Day 238 - 22 Apr 96 - Page 18


     
     1        confine them to tiny parcels of land, in a process using
     2        intimidation and violence.
     3
     4        "Loss of their land to ranching has had devastating
     5        effects, both culturally and physically for the Indians.
     6        Corralled into tiny areas which can no longer sustain their
     7        traditional agricultural practices, many are forced to seek
     8        work elsewhere for example in the ranching and sugar cane
     9        industries.  An estimated 4,000 Guarani, ousted from their
    10        villages, live on the periphery of towns and roads.   Lack
    11        of land and livelihood have led to the breakdown of family
    12        life, loss of cultural identity and alienation.  The tragic
    13        response to this is manifested in the abnormally high rates
    14        of suicide in the Guarani; in the last decade nearly 200
    15        Guarani have committed suicide.  In 1995 alone there were
    16        54 suicides.  The Catholic Missionary Council (CIMI), one
    17        of Brazil's leading non-governmental organizations which
    18        has worked with indigenous peoples in Brazil for several
    19        decades, states that the main cause of the suicides 'has
    20        been the invasion of indigenous lands by ranchers.  Some
    21        communities were completely expelled from their areas.  The
    22        Indians have made a number of attempts to return and
    23        re-occupy their ancestral lands, but without success
    24        because of the violence they suffer at the hands of the
    25        ranchers and their hitmen, from the police and even with
    26        the connivance of the official indigenist organ (FUNAI).'
    27        (Povos Indigenas no Mato Grosso do Sul, CIMI/MS, Campo
    28        Grande 1993).
    29
    30        "The examples given in my statement are just some of the
    31        many cases of conflict and land theft caused by the cattle
    32        ranching industry as a whole in Mato Grosso do Sul.  The
    33        industry has undoubtedly played a significant role in the
    34        reduction in size of Indian lands, the climate of
    35        intimidation and violence that prevails in many areas and
    36        the consequent social and cultural disintegration of these
    37        peoples in Mato Grosso do Sul."
    38        A.   I should just briefly add that these are just
    39        examples.  There is a continuing situation of tension and
    40        conflict and, as cases go to the courts in Brazil, it takes
    41        a long time to resolve and, in some cases, the courts --
    42        there are people in the courts who are corrupt or who are
    43        in alliance with local politicians or with ranchers.  I
    44        mean, that is something that has occurred in many parts of
    45        Brazil as well.
    46
    47        So, it is very much an ongoing situation of conflict and
    48        continuing cases in the courts.  So it is very difficult to
    49        pinpoint any one area and say this is just happening in one
    50        area because, in fact, it is symptomatic of the whole of 
    51        the area, particularly the southern bit where the 
    52        Kaiowa-Guarani Indians live, the southern part of the map. 
    53        It is very much an ongoing conflict with a lot of violence
    54        and many court cases which sometimes can take years to be
    55        resolved.
    56
    57   Q.   When you say the southern part of the map ---
    58        A.  I am referring to -----
    59
    60   Q.   -- which map are you looking at?

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