Tragedy in the Amazon: the extinction of a people

[theHandpuppet]

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/last-surviving-members-of-an-ancient-amazonian-tribe-are-a-tragic-testament-to-greed-and-genocide-14529107.html
Last surviving members of an ancient Amazonian tribe are a tragic testament to greed and genocide
By Guy Adams
Tuesday, 13 October 2009

They are the last survivors: all that's left of a once-vibrant civilisation which created its own religion and language, and gave special names to everything from the creatures of the rainforest to the stars of the night sky.

Just five people represent the entire remaining population of the Akuntsu, an ancient Amazonian tribe which a generation ago boasted several hundred members, but has been destroyed by a tragic mixture of hostility and neglect.

The indigenous community, which spent thousands of years in uncontacted seclusion, recently took an unwelcome step closer to extinction, with the death of its sixth last member, an elderly woman called Ururú.

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The slow death of this indigenous community is far more than an unfortunate accident, however. Instead, it represents the long-planned realisation of one of the most successful acts of genocide in human history. And the fate of the Akuntsu is seen by lobby groups as an object lesson in the physical and cultural dangers faced by undiscovered tribes at so-called "first contact"....

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[csziggy]

1. There are no words that can express how this makes me feel

:cry:

[theHandpuppet]

2. I can totally relate

That's why I posted the article without any personal comments. Sometimes, there simply are no words.

[malaise]

8. There are many words that can express how this

makes me feel but it's way too early in the morning to use them.

[Triana]

3. This makes me SICK. Greed, stupidity, ignorance.

WHAT makes anyone think that when we destroy these people - we're not ALSO destroying OURSELVES? Duh.

[Quantess]

4. It would have to happen to a people with a light carbon footprint, wouldn't it?

[bertman]

5. Interesting comment, but you're right, Quantess. It seems that's how it usually works.

For many centuries now.

[truedelphi]

6. K & R for reading it more carefully after tonight's sleep. n/t

[peacebuzzard]

7. This tragedy in exchange for cheap beans and cattle ranches

undoubtedly destined for fast food nations.
Cheap products for cheap people with tons of residue, pollutants, carcinogenic by-products are the end products of wiping out these noble, earth-friendly people.
Then, our puny efforts to recycle the wastes that destroyed this civilization is heavy with irony.
I cannot express my deep sadness in words.

[dgibby]

9. Too sad for mere words. n/t

[Quantess]

10. One more kick.

[amborin]

11. such a tragedy!