Six months after the Brazilian government launched an operation to turf out illegal miners from the country’s largest Indigenous reserve, the Yanomami population there continues to live in fear, battling a legacy of violence, destruction and disease.
A new report released by three Indigenous organisations on Wednesday, applauds the success of the government’s crackdown but highlights the challenges that lie ahead in fully addressing the humanitarian crisis caused by the invasion of wildcat miners during the Jair Bolsonaro years.
“Today, we have a result, there are no more miners. But we are enduring what has been left behind,” said the Indigenous leader Júnior Hekurari, president of the Uhuri Yanomami association, one of the organisations behind the report.
Based on accounts from community leaders, satellite imagery and official data, the report is a plea for help from the Yanomami as they continue to suffer from malnutrition and infectious diseases while dreading a possible return of the expelled miners.
“There is a worry that, once the publicity from the Yanomami crisis passes, the efforts to overcome the crisis will tend to decline, with less investment, fewer human resources and so on,” said Estêvão Benfica Senra, a researcher from the Instituto Socioambiental (ISA), a civil society organisation that contributed to the report.
Last month, the government celebrated having driven 90% of 20,000 miners from the Portugal-sized Indigenous territory, which is home to about 30,000 Yanomami and Ye’kwana people, including groups in isolation.
The authorities’ strategy of forcing out miners by blocking land and river access and controlling the airspace worked well, the report notes. But pockets of garimpeiros continue to resist removal by the security forces, preventing aid from reaching nearby communities.
The delivery of humanitarian aid and provision of healthcare services in general has been patchy, with food packages often failing to reach the neediest communities and health centres remaining closed.
A major threat is the explosion of malaria imported by illegal mining activities. “Malaria is attacking us from all sides,” said Hekurari.
Since 1 January, 12,252 malaria infections have been reported – equivalent to 80% of all cases recorded in 2022, yet prevention and care efforts have not been stepped up. “We haven’t heard of a big campaign, a big drive to fight malaria in Auaris, for example,” said Senra, citing a region near the border with Venezuela where the situation is “dramatic”.
He hopes that the information contained in the report will help the government improve its strategy when it launches similar operations on other Indigenous lands, as well as strengthen existing actions on the Yanomami territory.
“We’re asking of the government, don’t abandon us again. The Yanomami need protection,” said Hekurari.
