Men of Tembe tribe in Amazon rainforest are bracing up to fight invasion on ir land due to raging annual forest fires through jungle patrols. conflict started escalating when fires set to clear land, devastated large areas of Brazil’s Amazon region since August 27. tribe daubs mselves in tritional war paint and patrol forest. y carry bows and arrows but feel increasingly vulnerable in ir fight with illegal loggers. 

“Every day that passes, invasion comes closer to our vill. We don’t want to be killed by bullets. We want federal government to assume its responsibility and guarantee right that we have to live in our lands, to live in peace,” said chieftain, Sergio Muxi Tembé. 

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plight of tribes in Amazon

With time and vancement, techlogy has become part of many tribes. y w fish for piranhas, hunt for birds, and pick fruits and take materials for tritional medicine from jungle trees, while some watch television or log on to internet on phones inside thatched-roof huts. Yet y still have to fight for land which was allocated to m years ago. Women worry that fight with loggers will make m lose ir husbands.

ir 1,080-square-mile Alto Rio Guama homeland is officially protected. government said that about 14% of Brazil is indigeus territory which is a huge area for a relatively small population. Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo said that opening of Amazon to development is “ only way to protect forest.” plight of Tembe people is direct outcome of government policy which in name of development, inves and disturbs m.

“This les to a situation where lawlessness of Amazon region ... becomes such that livelihood of indigeus people is under a real threat. And y don’t have a lot of capacity to defend mselves. se are people who live off land, who do substance farming. y are very much aware of environment around it and how to maintain it because that’s how y sustain ir livelihood,” said Monica de Bolle, a Brazil expert at Peterson Institute for International Ecomics who recently testified before U.S. Congress about Amazon.

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Human Rights Watch and lawyers stand for tribe

Deforestation in Amazon “is driven largely by criminal networks that use violence and intimidation against those who try to stop m, said a report by Human Rights Watch based on interviews with indigeus people and ors in Brazilian states of Para, Maranhao, and Rondonia. report furr blamed Brazil’s government for failing to protect rainforest and people trying to protect it. Edmilson Rodrigo, a lawmaker from Para state, also defended Amazon's indigeus people. He accused that land grabbers, miners, loggers have taken ir lands and tribes are only trying to protect it.

(With inputs from Associated Press)

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