AMERICA/BRAZIL - Violence, murders and suicides, the indigenous people hope in the aid of the Church

Balsas (Agenzia Fides) - His Exc. Mgr. Erwin Kräutler, Bishop of the Prelature of Xingu in Pará and president of CIMI, and Mgr. Enemesio Lazzaris, bishop of the Diocese of Balsas, in Maranhão and president of the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), have denounced the agricultural speculation that damage the rights of indigenous peoples.
Several indigenous communities have in fact been forcibly expelled from the land where they lived in order to be occupied by agricultural enterprises.
A report by the CIMI (Indigenous Missionary Council) states that from 2003 to 2012, there were 317 murders of indigenous people in the State, out of a total of 563 throughout the Country during the same period. Between 2000 and 2012, segregation on roadsides or in tiny reservations led to the suicide of 611 indigenous people, mostly young people aged between 14 and 25, according to data from DSEI (District of Indigenous Health). These are just some of the dramatic situations reported by the Bishops .
The APIB (Asociacion de los Pueblos Indígenas de Brasil) announced, between 30 September and 5 October, a national mobilization for the rights of indigenous peoples and their recognition in the Constitution. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 21/09/2013)