Letter: In support of Gloria Ushigua and Rosa Gualinga (Activist beaten in Ecuador)

[CaptainSweep]

I received a listing from a friend and it moved me enough to write a eltter of support...I will include the listing below...please pass it
on if you are so moved...



[e-mail]

[e-mail]

[e-mail]

[e-mail]



To whom it may concern,



I have just read of what has occurred to Gloria Ushigua and Rosa
Gualinga in your country. It deeply saddens my heart to hear of this news.



I send you a message that we are no longer in a world where the
corporations and governments are unaccountable for the the violent acts they perpetuate on first nations peoples.



There is a world watching what happens in your country. There is a
growing movement of educated, aware, and concerned people that do not agree with practices that destroy a peoples sustainable livelihood.



We are all human beings and we deserve the right to freedom, to
live without oppression from the corruptive natures of a few selfish people.



Heed my words for there is a power far greater than all of us and
you cannot escape the consequences of your actions, no matter how much you think you have covered the trail.



Do not for a second believe that I am a random irrelevant message.
This is the voice of humanity coming through one mind, for we are all connected together and we must stop harming one another for selfish reasons.



I do not know who you are but I know what you represent. I know you
are intelligent enough to realize when a great crime has been committed. This is the case in relationship to these two great souls who have the respect from the rest of the people who care deeply about this world we all share.



Heed this warning! Think carefully of how you will deal with this
situation! I speak a voice from Canada...and I know my brothers and sisters agree with me. The senseless beating of these two people is atrocious to hear of.



Bear in mind all that will occur in your arena...all of the
consequences that occur...what is your part in what happened and what is your destiny to fulfill? Seek in your heart how to make the world we live in a better more sustainable world, not how can I find some more pennies and nickels to confiscate from the generations to come.



Spoken as a Sovereign Being,

Ian Dakers



Dear friends,



I apologize in advance for any multiple posts you may receive on
this subject. I’m forwarding you a very distressing news report and urge you to take prompt action by writing to the addresses listed below. Of the two women mentioned in this article, I personally know and have worked with Gloria Ushigua, the Zápara leader; I’ve found her to be a strong, wise, sincere, deeply-committed, and thoroughly delightful person. Gloria is the daughter of César Ushigua, the last Zápara shimano (shaman) from Ecuador, who died a few years ago. She was taught by her father, and is now completing her training with the last remaining Zápara shaman from Perú.



Gloria Ushigua has dedicated her life to work on behalf of her
people, a tiny tribe comprising just a few hundred members who live in isolated villages in the jungles of Ecuador. The Zápara were long thought to be extinct, until a few of them were sent to make contact with the outside world in the hope of securing help so that their families could survive. As a result, the government of Ecuador granted them ownership of their tribal lands, though to the Zápara, the idea that humans could “own” the Earth makes no sense. Despite that attitude, they now find themselves in the difficult position of struggling to retain that ownership as the only way to protect those lands from the multinational petrochemical corporations that want to raze the forest in order to dig wells, and the pharmaceutical conglomerates seeking to gain control of the many rare medicinal plants that abound in the Ecuadorian wilderness.



One of Gloria’s sons was murdered several years ago in retaliation
for her activist efforts; now she and her collaborator, Rosa Gualinga, have been directly attacked and almost killed, and remain in dire need of medical help which, being “poor Indian women,” is being denied them. Here is a fairly recent photograph of Gloria and Rosa:







Please contact the authorities listed below --- it doesn’t matter
if you can’t do it in Spanish --- to express your support for Gloria and Rosa, and make sure to tell them what country you live in, so they will understand that, truly, the whole world is watching. Feel free to forward this to any others who may also be willing to help.



In the Spirit of the Earth,

Andras Corban Arthen

Director, The EarthSpirit Community

[e-mail]

www.earthspirit.com





Ecuadorian indigenous women leaders attacked, left for dead.



