http://cynexx.tigblog.org/ What's on the minds of young leaders from around the globe? en-us http://cynexx.tigblog.org/post/224765
Tanzania UAE Safari Ltd, which is reportedly backed by members of the United Arab Emirates royal families, is negotiating with the government of Tanzania for a concession of 3,975 sq kms in the Yaida Valley, where Hadzabe (‘Hadza people’) have lived for millenia.

If the hunting concession is approved, the Hadzabe will lose access to crucial food sources such as game and wild tubers. They are likely to become destitute, with devastating consequences for their life expectancy and general wellbeing.

Last month two Hadzabe activists were arrested when they attended a meeting with local officials to voice concerns over the deal and its impact on their tribe. They were later released.

The Hadzabe are reported to be trying to seek a sustainable solution with all parties concerned, which respects the tribe’s land rights and way of life.

The Hadzabe number between 1,500 and 2,000 people. They are one of Africa’s oldest tribes and speak a click language like the Bushmen.

As they are hunter–gatherers, adequate land and natural resources are essential to their survival. Until the 1950s they survived entirely by hunting and gathering. Living in small mobile camps, they had no ‘chiefs’ or formal political organisation.

Tanzania’s government has made repeated attempts to settle the Hadzabe in villages and get them to take up farming. Today, most Hadzabe people live in settlements, inside their distinctive grass huts, but they still move off into bush camps to find food.

No Hadzabe farming has been successful, unsurprisingly, since the hot, dry climate is unsuitable for it. One Hadza elder told Survival, ‘No Hadzabe ever died of hunger when we had our land. But now that so much of our land has been taken and is still being taken, many Hadzabe are hungry.’

SOurce: http://www.survival-international.org/news/2467]]> Fri, 29 Jun 2007 08:28:00 EDT http://cynexx.tigblog.org/post/224765 http://cynexx.tigblog.org/post/223499 Aborigines threaten tourist ban

Uluru, formerly known as Ayers Rock, is a popular tourist draw
Aboriginal elders are threatening to ban tourists from one of Australia's landmarks over a plan to curb child sex abuse in Aboriginal communities.

The threat to close Uluru, or Ayers Rock, comes amid growing alarm.

Some 50 community, church and indigenous groups are meeting in Canberra to discuss the situation.

The government's measures include a six-month ban on pornography and alcohol in the Northern Territory, where evidence of sex abuse was found.

It also includes compulsory medical checks for Aboriginal children.

Growing fears

The Aboriginal backlash is growing in ferocity against what are increasingly being described as John Howard's shock-and-awe proposals, says the BBC's Nick Bryant in Sydney.

Although some Aboriginal leaders have welcomed the proposals, many call the prime minister's plan unnecessarily authoritarian and overbearing.

"What the prime minister and his minister, Mal Brough, are proposing is in the view of the combined Aboriginal organisations in Alice Springs totally unworkable," said their spokesman Pat Turner.

"We believe that this government is using child sexual abuse as the Trojan horse to resume total control of our lands."


CHILD ABUSE REPORT (you can download it from the site)
Abuse is serious, widespread and often unreported
Aboriginal people not the only victims or perpetrators of sexual abuse
Contributing factors include poverty, alcohol and drug abuse, gambling, pornography
Health and social services desperately need improving

Some of the fiercest criticism has come from Mutitjulu, a township in the shadow of Uluru, the iconic red rock in central Australia visited by some half a million people each year.

Mutitjulu leader Vince Forrester said Uluru's traditional owners are considering a civil disobedience campaign that would include a ban on climbing the rock.

"The tourist industry brings a lot of dollars into the territory and tourists all come to Uluru," he told Australian radio.

"Obviously, civil disobedience can come in protest form."

Painful memories of the infamous stolen generation have been revived - dating back to discredited assimilation policies under which generations of Aboriginal children were forcibly sent to live with white Australian families, correspondents say.

