Land purchase campaign for the yet uncontacted Indians in the Chaco Area of Paraguay by the Organisations Friends of People close to Nature (registered with the UN)
Dear Friends and Supporters,
please take part in our campaign in favour of the Totobiegosode in the Chaco area of Paraguay. Their freedom is endangered. Not only by great land owners who want to clear the remaining forest, bus also by the fundamentalist mission society “New tribes Mission” and their indoctrinated Guidaigosode. The land purchases serve as “barring property”, such that the parcels of land may not be used for agricultural reasons. All donations are used directly for the project, less 5% for expenses.
The dramatic situation of the last free forest Indians was described in the past by “Friends of People close to Nature” in the series “Pogrom” (published by the Society for Threatened People, No. 183/95, 201/98, 203/99). Besides, several mail campaigns were initiated.
Land Claim of the Totobiegosode in the Department Alto Paraguay (PY) in danger!
Background information
„The so-called “civilised” say that we have to respect their private property. But they never respected the fact that we and our forefathers lived in this area long before them, and that we want to continue to live on our own land.” Erui, 1996
The Totobiegosode belong the Indian people of the Ayoreode, who used to inhabit a formerly very large are in the north of the Paraguayan Chaco and in the Southeast of Bolivia. Since the 1950ies, most of the Ayoreode were assembled and settled around missions by the New Tribes Mission. Today, this tribe consists of about 5000 individuals. Among the Ayoreode, the local groups of the Totobiegosode take up an exceptional position as some of their members still live independently from the colonising society as hunter-gatherers. Traces and left huts point to several small groups, scattered over the area. An exact number of individuals is not known. These groups vehemently refuse any contact to the colonising society, defending their lives and their land against intruding bulldozers and other vehicles (as has happened in 1994 and 1998, e.g.).
These groups find themselves in deadly peril by the impending colonisation of their natural habitat and by the forceful contacting and repression by the colonising society.
The Totobiegosode do not legally owe the land they live on anymore. By the end of the last century, it was sold by the state to great land owners, foreign investors and venturers. The Totobiegosode could stay there as the land was rarely used by the legal owners. The situation in the Chaco area has changed significantly in the last ten years. The Mennonite colony, founded in the 1920ies to 1940ies, is rapidly growing with farming, livestock and dairy farming. Beside, the Ruta Transchaco and the new settlements represent a fully constructed infrastructure, reaching far into the central Chaco area. The resources which are running short in Eastern Paraguay make the Chaco area more interesting for land owners, land venturers and new settlers.
The development of far-off areas accelerates and large forest areas are cleared, burned and changed into meadows. The habitat of the Totobiegosode is about to be destroyed. 1979 and for the last time 1986, still independently living Totbiegosode groups were forcefully contacted by evangelised Ayorode, supported by the New Tribes Mission.
They defended themselves with weapons against these invaders and killed five people. Nonetheless, they were defeated and brought to the mission station Campo Loro. Caused by this rapid and shocking change of their way of living and of their diet, by infectious diseases and by forced labour, several members of the group lost their lives. In 1992, this group submitted a claim for 550.000 ha natural forest area to the Paraguayan state. In this claim for land they emphasize their wish to live as they used to do and as they want to do. They claim back a small part of their former home area, especially as habitat for their relatives who still live without permanent contact to the civilised society, by gathering and hunting. Caused by increasing invasion and enchroachments into their territory, these groups are forced to live continuously “on the run”. Beside, the claiming Totobiegosode hope for the possibility to improve their own living conditions, as land is not only a secure means of existence, but it guarantees a self-determined future. In Paraguay, the legal interests of the Totobiegosode are nowadays represented primarily by the state-approved NGO GAT (Grupo de Apoyo a los Totobiegosode).
The Paraguayan constitution guarantees all indigenous communities the right to a subsistence-ensuring habitat, the public authorities are responsible for the proceedings. Therefore, in 1993, the Paraguayan public authorities put a ban on the entire area claimed by the Totobiegosode by which any modification or sale of land is forbidden. By this ban, the area is safe from intrusion while the government negotiates with the legal owners for buying the land.
