Peru-Brazil: Tribes Flee 'Red Gold' Rush

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Scoop Independent News (N.Z.)

Peru-Brazil: Tribes Flee 'Red Gold' Rush
Friday, 3 August 2007, 3:03 pm
Press Release: Survival International


Peru-Brazil: Uncontacted Tribes Flee 'Red Gold' Rush
A large group of uncontacted Indians has appeared in a remote village in the Amazon rainforest near the Peru-Brazil border, a Brazilian government official and expert on uncontacted tribes has reported.

The Indians are believed to have fled from Peru into Brazil because of illegal loggers sweeping through Peru's rainforests in search of rare mahogany, known as 'red gold.' The loggers are destroying the Indians' territories, forcing them to seek refuge elsewhere and leading to dangerous contacts with outsiders.

The Indians suddenly appeared at a village called Bananeira and spent a day and a night there. Another, smaller group of uncontacted Indians was also spotted at a nearby settlement called Liberdade.

'We are on the verge of disaster. Illegal logging in protected areas in Peru is pushing the uncontacted tribes into Brazil, which could cause conflicts and lead to their appearance in places where they have never been seen before,' said José Carlos dos Reis Meirelles Júnior, head of the Indian Protection post near the Peru border. Mr Meirelles made his statement in an urgent alert sent to the Brazilian government.

Peru has some of the world's last commercially-viable mahogany stands in the world, growing in areas inhabited by some of the world's last uncontacted tribes. Because of their isolation, the tribes do not have immunity to outsiders' diseases and any form of contact with them can be fatal.





Read more: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0708/S00100.htm

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Isn't it a shame the loggers have absolutely no interest in allowing these native citizens to live, and will happily steal their lives, along with the illegal mahogany.....

"Gotta break eggs to make an omelet," and all. Maybe it's not necessary to grab everything you can possibly take in your lifetime. Who the hell is going to look after the helpless of this world?

[ClintonTyree]

1. Sounds like our own "taming" of the American west.

If you can't kill all the indigenous people with bullets, get them with disease. Maybe they can supply them with some nice warm blankets. :grr:

History repeats itself. Obviously mankind has not learned a thing from the past which is why I believe man, as a species, will eradicate itself with it's own stupidity. And that point is not that far off, in my opinion.

What a crying shame. :cry: But what other material can be possibly be used for for all of that fine upscale furniture and yacht interiors? We HAVE to have that mahogany! Millionaires everywhere depend on it. :sarcasm:

[BrokenBeyondRepair]

2. indians?

[NaturalHigh]

3. I don't really understand the allure of this "rare mahogany".

Personally, I would just as soon pay 1/10th of the price and have a table made of oak.