There have been reports from some Aboriginal communities that mothers are fleeing with their children, fearful they are going to be taken into care.

But many Aboriginal leaders and academics have been supportive of the proposals, believing the scale of the child abuse problem justifies such radical action, our correspondent adds.

The government has said there is no need for women and children to flee Aboriginal townships, for they have nothing to fear from the federal authorities.

Australia's 'Katrina'

Mr Howard continues to defend his proposals, likening Australia's failure on indigenous child abuse to the Bush administration's botched response to Hurricane Katrina in the US in 2005.

Australia map

Australians had been aghast at the crisis in New Orleans, but a similar kind of lawlessness had taken hold at home, he said.

"We should have been more humble. We have our Katrina here and now.

"That it has unfolded more slowly and absent the hand of God should make us humbler still," Mr Howard said.

The prime minister has also been accused of politicising the issue in an election year, especially since his proposed ban on alcohol and pornography lasts only six months, our correspondent adds.

Many in the opposition Labor party have said his programme is a short-term political gesture rather than offering a long-term solution to the problem.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6239788.stm]]> Tue, 26 Jun 2007 10:28:00 EDT http://cynexx.tigblog.org/post/223499 http://cynexx.tigblog.org/post/189165 The Ayoreo are one of around 18 different tribes living in Paraguay. The Ayoreo's home is in the Chaco, a huge region of dry scrub forest, rivers and swampland which encompasses the whole of the western half of Paraguay and extends into other countries.

How do they live? The Ayoreo live in the north-west of Paraguay and part of eastern Bolivia. There are different sub-groups of Ayoreo, including the Totobiegosode (whose name means 'people from the place of the wild pigs'). The Ayoreo are a nomadic, hunter-gatherer people, who once inhabited a vast area of scrub forest. Their first sustained contact with white people came in the 1940s and 1950s, when Mennonite farmers established colonies on their land. Subsequently missionaries attempted to contact and settle them. Although the Ayoreo resisted contact and largely rejected the missionaries, they did begin to come out of the forest; there is now only a small group of nomadic Totobiegosode living uncontacted in the forest. Most Ayoreo land is now owned by private landowners, who hire work-teams to clear the forest of valuable timber and then introduce cattle. Some is still owned by the Mennonites and another religious group, the US-based New Tribes Mission (NTM).

What problems do they face? During the 1970s and 1980s, the Ayoreo experienced intensive missionary activity, as the NTM pursued a policy of aggressive attempts to convert them. They would encourage groups of missionised Ayoreo to go into the forest to capture the uncontacted, nomadic Ayoreo, their traditional enemies, and bring them back to the NTM base. This resulted in violent clashes and several deaths as the Indians were exposed to diseases to which they had no immunity at the mission camp. The Ayoreo also suffer greatly from the theft of their land - although the Paraguayan constitution guarantees Indian land ownership, the Ayoreo's land has almost all been taken over by ranchers, forcing them out of their forest and making it very difficult for them to support themselves.

Source: http://www.survival-international.org/tribes.php?tribe_id=16]]> Tue, 24 Apr 2007 19:43:00 EDT http://cynexx.tigblog.org/post/189165 http://cynexx.tigblog.org/post/189163 PARAGUAY: Indians’ heartland at risk 20 Apr 2007

The heartland of the last uncontacted Indians south of the Amazon basin is at imminent risk of destruction.

Powerful landowning companies are trying to have injunctions protecting the Indians' territory lifted.

The injunctions are currently the only protection for the last remaining forests of the Ayoreo-Totobiegosode Indians, although these have been flouted too, and long tracks have already been bulldozed into the forest.

Much of the Indians' territory is owned by a Paraguayan company called Jaguarete Pora SA, a merger of the previous landowning companies known as Luna Park International Ltda. and Itakyry SRL.

