The shamans of the Amazon basin are doing their best to control Covid-19. But the pandemic is striking with such intensity that it is beyond the capacity of indigenous leaders to act.
There are already nearly 7,000 cases of infection in the Amazon Basin, and according to the Coordinating Body of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA), there have already been 639 official deaths among 93 indigenous nationalities. Cases have been reported in all Amazon countries, from Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil to Guyana, French Guiana, Peru, Ecuador and Suriname.
“Feel our pain, feel our emergency,” said Gregorio Díaz Mirabal, coordinator of COICA, on April 24th in a call to governments via videoconference.
More than 45 days later, the situation has only got worse.
Disaster in Brazil
The most severely affected country in terms of confirmed cases among indigenous people is Brazil, with 2,642 cases. Covid-19 has killed 218 indigenous people in the Brazilian Amazon, according to COICA data as of May 9th . The disease has already affected more than 80 nationalities in Brazil, amidst a crisis that shows no signs of slowing.
In Brazil, where there have been more than 740,000 cases and 38,000 deaths, according to official figures, the most affected regions are in or near the Amazon rainforest. The state of São Paulo has recorded almost 10,000 deaths, and one person out of every 314 has contracted the new coronavirus. In Amapá, the rate is much higher, with 1 person per 62; in the state of Amazonas, 1 per 81; in Roraima, 1 per 98.
“We are dealing with the Covid-19 disease in our land and we are very sad about the first deaths among the Yanomami. Our shamans are working non-stop against the xawara (epidemic). We will fight and we will resist. To do that, we need the support of Brazilians and the whole world,” said Dario Yanomami of the Hutukara Yanomami Association.
In the Amazon, Covid-19 already has a genocidal dimension, neurologist Erik Jennings Simões said in an interview with GQ. According to Jennings, there has been a 550% increase in the number of deaths in one month in the region. The mortality rate in the general population is 5.7%, while in the indigenous population it’s 9.7%, he said.
Forgotten Peru
Peru has the highest number of indigenous deaths, with 349 fatalities with 2,191 total cases, according to official records. That’s a 16% mortality rate among indigenous communities. In the Peruvian Amazon, 638 people have died, which shows that more than half -54.7%- of fatalities in the region affect indigenous people, according to COICA data. Nationally, indigenous deaths from Covid-19 represent 6% of all fatalities, totalling to more than 5,700.
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DemocraciaAbierta | Radio Free (2020-06-12T00:00:00+00:00) Covid-19 has already affected 93 different indigenous nationalities. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2020/06/12/covid-19-has-already-affected-93-different-indigenous-nationalities/
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