In the Amazon, the “jungle warriors” defend the Javarí Valley

In it indigenous territory of the Javarí Valley, illegal fishermen, poachers, loggers and drug traffickers take advantage of the Amazonian confines of the northwest of Brazil to loot and traffic in every possible way.

One year after the brutal murders of the indigenista Bruno Pereira and the British journalist Dom Phillips, something is changing for the native peoples. A new generation of activists, the “heirs” of Bruno, has taken over to defend against the invaders.

In the small community of Sao Luis, on the border with Peru and on the banks of the Javarí River, there are about thirty “jungle warriors” as their long-sleeved khaki shirts say. They sail aboard motorized canoes, with spears, bows and arrows in hand.

this gang of “land surveillance” It is made up of Kanamaris, one of the six ethnic groups of the second largest indigenous territory in Brazil. In this impenetrable jungle the size of Portugal lives the largest concentration of indigenous people in voluntary isolation and outsiders are banned.

Wild West

The Kanamari territory is in the extreme north of the Javarí. On the banks of the homonymous river, in a tangle of lagoons, they live at the mercy of invaders. Especially illegal fishermen in search of the emblematic pirarucú, one of the largest freshwater fish in the world, whose unctuous meat is a delicacy that is highly valued on the black market.

“As a precautionary measure, we patrol with our traditional weapons,” explains Lucinho Kanamari, head of the volunteers. “When we see intruders, one of us goes and talks to them. The others stay cautiously behind, ready to react if something goes wrong.”Add.

It was illegal fishermen who on June 5, 2022 murdered “Bruno and Dom”, as they are reminded here. The crime drew international attention to this remote corner, where the future of the great Amazon jungle is at stake.

“You always have to be prepared for the worst. But we don’t want violence. We are here to educate, to peacefully deter.”says Lucinho, his face painted with a red stripe.

“Often they try to bribe us with gasoline, rice, sugar. We have to keep in touch with them to find out what they’re up to.” Add.

They set up two lookout posts, small wooden houses built on the water along the mosquito-filled river. One was attacked with bullets.

Also lurking are drug traffickers, who grow coca on the Peruvian side of the region and transport it downriver to the tri-border shared by Brazil, Colombia and Peru.

And then there are the loggers. In April, caught red-handed, they threatened to kill the chief of a neighboring Kanamari community and exiled him.

Faced with omnipresent criminality, the Brazilian federal government does very little, according to the indigenous people. The Funai (National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples), responsible for the management of these native territories, has barely recovered from the disinterest of the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2023), a declared supporter of the exploitation of the Amazon.

“delicate mission”

“During the Bolsonaro government, and the pandemic – which led the indigenous people to take refuge in the heart of the jungle – invasions broke out,” explains Varney da Silva Kanamari, vice president of the Union of Indigenous Peoples of the Javarí Valley (Univaja), a key organization in the region.

“The State had abandoned us, so it was up to us to take responsibility. We created watchdog groups to protect our land and resources.”remember.

For this reason, in the Middle Javarí they patrol the “jungle warriors” of the Kanamari people, inspired by the “guardians of the Guajajara jungle”which operate in a similar way to defend themselves against traffickers almost 3,000 km away in the northeastern state of Maranhao.

The task is immense and the means scarce. The Sao Luis warriors only have two boats and a limited amount of gasoline.

“Your mission is very delicate. Because the threat is very close, on the opposite bank of the river, on the Peruvian side.” Da Silva points out.

The work of the Kanamari is supported by the “Surveillance Team” from Univaja. Known by the acronym EVU, it is a kind of indigenous commando that intervenes “when the situation is more tense”according to the general coordinator of the organization, Bushe Mati.

“The ‘warriors’ raise awareness. The EVU collects evidence of intrusions and looting”summarizes.

“Occupy the territory”

Motorized barges, GPS, drones, satellite telephony and the Internet. Thanks to recent support from generous donors, EVU uses state-of-the-art technology.

There are 30 members, mostly young people from the Javarí communities, trained in “how to confiscate equipment or vessels and what security protocols to follow” in case of surprising an invader, says Cristóbal Negredo Espisango, alias Tatako, one of the founders.

Your mission is “catch intruders red-handed, before they disappear or return to Peru”, recounts.

The members of the group work under anonymity and hooded. Several have been threatened. “I have received death threats. I am afraid, of course, but there is no other option.”Tatako says.

They present themselves as the “heirs” of Bruno Pereira, who laid the foundations of the group. The door of its headquarters in the port of Atalaia do Norte is protected by an iron fence and a surveillance camera.

Border between two worlds, Atalaia do Norte and its neighbors Benjamin Constant and Tabatinga are reputed to be strongholds for traffickers. They are also home to fishing communities that are often hostile to indigenous people.

“We collect information and evidence. And we transmit them to the competent authorities. Then let the state do its job.”says the coordinator of Univaja. He also hopes that with the return of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a sympathizer of the indigenous cause, “Federal police and Funai finally help them for real.”

“The indigenous people are doing the work that the Brazilian State should do”, Matis insists. “But at any moment there can be a tragedy.”

Source: AFP