Under Paraguayan law all this area, as a small remaining part of the Ayoreo's forest homeland, should have been titled to the Indians years ago. But Jaguarete is instead trying to get permission to bulldoze much of the forest and introduce cattle, a process that has already devastated vast areas of the Ayoreo's territory.

Although most of the Ayoreo tribe, including some members of the Ayoreo-Totobiegosode sub-group, have had contact with outsiders for many years, several groups are known to still live uncontacted in the forest.

The most recent group to emerge came out of the forest in 2004, pleading for water after cattle-farming colonists occupied all the permanent waterholes in their territory.

Source:http: //www.survival-international.org/news.php?id=2369]]> Tue, 24 Apr 2007 19:41:00 EDT http://cynexx.tigblog.org/post/189163 http://cynexx.tigblog.org/post/185995 BRAZIL: New wave of dam building threatens Amazon Indians

As Brazil celebrates its national ‘Day of the Indian’ on 19 April, a new wave of dam building in the Brazilian Amazon is threatening the lives of remote Indian tribes.

Six tribes, including the isolated Enawene Nawe, face the prospect of up to 11 dams being built along the Juruena river which runs through their territory. At the same time an old plan to build five major dams along the Xingu river has been resurrected and will threaten the livelihoods of the 18 tribes of the region. The original plan was shelved in 1989 following massive international outcry.

The remote Enawene Nawe number just 420 and live largely by fishing. They are protesting against plans by soya companies led by the world’s largest soya producers, the Maggi family, to dam the Juruena river for hydroelectric power for the industry. The Enawene Nawe, unlike most Amazon tribes, eat no red meat. The dams would severely disrupt the breeding cycles of the fish they rely on, and destroy their livelihood and unique rituals associated with the fishing cycle.

The Enawene Nawe have said, ‘The dams will bring our death, as they will raise the uncontrollable anger of the spirits.’ They have written an open letter expressing their anger.

The Xingu dams project was abandoned in 1989 after the Kayapó tribe staged huge protests and captured the attention of the world’s media. The Kayapó are now seeking support for another campaign against the Xingu dams.

Survival’s director Stephen Corry said today, ‘Damming the Enawene Nawe’s river would spell disaster for this unique tribe. The dams must not go ahead. As for the Xingu river, it’s hard to believe that the Brazilian government is even contemplating this disgraced project again.’

For further information contact Miriam Ross on (+44) (0) 20 7687 8734 or email mr@survival-international.org

http://www.survival-international.org/news.php?id=2360]]> Fri, 20 Apr 2007 15:55:00 EDT http://cynexx.tigblog.org/post/185995 http://cynexx.tigblog.org/post/181207 Ok. Este post surge de un poquito de bronca porque no se valora suficientemente el esfuerzo que uno invierte en profesiones artísticas. Para ser músico (hay virtuosos que no estudian, claro está, pero...) la mayoría del resto de los seres humanos tenemos que poner una gran cantidad de esfuerzo, recursos, tiempo y atención para hacer lo que amamos. Yo estudio musica (sisi soy musica aunque les pese a los que dicen que el canto lirico no lo es!!!) en un conservatorio hace como 7 años y sé lo que es que te basureen porque no sos nada si no tocas en el colón. Tengo muchos compañeros instrumetistas que por el momento (por diferentes razones: quedaron fuera en las audiciones, la falta de espacios para tocar en general, etc.) estan tocando en los subtes de Buenos Aires. Los ingoran, ya que la gente no tiene tiempo o lo que fuere. me reconforta saber que eso no pasa solo aca ("me reconforta" es un eufemismo por supuesto). Lo demuestra una noticia que mando un compañero del conservatorio y tiene que ver con la precariedad cultural y la diferencias sociales que existen en el mundo (sos pobre tocando en el subte ergo no te escucho, pero si tocás en el MET (Metropolitan opera de Nueva York) sos un virtuoso un genio excepcional...)
Cambio y fuera.
Cyn

Famoso violinista, inadvertido por todos
Joshua Bell tocó en forma magistral las piezas más exquisitas en el subte de Washington. Recaudó 32 dólares.
Agencia EFE

El famoso violinista estadounidense Joshua Bell demostró que, pese a tocar de forma magistral las piezas más exquisitas, si lo hace en el metro de la capital de Estados Unidos, los pasajeros pasan de largo ante el virtuosismo.

