Indigenous people fear reprisal after operation in TI Karipuna

After the outbreak of an operation in the Karipuna Indigenous Territory (TI) in Rondônia, as a result of inter-ministerial articulation, the indigenous people who live in the area fear retaliation by the invaders as soon as the agents leave the area. The action began last Thursday (11) and counts on the work of the Federal Police, the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) and the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (Funai). Adriano Karipuna, one of the leaders who defend the territory, believes that the community’s security can be maintained with constant surveillance, both on land and river, and the reactivation of the post that Funai maintained in the TI, which ceased to function in 2017, due to the reaction of the invaders, who set it on fire. As the Agência Brasil found out, the Karipuna of Rondônia – who are unrelated to those of Amapá – currently have a population of 62 people. The reduced number shows the aggressiveness that the presence of non-indigenous people in their land, approved in 1998, represents for the indigenous people of this ethnic group. In an interview, the Karipuna leader informed that the intruders destroyed a bridge that gave access to the indigenous territory, through the district of União Bandeirantes, municipality of Porto Velho. “That’s why we’re afraid. How will it be afterwards?”, he questioned, with concern. “It’s no use fulfilling that phase and the Karipuna being alone, again, as common sense says, putting out the fire. To continue the protection, they have to continue inspecting and vigilance,” he added. For Adriano, it is equally essential to summon a staff that knows how to deal with typical border problems – the Karipuna TI is close to the border between Brazil and Bolivia. Another aspect addressed by the Karipuna leadership is the need to rebuild 12 houses in their only village, Panorama, whose structure was affected after floods, the last of which occurred in March of this year. According to Adriano, with the destruction of houses in the first flood in 2014, many families left the village and never returned.

Agência Brasil