In the face of the spread of the coronavirus, indigenous peoples are among the most vulnerable groups in the population
It is well known that Europe began to expand into the Americas and Oceania in the 16th century, which in textbooks may have been a discovery of a new continent, but for the colony's indigenous people, it was tantamount to a nightmare that lasted for centuries.
When the colonists came into contact with the local culture, they found that guns did not allow them to be enslaved, so the colonists thought of a new weapon, the pathogen. The natives did not develop immunity to these pathogens, and the infectious diseases brought by the colonizers were undoubtedly fatal to them, and these diseases led to the disappearance of many civilizations.
The destruction of these civilizations continued into the 20th century, and now, the arrival of the coronavirus seems to bring history back.
The Brazilian Federation of Indigenous Peoples (APIB) said in a statement: "There is no doubt that in the face of the current COVID-19 pandemic, our indigenous peoples are among the most vulnerable groups. ”
"Throughout history, we have been victims of aggression due to diseases such as influenza, smallpox and measles."
He added: "Coronavirus is another of these threats".
Indigenous Brazilians announced the first confirmed case of the new coronavirus on April 4, and according to the state health secretariat, the number of confirmed cases has increased to 16 until April 14 this year, with 3 deaths.
Can this covid-19 pandemic make us stronger as a species in the long run?
Advocacy about coronavirus from APIB, Federation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil
<h2 class="story-body__crosshead" > pristine soil</h2>
A study conducted by researchers at the University of Missouri in the United States concluded that the most devastating consequence of European colonization was the introduction of new infectious diseases.
At that time, many indigenous populations had not yet been exposed to pathogens common in Europe. These highly contagious microorganisms in these communities have caused epidemics in the pristine soils.
The consequences, according to the study, were "extremely severe," with high mortality rates and a complete collapse of society.
In the small indigenous communities of the Amazon and other parts of the region, this happened not only in the early days of European colonization, but also widely and repeatedly throughout the centuries.
And all of this dates back to the 15th century when Columbus discovered the New World.
Christopher Columbus's contacts with indigenous Caribbean communities brought more disasters than in one way
In 1493 Christopher Columbus's fleet of ships carrying cattle infected with influenza virus destroyed the Caribbean island of Tainos. Since then, the epidemic has spread to Cuba and Florida through the Taino trade routes.
In 1518, the Maya recorded the spread of smallpox from Hispaniola (today's Dominican Republic and Haiti) to the Yucatan Peninsula in a manuscript. The conquering army of Hernán Cortés brought the outbreak into mexico.
In 1531-1533, the Maya, Toltecs, and other native natives of Central America died of measles epidemics, resulting in mass deaths from contact with Europeans. In 1659, measles killed the indigenous people of Florida. Since Columbus's arrival in 1492, the number of deaths has been declining due to epidemics, with as many as ten thousand deaths.
In 1763-64, the suspected first biological war broke out, and several historians accused British troops of distributing smallpox-contaminated blankets to Shawnee and Reinalpe Aboriginal communities in a colony in North America (Future State, Delaware, USA). Although some doubt the truth of these claims, there is still some testimony to support them, and Jeffery Amherst, a British officer in charge of the project, is known for his desire to exterminate indigenous people.
In 1918-19, millions of people died as a result of this, which is known as the Spanish flu. When most people focus on European countries such as Spain, the mortality rate is as high as 80% among North American tribes, and some communities have lost almost all of their population, as well as in indigenous communities in the Amazon.
What is the Spanish flu, this disease kills more than the First World War
The mystery of the "cocoliztli", an epidemic that killed thousands of Aztecs in Mexico, whose origins have been debated for a century.
British official Sir Jeffrey Amherst.
With the opening of the Transamazon Highway in Brazil in 1972, humans built almost perfect malaria pipelines over the Amazon River. It traveled a distance of 4,000 kilometers through the jungle, causing the displacement of many indigenous communities, the first time they were exposed to a strange disease from the outside world, and even the effects of the disease continue to this day. According to tropical medicine experts, more than 99% of the reported cases of malaria in Brazil occur in the Amazon.
The 2009 N1H1 virus (also known as swine flu) infected Native Americans, and the death rate from the disease was four times that of all other races and ethnicities combined — a rate comparable to the 1918 influenza pandemic. Pulmonologists in Brazil also point out that indigenous patients have a higher rate of hospitalization.
On 4 April 2020, the first confirmed case of COVID-19 among The indigenous people of Brazil was registered, affected by a young woman of the Gangama ethnic group. A researcher at the Federal University of São Paulo warned that indigenous communities are in danger of being "exterminated".
<h2 class="story-body__crosshead" > decreased immune response</h2>
Dr Lisa Sattenspiel, a professor of anthropology at the University of Missouri in the United States, said: "This virus (SARS-Cov2) is completely new because modern science has never seen this virus. ”
As a new virus, no one in the world has ever been exposed to it, but experts predict that indigenous communities are particularly vulnerable because of the entire epidemic history.