El experimento, planificado por el diario The Washington Post y publicado en su dominical de esta semana, consistía en observar la reacción de la gente ante la música tocada por Bell, uno de los mejores violinistas del mundo, que aceptó la propuesta de actuar de incógnito en el subterráneo estadounidense.

El 12 de enero pasado, a las 7.51 de la mañana, el artista y ex niño prodigio comenzó su recital de seis melodías de diversos compositores clásicos en la estación de L´Enfant Plaza, epicentro del Washington federal, entre decenas de personas cuyo único pensamiento era llegar a tiempo al trabajo.

La pregunta que lanzó el rotativo era la siguiente: ¿Sería capaz la belleza de llamar la atención en un contexto banal y en un momento inapropiado?

En ese momento, Bell, ataviado con unos vaqueros, una camiseta de manga larga y una gorra, comenzó a emitir magia desde su Stradivarius de 1713 -valorado en 3,5 millones de dólares- ante las 1.097 personas que pasaron a escasos metros de él durante su actuación.

En los 43 minutos que tocó, el violinista (Indiana, 1967) recaudó en su estuche 32 dólares y 17 céntimos -donados a la beneficencia- , una cifra muy lejana a los 100 dólares que los amantes de su música pagaron tres días antes por asientos decentes (no los mejores) en el Boston Symphony Hall, que registró un lleno completo.

En cambio, en L´Enfant Plaza, alejado de las campañas de promoción de su arte, fuera de los grandes escenarios y con la única compañía de su violín, a Bell solo lo reconoció una persona y muy pocas más se detuvieron siquiera unos momentos a escucharle.

Pasaron tres minutos y 63 personas hasta que alguien se cercioró de que, efectivamente, una melodía sonaba en el subterráneo.

Un hombre de mediana edad fue el primero en apartar la vista del suelo, aunque fuera por un segundo, para dirigirla hacia Bell.

Treinta segundos después llegó el primer dólar y a los seis minutos alguien decidió pararse por un momento para apoyarse en una de las paredes de la estación y disfrutar de la música.

En total, fueron siete los individuos que detuvieron su marcha para escucharlo, mientras 27 decidieron contribuir a la "causa".

Aunque solo lo reconoció una mujer que había estado en uno de sus conciertos, en general quienes se pararon a escucharle percibieron que el artista no era un pedigüeño cualquiera.

El redactor del Post Gene Weingarten, que ideó el experimento, dijo hoy durante una charla con los lectores del diario que retrasó la publicación del artículo debido al premio "Avery Fisher", el más importante de la música clásica, que recibirá el artista mañana. ]]> Fri, 13 Apr 2007 10:11:00 EDT http://cynexx.tigblog.org/post/181207 http://cynexx.tigblog.org/post/177633 Felices Pascuas para todos!!]]> Fri, 06 Apr 2007 12:01:00 EDT http://cynexx.tigblog.org/post/177633 http://cynexx.tigblog.org/post/177027 I was so surprised when I checked out this link http://www.hometownbaghdad.com/ or http://www.tigblog.org/group/hometownbaghdad. I was pleaseantly surprised. It takes guts and it takes a lot of creativity to go out and document your every day life in a place where war is an everyday issue. It is really nice to share even hillarious moments with Adel, Saif and Ausama. If you heaven´t seen these documentaries, please do so!!
All I can say is that I look forward to more episodes!!
]]> Thu, 05 Apr 2007 09:33:00 EDT http://cynexx.tigblog.org/post/177027 http://cynexx.tigblog.org/post/172713
BOTSWANA: Water ban - Bushman leader travels to London 19 Mar 2007

The Botswana government has banned the Kalahari Bushmen from using their own water as UN World Water Day approaches on 22 March. A Bushman leader is travelling to London this week to protest against the ban.

