, Monday (4/11/2019) .

Brazilian Society Association coordinator Soni Guajajara said Paulino and Laercio must be the last victims of this structured massacre. "Time to stop this institutionalized genocide. Stop authorizing the bloodshed of our people," he exclaimed.

Paulo Paulino Guajajara (Sarah Shenker / Survival International)

Bolsonaro's black notes

Since taking office in January, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been involved in numerous cases against the Amazon and its indigenous tribes. Bolsonaro's policies are considered to be oriented towards the interests of his supporters in the timber, mining and agriculture industries.

In the first eight months of this year, Amazon deforestation nearly doubled. Bolsonaro is even said to have deliberately allowed forest fires to be instigated by industry players.

In September, Human Rights Watch published a report about the massacres of indigenous Amazonian tribes. The report said the massacres had become increasingly massive under Bolsonaro.

In a number of cases, loggers are believed to have paid armed men to kill native Amazon forest guards. "They want to kill all of us," said Soni Guajajara, Coordinator of the Brazilian Association of Peoples.

Before Paulino, three other indigenous people were killed in a similar attack in Arariboia. According to records, Arariboia is home to 5,000 of the indigenous inhabitants of the Amazon. Apart from the Guajajara Tribe, another tribe, the Awa Tribe, is recorded who live in the area.