Threatened by armed illegal gold diggers, Yanomami indigenous face abandonment by the state

After ten days of consecutive attacks by armed gold diggers invaders that began on the morning of May 10, the indigenous people of the Palimiú community, in the Yanomami Indigenous Land, continue to be under threat and at risk of further violence. Also, the residents of the community are without assistance from the local health team, which fled the area because of the attacks.

In a press conference, Dario Yanomami, vice president Hutukara Yanomami Association, spoke about the cases of malaria and pneumonia among children. “The children are having malaria symptoms, they are having diarrhea symptoms, with flu symptoms. On the 10th, when the children went to sleep in the bush [due to the attack] and it rained a lot, symptoms of pneumonia broke out. The children are at risk because they have no health care there.”

The episode underlines the seriousness of the Yanomami health situation, leaders say. The territory suffers from Covid-19, malaria and child malnutrition - a problem that gained visibility after a photo of a child with severe malnutrition circulated on social networks.