Botswana's Attorney General has written to the Bushmen's lawyers turning down their request for permission to install a pump at an existing borehole on their land in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR). The reason given was that the borehole is the property of the government.

Botswana's High Court ruled in December that the Bushmen had the right to live on their land, and that their forceful eviction from the CKGR in 2002 had been illegal. They now wish to organise their own water supply, at their own expense.

Jumanda Gakelebone of Bushman organisation First People of the Kalahari said today, 'The court said we could go back to our land, but now we see that the government is doing everything it can to stop us. Why else would it stop us using a borehole that nobody else is using? Without water we cannot live in the Kalahari.'

Former United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, referred to the right to water as a 'fundamental human need and therefore a basic human right'.

Gakelebone will be in London from 20 to 26 March, and is available for interview.

For further information contact Miriam Ross on (+44) (0)20 7687 8734 or email mr@survival-international.org ]]> Tue, 27 Mar 2007 09:21:00 EDT http://cynexx.tigblog.org/post/172713 http://cynexx.tigblog.org/post/132015 These are indeed good news!!!
Let´s hope the police doesn't turn "surveillance" and "persuading" into "forced eviction" again!!


Bushmen return home despite police presence 15 Jan 2007


A group of forty Bushmen have managed to return to their homes in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve this weekend, despite a heavy police presence and attempts to persuade them to stay in the relocation camps.

All the Bushmen in the convoy were allowed into the reserve by the wildlife guards at the gates, although some were only issued with temporary permits.

Plain-clothes police went into the reserve ahead of the Bushmen, but have now left.
The police attempted to persuade the Bushmen not to leave New Xade relocation camp by telling them that President Mogae first wanted to talk to them, but the Bushmen insisted on going home.

Survival's director Stephen Corry said today, 'We hope that the authorities will not try to make life difficult for the Bushmen wanting to return home, and will see that it is in their own interest, as well as that of the Bushmen, that the process is as calm and problem-free as possible. The Bushmen are ecstatic and are full of gratitude for all those who supported them, both in Botswana and throughout the world.'

from: http://www.survival-international.org/news.php?id=2174
SURVIVAL INTERNATIONAL]]> Fri, 19 Jan 2007 12:09:00 EST http://cynexx.tigblog.org/post/132015 http://cynexx.tigblog.org/post/132013 This site is the home of the UNREPRESENTED NATIONS AND PEOPLES ORGANIZATION.
If you get interested check the site.


Mapuche

Geography

In Chile their communities are concentrated in the provinces of Arauco, Bio-Bio, Malleco, Cautin, Valdivia, Osorno and Chiloe, with many migrating to the cities. According to the census of 1992, 44.1 % of the total Mapuche population of Chile lives in Santiago; in Argentina, the Mapuche live mainly in the provinces of Neuquen, Rio Negro, Buenos Aires and Santa Cruz.

People

Population

At present they number approximately 1.5 million in Chile, and 200,000 in Argentina. The Mapuche nation is the most numerous of the indigenous people in Chile and constitutes one of the largest indigenous societies in South America.

Language

The name of Mapuche is composed of two parts: “Mapu”, which means land, and “che”, which means people. The Mapuche call their language Mapudungun. The language was first written down by missionaries, and the orthographic systems they used were adaptations from European languages, and varied from author to author.

As a result, the many written documents that exist today do not all necessarily use the same alphabet. Mapuche’s language is also called Araucano, a name given by the Spanish colonialists. However, the Mapuche people also speak Spanish. Nowadays Araucanian speakers have almost disappeared from Argentina, while in Chile Mapuche speakers, who used to speak only Mapuche, are now mostly bilingual. Mapadungun lacks substantive protection or promotion, despite the Chilean government's commitment to improve the situation and provide full access to education in Mapuche areas in southern Chile.

