Cop26 & Indigenous peoples ~ A Última Floresta/ The last forest Film
Cop26 & Indigenous peoples ~ A Última Floresta/ The last forest Film
If you have any interest in the cause of our consumerism, I implore you to go watch #thelastforest film about the Yonomami tribe, who are one of many of the indigenous peoples of Brazil some of whom have travelled all this way to a city build on the backs, no, the lives of those very people and their ancestors before them.
*for
clarity when I say 'we', 'our', 'us' I am talking as a collective people,
largely of the consumerism & capitalism peoples of the richest nations. when I say 'they, them or 'their' i mean the indigenous peoples. This is not done our of racism, these terms are being used because the peoples
of the richest nations (including I) are solely to blame for this mess, not the
indigenous peoples of the world who are most affected by climate change &
biodiversity losses and worse hit by our actions of greed and convenience. This
will contain provocative emotive language and heaps of sarcasm.
They come to these Glasgow streets with 'adorned' statues, the street names themselves and the 'magnificent' buildings all having origins deep within colonialism and slavery, our war makers nearby, a city full of waste made more evident by the striking cleansing workers that must bring tears to the eyes of those who live with the consequences of our lifestyles in heaps of plastic waste and pollution in many forms. How cruel & inhumane is that? that we force people who live in harmony with nature to come to places of such destruction to make their voices heard time and time again.
Wellington statue with traffic cones in front of what was slaver William Cunninghame's home. Notice how he has cone or 'dunce cap' (as I call them) on his head, to me it symbolises his & his peers stupidity in their actions against humanity. Source: Flickr - Tony Webster
Lets
think about this for a second, Imagine your home is in danger again because of
things beyond your control, things you do not have the power to go up against
the weapons they possess( big corps with cash & lawyers & mercenaries
i.e. army for hire). You have to speak up to protect your home because no one knows its happening. The people behind the danger haven't told other people their true plans. Your must leave your home & family, even as they occupy you lands & damaging the health of your peoples and lands. Sound like a plot out of a thriller movie? well it ain't it's real life for many Indigenous people around the globe!
How
would you feel about leaving your family in that danger?
How
would you feel if you had to go to not just one but many concrete jungles aka
cities around the world just to try and get people to listen?
How
would you feel if those very cities were lined with evidence of the lives of
your ancestors?
Whilst this goes on at home: Brazil Amazon: Illegal miners fire on indigenous group - BBC News.
Glasgow being a 'glorious vision of what slavery can achieve' and this years host of COP26.and whilst we cannot change the past it is quite evident that we are not learning nor caring that this still goes on TODAY!!! Just look at it! Would like like that in you backyard poisoning your water?
This destruction and damage largely by North Western Europe centuries ago, we all know that but do you know what the damage of your actions today is on tomorrow? no?
Okay
let do a brief history with some speculation of the who is behind the game
going by todays top dogs, to explain the actions then and how we play our parts in
the demise of these people and lands & without justice for those who cause it.
*Native's story is direct excepts from 'The Last forest' film, jus before end credits.
Natives
side of story: "In 1986, a discovery of gold deposits in Yonomani land,
led to invasion of 45,000 prospectors and the death of 1500-1800 natives"
~ The last forest
Rich
nations tales: 'Gold is used in tech as it is a great conductor of electricity,
highly pliable and soft, it is used a lot in microchips, circuit boards and
connectors, we need that, I know where there's some, let go get it, after all who's gonna stop us?'
*Coincidently during 1986 & following years to present
@billgates aka @microsoft & @stevejobs aka @apple were growing their
empires of tech which would change the world as we know it how nice of
them eh 😠. All so
our lives are 'comfortable & convenient' to give us the 'beauty of spare
time' because the tech created would be doing the mundane tasks like washing
clothes or doing dishes, it would grant us freedoms. No longer do we need to
pay a maid to do it for us, if we could even afford it in the first place! but
if we could even the maid would have less work to do, cos we're nice like
that.
*speculation & picked on for their every increasing global
influence and huge economic market shares over all things tech.
Native's
story: 'in 1992, the Brazilian government legally recognised Yanomami land
rights, even still the following year prospectors raided a village, killing 16
natives with gunshots and machete blows, some of the victims were elderly
people, women and children, the incident became known as the Haximu Massacre'
Richer nations tale: 'We recognised their land rights in law,
however the law needs to be proven so provided no one can identify a company or
a individual nor their 'intention of malice', we're all good, we did agree that it was the benefit of all that
we have this substance for our future & the savages attacked us, we were only gonna talk to
them...'
Native's
story: 'due to ensuing backlash from the Brazilian press and bolstered by
international support Davi got the Brazilian government to enforce a law and
keep the prospectors out of Yonomani land for 25 years'
Rich nations tale: F**k, guess we'll need to destroy somewhere else just now, when we come back though we can take the timber too, be big olde timber by then & make a healthy profit. For now we can work on controlling the masses through learning their behaviours, I'm sure the new fangled internet can help with this'.
2021 the date of the BBC article, is 28 years since 1993! do you think its coincidence?
Native's story: After
the inauguration of a new government in 2019, over 20000 prospectors once again
invaded Yanomami land, tearing down the rain forest, poisoning the rivers with mercury and bringing covid-19 to their villages'
'Rather
than uphold the constitution, the new administration is trying to legalise
prospector invasion of native lands'
'Davi
has received death treats for his denunciation of illegal prospecting'
When was the last time you heard of someone you know suffering from mercury poisoning? I never have! ask yourself why are these people suffering?
You see it yet? Whilst we all sit comfy & warm in our stone castles with the new found ‘freedoms’ to travel to see all those beautiful dying lands for yourself with a giant footprint in tow, our lives made more convenient by the latest technology and a revolving wardrobe of cosmetics and fast fashion remember that the ever increasing quality & freedoms to our lives ARE at the cost of theirs.
We have long forgot our reliance of a healthy earth being linked to our very own health, its our soil quality and food security, its our fresh water security, its our stable weather systems, it provides the materials for all we need (not wants), none of it come from no where. It is simply everything.
It is not their way of life making the mess, its ours! Its time to remember that! Especially as we are reminded how precious life is and how globally connected we are.
The Yonomami have a origin legend about leaving the ore/minerals in the ground because its full of evil spirits, which if you look at all the horrors in the world that have taken place from the first time oil was found up to and including the present and in a time where the world is full of manipulation by global corporations selling products whilst hiding the truth behind the damage they cause, the voices of the indigenous peoples across the world become ever more important to hold on to.
I’m sincere in my apologies for the part I play/ed through by own blinded ignorance. I am sincere in my will to rectify the parts that have been played by my own family and ancestors as much as I am able which is largely in the way I live and spreading the word that these people matter and are the key to humanities true survival.
Additional links for your pleasure:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325322873_Human_Mercury_Exposure_in_Yanomami_Indigenous_Villages_from_the_Brazilian_Amazon
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/may/17/yanomami-brazil-violence-land-grabs-hunger-disease
Survivors
of Yanomami massacre speak out 20 years on (survivalinternational.org)
Indigenous
leaders to push for land tenure rights as climate solution at COP26
(mongabay.com)
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