Mayan manuscripts document the spread of diseases brought by the Spaniards
First, these populations tend to be geographically remote, creating problems ranging from immune responses to a lack of resources.
Sattensbier said: "They are not part of the dominant culture of their country. Sometimes this is advantageous, but in most cases it is a problem. They may be forgotten. ”
Even with modern modes of transport and communication, the isolation or remoteness of other populations has saved these towns from exposure to a wide range of diseases.
"The group you meet grew up without any contact, and when they first became an adult infected with a pathogen, their immune response was much lower and the disease was more severe."
Dr. Sattenspiel, who studied the impact of the 1918-19 influenza pandemic on Indigenous canadians and Alaska Aborigines, said the factors that caused the huge repercussions remain valid.
"A very important point for these populations is their low socioeconomic status, which means more chronic health problems and even worse when they are infected with pathogens," he said. ”
"There are nutrition issues because their traditional eating habits have changed and they eat a lot of processed foods."
<h2 class= "story-body__crosshead" > "flu" with serious consequences</h2>
The 1918-19 flu also had a disastrous effect on the Amazon community, which was mainly occupied by Brazil but also spread to Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Paraguay.
However, according to Bárbara Arissi, a professor of anthropology at the Latin American Federal University in Latin America in Brazil, this "epidemiological war" continues, and he is pursuing a PhD at the University of Frier in Amsterdam.
"The government at the time was in fact in contact with the people (of Brazil) in '76 and '78, and nearly two-thirds of the indigenous people died from very simple diseases like the flu because they didn't have antibodies," he said.
"When the trans-Amazon highway opened in the 1980s, many Arara communities died – the mortality rate was very high, almost the same as the mortality rate (PedroÁlvares) Cabral arrived in Brazil or Cortés arrived in Mexico," he assured. ”
Dr. Arisi is a member of the International Society of Anthropologists, which focuses on the indigenous peoples of South America.
The group wrote a warning about the dangers of the current epidemic of covid-19 to alert Brazilian authorities and indigenous peoples isolated by society.
Ethnic groups with little contact with surrounding non-indigenous societies are particularly vulnerable to respiratory diseases
Asisi downplayed the spread of the virus, thereby criticizing the government's position and its adherents.
"President Bolsonaro says it's mild flu, but for people in many countries, even mild flu is a big problem."
Indigenous Brazilians announced their first confirmed case of coronavirus on April 4. To date, that number has increased to 16 confirmed cases, including 3 deaths, including 87-year-old Borari woman and 14-year-old Yanomami boy, according to the National Health Secretariat.
<h2 class="story-body__crosshead" > zero contact</h2>
The main policy of the Brazilian National Indigenous Foundation (FUNAI) is that the institutions responsible for protecting these communities and their lands do not contact them unless they initiate their own contact.
FUNAI is responsible for the protection of indigenous territories
"They're in danger," Dr. Arissi said. "They can get sick and, like a recent contact, they can go back into the jungle and infect their community, or die there without anyone knowing."
Indigenous peoples were forced to leave their territories and engage with other populations because of different factors.
It is mainly to condemn illegal loggers and miners (garimpeiros), drug dealers or armed groups for invading their property.
But this is also due to the fact that the government allows land to be used for agriculture or the exploitation of natural resources.
Experts warn that even missionary activities can put indigenous peoples at risk.
In this sense, scholars expressed deep concern about the appointment of a former missionary to lead isolated Indigenous Ministries, given the lasting negative impact that religions had had on the health and culture of those societies in the past.
"It's like putting a coyote wolf to take care of the sheep," Arissey reproached.
Anthropologists suggest that it's best not to keep remote villages together: "Don't come into contact with them." ”
<h2 class="story-body__crosshead" > traditional variations</h2>
With regard to indigenous peoples who have been through activities or recent contacts over the past few decades, Arissi noted that their leaders were conducting information and prevention campaigns among their communities.
Indigenous communities are adapting to their traditions as a prevention
"Their members are all university graduates, and doctors trained in non-indigenous sciences are educating and educating to prevent transmission."
Among the steps they are taking include changing some of their customs, such as eating community food served on mats together.
They also adapt their traditions as a means of prevention.
For example, malocas (houses prepared by indigenous peoples for the transition from adolescence to adolescents) were used to isolate community members who returned to their villages.
Sattenspiel from the University of Missouri agrees that it is necessary not to keep the most remote communities, especially the smallest, because according to the 1918-19 influenza history, "if a pathogen infiltrates the community (the result) is devastating." ”
"In remote indigenous communities in Alaska and Labrador, the mortality rate is 80 percent, and some of them are completely destroyed."
However, he expects that the consequences will be different between regions, with some communities being devastated while others have not had any impact on the coronavirus.