Friday, February 3, 2012

From the Net: 'Brazilian Indians fear imminent eviction from ancestral land'

A community of Guarani Indians in Brazil has spoken of its ‘fear, despair and deep pain’, after being served with an eviction order requiring it to leave its land.

The Guarani of Laranjeira Nanderu community have been living on a small patch of their ancestral land since May 2011.

The Indians had previously spent one and a half years living in makeshift huts on the side of a main road, with little access to clean water and health care. At least three Guarani were run over and killed by passing cars.

The land of Laranjeira Nanderu was stolen from the Indians in the 1960s, to make way for cattle ranches. The Guarani have since suffered violence, intimidation, and various brutal evictions.

Since they returned to a part of their land last May, conditions have improved and the Guarani now have some access to clean water.

If the Indians are forced to leave, they could end up back on the roadside, or in an overcrowded reserve where violence, malnutrition, disease and suicide are rife.

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