Culture and religion

Their socio-cultural and political relations have always been shaped and complemented by their spirituality, their religious beliefs and the strong relationship between man, land and nature. They have a deeply religious society. The Mapuches of today have managed to establish a new dimension of what is religious in a syncretism that includes the catholic religion as well as protestant evangelic movements.

The Machi, the shaman, is fundamental in the configuration of Mapuche's myths and rites. He is the mediator between the natural and supernatural world and usually has a great knowledge of traditional medicine. Mapuche perform ritual ceremonies, such as: the nguillatun, a ceremony of prayer, the machitun, healing ritual, the wentripantu or celebration of the New Year, day of the winter solstice; funeral and initiation rites.

Economy

Their main source of income comes from agriculture, predominantly grain and cattle.
However many Mapuche moved to urban centres and their activities are essentially constituted by all kinds of labors disdained commonly by the dominant society (housekeeping, construction, gastronomic, etc).
The Mapuches’ living standard is generally low. The Mapuche suffer from poor housing, malnutrition, illiteracy, alcoholism, tuberculosis and a high rate of infant mortality.

Environmental problems

Before the conquistadors arrived, the lush forests of southern Chile belonged to the Mapuche people. Today, though, tree farms stretch in all directions. Ancestral Mapuche lands have been expropriated, by tree farming companies, leading to the plantation of thousands of monoculture eucalyptus and pine trees where there were once native forests. The commercial tree plantations are processed into lumber and paper pulp, mainly for export to North America, Asia and Europe. The environmental impact of commercial tree farming has acted as a catalyst for a rise in Mapuche activism in recent years.

History

The Mapuche belong to the tribe of the Araucanians, whose ancestors moved to the region now known as Chile in South America 12,000 years ago. They are the only indigenous group that withstood the attacks of the Inca and were never conquered by them. Before the Spanish arrived in 1541, the Mapuche occupied a vast territory in the “southern cone” of the continent and the population numbered about 2 million. The Mapuche nation comprised both settled and nomadic communities, hunters, shepherds and farmers, living in small family groups which were under authority of a Lonko (chief), and formed part of bigger regional communities.

At the time of the arrival of the Spaniards, in 1540, the Mapuche occupied most of what is now Chile, from Antofagasta in the north, to the Isla Chiloe in the south. After about a century of interaction and struggle with the Spaniards, the Treaty of Quilin was signed in 1641, recognizing the independence of the Mapuche; furthermore by this treaty the Mapuche agreed to remain to the south of the Bio-Bio river, in an area of only 10 million hectares. For more than two centuries they successfully defended this area against the Spaniards and, later, the Chileans. From 1881 to 1883, the Chilean armies, which with the help and financing of England had just won the War of the Pacific against Bolivia and Peru, put down a major uprising and finally “pacified” the Mapuche. Therefore, independence of the Mapuche came to an end with the independence of Chile.

Until 1881 the Mapuche nation was completely independent, territorially and politically. They were then settled on “reducciones” or reserves, all relatively small and, in most, cases, separated one from another by areas settled by Chileans and European immigrants.
By 1979, the date of the law, which provides for the division and liquidation of the Mapuche reserves, this had been further reduced to only 350,000 hectares. In 1979, the Mapuche fell victim to an “Indigenous Peoples Law” instituted by the military regime under Pinochet, the aim of which was to destroy the traditional communities of the Mapuche. The democratically elected government of Chile brought little recognition of the rights of indigenous people.

In Chile's ninth region, on the Bio Bio River, Mapuche communities and activists have been fighting a long running battle with the largest private companies in Chile because of its project of constructing hydroelectric dams. Back in June 1997 the $600 million hydroelectric dam project was approved by the Chilean government's environmental office, but this ambitious project, which was one of six proposed in Chile by this Spanish firm, created many problems for the Mapuche people and their ancestral land and created lots of tension
In Argentina, the Mapuche are facing the threat of confiscation of 110,000 hectares of their land in Pulmari in the Alumine Region.

