Stunning photos show the reality for indigenous people living in the Amazon as fires burn
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Stunning photos show the reality for indigenous people living in the Amazon as fires burn
James Pasley, Paul Ronzheimer and Giorgos Moutafis Aug. 30, 2019, 12:14 PM
Members of the Xavante tribe sit on charred branches in the Amazon Rainforest. Giorgos Moutafis
- video at link -
Fires burning across the Amazon are threatening the lives of Brazil's indigenous peoples.
Deforestation is up 77% this year from last, and about 83,000 fires have been identified. As one chief told BILD, the land for indigenous people is like the church, and now it's being set on fire.
Farmers are responsible for many of the fires, burning off forest to make room for cattle and crops. The reason they're so prevalent this year is in part due to President Jair Bolsonaro. He supports farmers over indigenous people, and has said no more tribal land would be made into official indigenous reserves, which would have provided their land with more protections. Bolsonaro even went so far as to compare indigenous peoples to animals trapped in the zoo.
As Shannon Sims wrote for The Atlantic, for indigenous peoples, the fires are not just a crisis, but an illustration of their larger struggle for autonomy.
Eight journalists with BILD went to parts of the Amazon, in Brazil and Bolivia, to see how indigenous groups were faring. Here are some stunning photos of the people they met there, and the fires that are changing their lives.
https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-rainforest-fires-indigenous-people-photos-2019-8?fbclid=IwAR0jQdyfraBr8mKv-VhL8IPnarA1awNPckx5RIUXO11f3kIyboxcMv23bi4
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