A Yanomami indigenous woman died this Friday (27th), at the age of 33, suffering from severe malnutrition. She was hospitalized in the ICU of the General Hospital of Roraima. Her two daughters are also admitted to the children’s hospital, with severe cases of malnutrition.
The president of the Indigenous District Council, Júnior Hekurari, confirmed that, in addition to her, five other people also died this Friday. Among the victims are a nine-year-old child and a leader of the Surucucu community. The other victims are adult men.
According to Júnior, the deaths were caused by malaria and malnutrition. “The health team went to rescue, but they only rescued four Yanomami in a serious state of malaria. The bodies are there in the forest,” said Hekurari in an interview with Rede Amazônica, published by the G1 portal.
::Marina denounces: four out of ten Yanomami children are contaminated by mercury::
The Surucucu region is 270km from Boa Vista, the capital of Roraima, and is one of the few communities that has an indigenous health center. Considered a reference in the territory, the space is precarious.
The Yanomami Indigenous Land is under a state of emergency due to the lack of assistance and abandonment by the federal government in the last four years, allowing the advance of illegal mining.
A week ago, President Lula traveled to the region to check up close the situation that he himself classified as inhumane. According to the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples, 570 Yanomami children died from mercury contamination and hunger. The main reason for this crisis is illegal mining in the region.
::MPF details actions and omissions of the Bolsonaro government in the humanitarian crisis of the Yanomami TI::
The main causes of hospitalization of the Yanomami indigenous people are diarrhea, severe malnutrition, pneumonia, malaria and accidents with snakes. So far, the Hospital da Criança, in Boa Vista, has 53 children hospitalized. Casai – Casa de Saúde Indígena – recorded the number of 700 indigenous people waiting for care.
Minister of the Environment, Marina Silva confirms that there will be a mega operation to remove illegal mining from the Yanomami TI, in Roraima / Marcelo Camargo/ Agência Brasil
Removal of illegal miners
In a statement to the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper, this Friday (27), the Minister of the Environment, Marina Silva, confirmed that the government is planning a mega-operation to remove illegal miners from the Yanomami Indigenous Land. She said that the operation will be part of a broad government action, involving several ministries and federal agencies.
::Bolsonaro has committed countless attacks against indigenous people; remember::
“It’s a multiple approach. It’s public health, restoration of traditional ways of life, recovery of these areas, removal of areas, combating deforestation and removal of illegal mining. This will be a mega operation that will have to be carried out, planned , in several phases”, said the minister.to the São Paulo newspaper.
STF investigates Bolsonaro government’s omission
The Federal Supreme Court (STF) will investigate the government of former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) after detecting evidence of non-compliance with court decisions handed down since 2020 and suspicions of false information provided to Justice about measures taken in relation to the Yanomami Indigenous Land.
“In case of identification of those responsible, they will undergo due legal process for punishment”, informed the office of minister Luís Roberto Barroso to Metrópoles. He is the rapporteur of processes that seek to guarantee, through judicial channels, the protection of the country’s indigenous people.
::Funai: deficit is 1,500 employees, says special advisor to min. of Indigenous Peoples::
One of the measures that the federal government would have failed to comply with is the implementation of a plan to combat covid-19 in indigenous territories, including food safety actions, vaccination campaigns and the creation of sanitary barriers to prevent contagion.
The STF also ordered the expulsion of miners and loggers who occupy the Yanomami Indigenous Land and six other territories. So far, however, criminals remain on the land.
Editing: Douglas Matos