In 1997, the first official transfer of land took place (26.000 ha). Those Totobiegosode who were forced to settle around the mission station returned to their land where they could build a village with surrounding gardens. They committed themselves to using the forest with respect and to preserving it. Since then, 66.000 ha in the southern part of the claimed territory were transferred to the Totobiegosode, more parcels of land are in the process of purchase negotiation. Caused by the present political and economical crisis in Paraguay, by corruption and by missing political goodwill on the part of the public authorities, this process is about to reach a complete standstill. Not only did the public authorities stop negotiating the purchase of further parcels of land, but also did the land owners succeed in lifting the ban off two parcels: those two are the Finca No. 7.691 owned by Calder Ltda. and Finca No. 13.122, owned by Luna Park Internacional Ltd. & Ita Kyry S.r.l. Illegal intrusion into the Fincas No. 6.621 (owned by Diego Leon Casado) and No. 384 (owned by Spencer Miranda Carranca and Gino de Biaso Neto) is condoned by the public authorities. These intrusions include the erection of large cleard aisles with bulldozers as preparation for extensive clearing, enclosures and the building of infrastructure for cattle farming as well as the illegal exploitation of Palo-Santo-timber in the eastern parts of the claimed area.
But those groups living independently in the forest use the territory in the west of the street from Tte. Montania to Madrejon, in the Departamento Boqueron (Amotocodie / Chunguperedatei). Here, large clearing did take place (Amotocodie) as well as attempts to contact these groups (Chunguperedatei) by a Mennonite Missionary and a religious leader of the local group Ayorèode-Guidaigosode, influenced by the New Tribes Mission (based in Campo Loro). This fact poses a massive infringement against the legal rights of the Ayoreo-Totobiegosode as well as a violation of the law to protect endangered environmental resources. Particularly alarming are the new intrusions into Finca No. 6.621 (Diego Leon Casado) and into the lots 260, 266, 267 (Carlos Casada) as they affect the very core of the Totobiegosode land claim. This area is regularly visited by a group of uncontacted Totobiegosode, whose retreat area is systematically narrowed and destroyed. Beside, by losing these parts of the land claim, the fragmentation of those territories already secured is likely to occur.
The only people living freely in the forest who are so far refusing any contact are in life-danger. Because of economic interests of the intruding colonising society, these people are deprived of their right to live independently and self-determined. They live on the run and their lives are endangered – because of the increasingly frequent intrusions and cleared forest aisles in their habitat.
The Paraguayan State is responsible for the protection of human rights and of those indigenous people. International campaigns exerting pressure on the public authorities in Paraguay could prevent “human hunts” such as occured in the 1970ies and 1980ies.
A land purchase project forges ahead.
This project was initiated in 1997. According to Prof. Dr. Scheibler, President of the Swiss section of the “Association for the Support of Indian Land Claim in the Chaco Area of Paraguay e.V.” (incorporated society), about 800.000 Swiss Franc were donated so far for this project and invested to buy land for the protection of the last forest Indians (Mid 2004). At the end of 2003, 45 lots (200 ha and 8.000 Euro each) of the former Estancia San Antonio were acquired (30% of the project in favor of the Totobiegosode of Arocoinadi). At the beginning of 2004, about 90 km2 were secured for the Indians.
The association “Friends of people close to nature e.V.” received many thanks for the large quantity of donations. The pre-negotiations with the corporation (147 single investors) is effected by the friends in Switzerland, the actual purchase is realised with the help of the Paraguayan NGO Grupo di Apoyo a los Totobiegosode (GAT).
Dear Friends and Supporters,
please take part in our campaign in favour of the Totobiegosode in the Chaco area of Paraguay. Their freedom is endangered. Not only by great land owners who want to clear the remaining forest, bus also by the fundamentalist mission society “New tribes Mission” and their indoctrinated Guidaigosode. The land purchases serve as “barring property”, such that the parcels of land may not be used for agricultural reasons. All donations are used directly for the project, less 5% for expenses.
The dramatic situation of the last free forest Indians was described in the past by “Friends of People close to Nature” in the series “Pogrom” (published by the Society for Threatened People, No. 183/95, 201/98, 203/99). Besides, several mail campaigns were initiated.
Donations may be set off against tax liability.
Friends of People Close to Nature e.V.
First Chairman.
Steffen Keulig
Unter der Burg 29
21339 Lüneburg
Germany
Phone: 04131-682232
E-Mail: fdn@fpcn-global.org
Donation Account
Postbank Hamburg
BLZ 200 100 20
Kto 619 620 5