In 1985 the former president Raul Alfonsin announced that the Pulmari region would be returned to the Mapuche (Decree No. 1410), but this did not happen despite persistent requests by the Mapuche communities to the Argentinean authorities. It is precisely the regional government of Alumine that does not respect the above-mentioned national decree.

In 1997, the European Parliament passed the “Resolution on the Situation of Human Rights and Indigenous Minorities in Argentina”.

It concerns the protection of human rights of indigenous people and also called on the Argentine Government to amend regulations to avoid misinterpretations regarding the rights of the legitimate land owners to defend the rights and interests of Mapuche and to avoid expulsion from their constitutionally recognized lands.

Since the beginning of October 1997, the Pichi-Loncoyan and Pilin-Mapu communities of Lumaco municipality have been mobilising in defence of their land rights and the failure of the Chilean judicial system to deliver justice. Earlier this century, these communities were granted legal entitlement to an area of 3,000 hectares of their own ancestral land. Half of this area has now been confiscated by logging companies such as Arauco S.A. The loggers occupied and exploited the forests in that region.

In an effort to regain their land and protect the forest, the Mapuche tried to stop the logging operations by non-violent actions but on 14 October, a police squad from Puren violently evicted the Mapuches, injuring many of them. 37 people were arrested and jailed for 20 days before being officially charged. Several other confrontations between the Mapuche and the Chilean authorities took place there, during which a total of 36 people were arrested and detained by the Chilean authorities.

Many corporations have bought land, destroyed the once abundant forests and evicted indigenous inhabitants for sugar and genetically modified Soya plantations.
In Patagonia, the Mapuche face a similar plight. In 1997 Benetton bought Patagonian land. The Mapuche have lived in these territories for 13 000 years. Benetton now owns 900 000 hectares of Patagonia and is the largest landholder in Argentina. The multinational has since enclosed their ‘property’ with a fence. Benetton demands that the local Mapuche community solicit permission from them to fish in the river.

The Mapuche people have lost control of their territory to Argentina and Chile.
Their way of life has been eroded by governmental politics and development projects. In spite of the democratisation process in Chile, human rights violations against the Mapuche continue, as was the case during past administrations.
They daily suffer racism, repression and social exclusion, but they keep their struggle alive.

Organizations

Mapuche Inter-Regional Council (CIM) is an umbrella organisation in Temuco City, in the heart of Mapuche territory, uniting six Mapuche organisations in Chile and Argentina, as well as the Mapuche Exterior Committee. The objectives of the Mapuche Inter-Regional council are the improvement of the people'living standard, the preservation of the Mapuche culture and the restitution of ancestral Mapuche lands, as well as the exercise of the right to self-determination. Since January 1993, the Mapuche, represented by the Mapuche Inter-Regional Council, is as member of UNPO.

go to: http://www.unpo.org/member_profile.php?id=37 ]]> Fri, 19 Jan 2007 11:56:00 EST http://cynexx.tigblog.org/post/132013 http://cynexx.tigblog.org/post/97123 Hoy empecé.
Creo que TIG sería un muy buen lugar para ofrecer también un intercambio de idiomas. Yo por mi parte ofrezco inglés, alemán o español al que le interese...y si me puede ayudar a pronuncia swahili mucho mejor!!
Creo que este va a ser mi nuevo proyecto.
Kwa herini, nos vemos
]]> Mon, 15 Jan 2007 17:02:00 EST http://cynexx.tigblog.org/post/97123 http://cynexx.tigblog.org/post/83935 ]]> Sun, 24 Dec 2006 17:10:00 EST http://cynexx.tigblog.org/post/83935 http://cynexx.tigblog.org/post/82051 They have been so kind to send me brochures and fact sheets, which you can also download through the internet at that website. Please take a sec. and make others aware of the injustices that are being committed in name of "civilization".