At the end of August, two indigenous leaders in Puyo, Ecuador were
attacked after months of receiving death threats for their efforts to protect the territory of the Zápara people in the Ecuadorian Amazon.



Gloria Ushigua and Rosa Gualinga were beaten until unconscious, thrown in the trunk of a car, and later left for dead.



Both women are internationally known human rights defenders. Gloria
Ushigua is a leader of the Zápara people. Rosa Gualinga is of the Andoas people and works closely with the Zápara. The Zápara are an indigenous people in danger of becoming extinct, with a current population in Perú and Ecuador of approximately 650. Gloria is an elected representative of Nacionalidad Zápara de la Amazonia Ecuatoriana (NAZAE), the official representative organization of the Zápara people in Ecuador, which works to promote and protect the lives and lands of the Zápara people.



Zápara territory is rich with natural resources, like oil, timber
and botanical medicines, and there are varied interests who are trying to exploit them --- oil companies, the military, illegal loggers, settlers, scientists, and pharmaceutical companies, as well as fraudulent “indigenous rights” groups who want to act as middlemen in the exploitation of those resources, and who appear to be willing to do pretty much anything to get a piece of the pie. For quite some time, one of those bogus groups of people who are not Zápara have made several attempts to illegally seize from NAZAE the official right to represent the Zápara people and take control of Zápara land. Several individuals in this group have been threatening Gloria and Rosa for more than a year. In recent months, after NAZAE won a legal victory over the group, these threats have intensified.



On Sunday, August 26th, a woman approached Gloria in the street in
downtown Puyo. She said that her mother was Zápara and that she had an organization that worked with indigenous communities. She invited Gloria and Rosa to her house to discuss her work and the possibilities of collaboration.



At about 9 pm, they were sitting in the patio area outside of the
woman’s house when a man entered, kicked Rosa, and sprayed Gloria and Rosa in the face with a large quantity of what appears to have been tear gas. Three other men followed, and the four of them viciously beat Gloria and Rosa with fists, feet and clubs. Gloria was hit on the head with a rock. Witnesses say that the four men threw the two unconscious women into the trunk of a car and sped off.



Gloria and Rosa were found in the middle of the night, still
unconscious, in the middle of a road. Gloria's son got them home, where they regained consciousness at around 4am on Monday. Although they have been to the military hospital in Puyo several times, they have still not been given a proper medical examination. Gloria's arm is broken and she has a high fever. They are both in need of medical treatment and a complete examination so that they can know the full extent of their injuries.



Gloria and Rosa were able to identify the first man who attacked
them, and a witness recognized a local police officer as another of their attackers. Although Gloria and Rosa went to the police station in Puyo to file criminal complaints against these men, they have been largely ignored and, to date, no arrests have been made. Until justice is served, it is reasonable to assume that the two women’s lives remain in danger.



RECOMMENDED ACTION (please send appeals as quickly as possible):



- express concern for the safety of Gloria Ushigua and Rosa
Gualinga, and urge authorities to take immediate and effective action to protect them and ensure that they receive the medical attention that they require.



- call on authorities to order a thorough investigation into this
attack, with results made public and those responsible brought to justice.





MAKE APPEALS TO:



Ismael Fabricio Arcos Lopez

Gobernador de Pastaza

Calle Atahualpa y 10 de Agosto

Puyo, Pastaza

Ecuador

Telephone: [phone]

Fax: [phone]

E-mail: [e-mail]





COPIES TO:



Gustavo Larrea

Ministro de Gobierno

Espejo y Benalcazar

Quito, Ecuador

Telephone: [phone]

E-mail: [e-mail]





Dra. Lourdes Tiban

Secretaria Ejecutiva Nacional

Consejo de Desarrollo de las Nacionalidades

y Pueblos del Ecuador (CODENPE)

Ave. Garcia Moreno

Quito, Ecuador

Telephone: [phone]

Fax: [phone], ext. 109

E-mail: [e-mail]



To view this listing, click here:

uk.tribe.net/listing/Ecu...f213c80fc6a9