In Defense of Mother Earth...

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

 

[The Indigenous Peoples' ancient tradition is to show love and deep

respect for Mother Earth. The desperate need now, however, is for all humanity

to respect and care for Mother Earth in order to overcome issues " threatening

the survival not only of indigenous peoples, but of humanity itself.. "

 

In Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi's 1993 meeting with Native American

Indians from the Gabrielino/Shoshone and Tongua Nations, She not only mentions

the immigrants' destructive tendencies visited upon the Amazon (and elsewhere)

when She says, " Their aggression has become subtler, cutting into the earth,

destroying plants,the Amazon as well, everywhere, " but She also gives the

Indigenous Peoples very specific advice, Her blessings and love, to address

those challenges.

 

Issues in the form of a " message from the heart of the Amazon " have

recently been taken up by some 1300 Indigenous Peoples from 50 nations, come

together in Belem, Brazil, to raise their voices 'as a wake-up call to the world

- in defence of Mother Earth'.]

 

 

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: " Wake Up, World! " - SOS from the Amazon

By Mario Osava

 

BELÉM, Brazil, Jan 27 (IPS) - A human banner made up of more than

1,000 people, seen and photographed from the air, sent the

message " SOS Amazon " to the world, in the first action taken by indigenous

people hours before the opening in northern Brazil on Tuesday of the 2009 World

Social Forum (WSF).

 

The mass message reflects " our concern about global warming, whose

impact we will be the first to feel, although we, the peoples of the Amazon,

have protected and cared for the forests, " Francisco Avelino Batista, an

Apurinán Indian from the Purus river valley in the Brazilian Amazon, told IPS.

 

" We are raising our voices as a wake-up call to the world, especially the rich

countries that are hastening its destruction, " said Edmundo Omoré, a member of

the Xavante indigenous community from the west-central state of Mato Grosso on

the border between the Amazon region and the Cerrado, a vast savannah region in

the centre of the country.

 

Both men belong to the Coordinating Committee of Indigenous

Organisations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB), which joined the Quito-based

Coordinating Body of Indigenous Organisations of the Amazon Basin (COICA) to

create their " message from the heart of the Amazon. "

 

Nearly 1,300 indigenous people from about 50 countries, although

mainly from Brazil, plan to raise the issues of their rights as original peoples

and environmental preservation at this year's edition of the WSF, which runs

through Sunday in Belém, a city of 1.4 million people and the northeastern

gateway to the Amazon.

 

Indigenous people have participated in the WSF in previous years,

but this time a much larger presence was sought. The aim was for 2,000 to take

part, but transport costs and financial difficulties prevented many participants

from coming from other countries and from remote areas within Brazil itself.

 

In addition to indigenous groups, original peoples at the WSF include

Quilombolas (members of communities of Afro-Brazilian descendants of

escaped slaves) and other native peoples.

 

The key location chosen for the WSF, and the various global crises

that are occurring, have created " a special moment " for original peoples to take

a leading role, according to Roberto Espinoza, an adviser to the Andean

Coordination of Indigenous Organisations (CAOI).

 

" A crisis of civilisation " is under way, said Espinoza, who

described the serious economic, energy and food problems, as well as climate

change, as part of the same phenomenon.

 

In this situation, indigenous people should have political

participation as of right, not " as folklore or as a merely cultural

contribution, " Espinoza, one of the coordinators of the indigenous peoples'

presence at the WSF, told IPS.

 

The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, approved by the

United Nations General Assembly, is of paramount importance here, he said. It

should not be seen as a " utopian " document; rather, its provisions should be

binding, like those of the International Labour Organisation's Convention 169 on

indigenous and tribal peoples.

 

Espinoza said he hoped this WSF would produce an agreement for global

demonstrations similar to those held in 2003 against the United

States' invasion of Iraq.

 

This time around, the goal would be to mobilise " in defence of

Mother Earth and against the commercialisation of life, " added to specific

causes championed by each nation, such as the fight against hydroelectric power

stations in Brazil that flood vast areas of Amazon rainforest and displace

riverbank dwellers, he said.

