URGENT APPEAL! COVID-19 is choking the Kanamari Indigenous people of the Vale do Javari, in Brazilian Amazonia (6-11-20)

URGENT APPEAL! COVID-19 is choking the Kanamari Indigenous people of the Vale do Javari, in Brazilian Amazonia

AKAVAJA

6-11-20

The Kanamari (who call themselves Tüküna) of the Vale do Javari Indigenous Territory ask for your help to obtain the necessary resources to remain in their villages during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Brazilian government and the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) have not yet presented specific emergency measures to protect the inhabitants of Indigenous communities. The originary people of Brazil have thus taken initiatives to sustain themselves. Our main concern is with the spread of the disease in our villages. The consequences of the COVID-19 crisis manifest themselves in different ways depending on the local context, and demands and requirements are therefore, in many cases, different. In what pertains to the Kanamari territory, as well as the Vale do Javari as whole, the main difficulties involve access to health services and the extensive geographical distances of the Territory. Continuous invasions of the Territory by non-Indigenous people compound the dangers of the pandemic. We are also concerned with the availability of food resources. At present, some 300 Kanamari people live in the urban perimeter of Atalaia do Norte. Some 1,600 Kanamari live in the Indigenous territory. The most urgent need for those in the city is access to foodstuffs, masks, and cleaning and hygiene products. Those in the villages need financial resources to purchase hunting and fishing tools, and fuel for their boats. Since the pandemic has caused many families to return to the communities, the demand for food has risen sharply. We appeal to our friends who can collaborate to help the Kanamari people of the Vale do Javari.

Contacts: (+5597) 979166-7595/WhatsApp (+5597) 9784167375

Paypal:

kanamari_ufsc@outlook.com

Analimar Dias Castelo Branco

Bradesco Bank:

Branch Number: 0736      Account Number: 0700672 – 1

Higson Dias Castelo Branco

CPF: 950.139.382 – 87

President of the Associaçao dos Kanamari Vale do Javari (Association of the Kanamari of the Vale do Javari) – AKAVAJA, Amazonas/Amazon/Brasil