Hola! Hace un montón que no escribo porque estuve muy atareada con mi trabajo. Como sabrán estoy interesada en los derechos de los pueblos originarios de la Argentina y del mundo por lo que me contacte con una ONG que se llama Survival International (www.survival-international.org) que también tiene una división en español; organización que se dedica exclusivamente a la defensa de los derechos de los pueblos originarios.
Me mandaron una serie de folletos e informaciones que por supuesto socializaré, que tambien se pueden bajar en la página. Tómense un segundo para, no se, ver algunas de las infos y crear conciencia entre sus conocidos de los crimenes que están siendo cometidos en nombre de la "civilización".]]> Wed, 20 Dec 2006 12:27:00 EST http://cynexx.tigblog.org/post/82051 http://cynexx.tigblog.org/post/45231 Por Antupang - Sunday, Jun. 11, 2006 at 9:25 PM
nonosrobenlatierra@yahoo.com.ar Tel. 453459 Dirección Repetur 473

Por este medio y en nombre de toda la familia mapuche les queremos pedir ayuda, no queremos que el señor Marcelo Tinelli nos robe nuestras tierras.

Mi nombre es Antupang, tengo 17 años, soy mapuche, vivo a 11 kilómetros de Esquel junto a mis padres y mis 7 hermanos. En esta localidad viven cerca de 700 mapuches desde hace decadas. No poseemos títulos de propiedad dado que la mayoría de los habitantes se siguen desenvolviendo como los hicieron nuestros ancestros, yo tengo la suerte de hablar castellano y ser la vos de mi pueblo, por eso quiero trasmitir a todos los medios de mi país lo que nos esta pasando.

Hace aproximadamente 1 año el señor Marcelo Tinelli desmintió tener intereses en nuestras tierras, nosotros creímos en su palabra. Esto no fue cierto, en la ultima semana un grupo de abogados de la capital federal, se presento con un poder firmado por el señor Marcelo Tinelli en el cual les daba la facultad para desalojarnos en forma inmediata.A cambio nos ofrecían 5000 pesos y nos daban un hospedaje transitorio por un plazo de 30 días en Esquel. Nosotros somos Indígenas, no ignorantes, entendemos que ese poder no le da autoridad para sacarnos de nuestras tierras.

Nosotros vamos a resistir, son nuestras tierras, son de nuestros antepasados. Los abogados enviados por el señor Marcelo Tinelli nos dicen que tarde o temprano tendremos que dejar nuestras tierras dado que a ellos los beneficia la ley. Nos dicen que poseen la habilitación para construir un centro de ski y un centro comercial.

Por este medio y en nombre de toda la familia mapuche les queremos pedir ayuda, no queremos que el señor Marcelo Tinelli ni nadie de Buenos Aires nos saque nuestras tierras. Les dejamos nuestro mail de contacto nonosrobenlatierra@yahoo.com.ar , esperamos su ayuda.

Antupang
Necesitamos su ayuda
]]> Wed, 04 Oct 2006 08:25:00 EDT http://cynexx.tigblog.org/post/45231 http://cynexx.tigblog.org/post/44565 They have been displaced from their land several times (1997 and 2002) by the government of Botswana and live now in camps where their way of life has been altered in such a way, that they have to struggle constantly with starvation, alcoholism and HIV/AIDS.
(Survival International)
Please check these websites out:
http://www.iwant2gohome.org/ (the Kgeikani Kweni, original people from the Kalahari page)
More on http://www.survival-international.org/news.php?id=1872 (ONG that speaks out for indigenous rights to land)

Since this is my first post, I have to say that I´m pretty happy to be part of the TIG community!!]]> Tue, 26 Sep 2006 09:28:00 EDT http://cynexx.tigblog.org/post/44565