 

The voices of indigenous people are bound to have a greater impact on

environmental matters when " the risk of catastrophic climate change

in the near future and disputes over natural resources are threatening the

survival not only of indigenous peoples, but of humanity itself, " Espinoza said.

 

Indigenous and environmental issues will be even more visible on

Wednesday, which is to be dedicated entirely to the Amazon region in an attempt

to revitalise the PanAmazon Social Forum, inactive since 2005.

 

Launching a campaign led by the peoples of the Amazon, who " want a

society that values them and understands the value that the land has for them, "

is a proposal for discussion at the WSF, according to Miquelina Machado, a COIAB

leader belonging to the Tukano ethnic group.

 

This is necessary for " a greater balance with nature, " at a time

when Brazil's plans for economic growth and the physical integration of South

America are fuelling projects which have " strong negative impacts on the Amazon

and Andean regions, " she told IPS.

 

" The hydroelectric dams flood the land and destroy biodiversity, "

she said, while lamenting the fact that attempts to block the building of

highways, that cause immense deforestation, have been frustrated in the courts,

" which have more power. "

 

The presence at the WSF of presidents of Amazon region countries

like Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Evo Morales of Bolivia, and Hugo

Chávez of Venezuela, as well as Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo, should

increase the impact of the event, hopefully benefiting the peoples of the

Amazon, Machado concluded.

 

Indigenous peoples' voices should be heard, because " we are the ones

who were born and raised in the middle of the forest, and who lead a

lifestyle that contrasts with the ambition of capitalism, which does not bring

benefits to all, " said Omoré.

 

Furthermore, " we are the first to suffer the effects " of climate

change. Rich people can cool themselves down with air conditioners and buy food

in supermarkets, but " we depend on the fish in the river and the animals in the

forest, so we are concerned about the future that belongs to everyone, " added

Batista. (END/2009)

 

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=45575

 

 

 

[some excerpts of Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi's advice to the Native

American Indians from the Gabrielino/Shoshone and Tongua Nations during Her 1993

tour are presented below.]

 

" The bureaucracy has to be challenged, " said Shri Mataji,.. " the

people in America are all immigrants. This is your land, you are the native

peoples. The issue should be made global, brought to the notice of the United

Nations. "

 

Shri Mataji was informed that the Europeans used Native Indians as

slaves to build missions, forced them to work in such missions, and once freed,

they were not entitled to any land. They had no rights, no title or deed. Shri

Mataji suggested that land should be given to the native Americans, or

immigrants will suffer more for their karmas.

 

The Indians explained their philosophy of being caretakers, using

the land as their ancestors did. One such approach was to never take

a decision until its impact on the land for the next seven generations was

considered.

 

" You are a very natural people, " Shri Mataji continued. " Basically

they (the immigrants) are racist. They are some sort of a dominating, aggressive

people. The ego is so much! My attention is on you. There is so much land, I am

sure something will happen. You should act, and say: 'We want justice, we want

truth.' You should strike again and again. Their aggression has become subtler,

cutting into the earth, destroying plants, the Amazon as well, everywhere. "

 

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi continued: " ..people have no respect for

Mother Earth. They are gross material people. You have to raise your voices, say

to them: 'You are not spiritual people.' They`ve been ruling for 2000 years,

with no principles, no precepts, not in their own lives, or in society. So you

can say : ´You don`t understand us, you're not spiritual, you only understand

materialism and money. For us other things are important. You have no respect

for land or

the atmosphere. They are just materialist, power and money oriented.' Just

challenge them. "

 

" You blatantly have to challenge them... " In every way the suggestion

must go, papers, news, letters! I think you people should start a movement of a

very deep dimension. You have all My blessings and love. In India`s freedom

struggle, we had no way out but non violence. I`m all with you, all My powers.

You are My mediums, the

channels. Thousands in America have so much compassion, thousands in

America have so much concern and thousands in America have so much

guilt. They feel inside they have done something wrong. You just

start, you'll get money, money is never a problem for a good

cause. "

 

http://sye-w.blogspot.com/search?q=Shoshoni+and+Shri+Mataji

posted by carolyn vance