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Conversations with the President of the Yagua Federation
I am the representative of the Yagua Peoples, of the communities of Apayaco and Oroza
We have lived in this area for hundreds of years with our parents
I want to tell you a very emotional story, as a child I suffered very much
During the times of the rubber boom I was basically kidnapped when I was five in the Putumayo
and I was brought here to Iquitos
they mistreated me, they would hit me in the head to “make me learn”
how to take care of a house, I did not know, as an Indian, how to do this.
My rights were violated, I didn’t know…and this is why I’m worried
that this is still happening, I don’t want the new generations to have to suffer this
I know because I myself have suffered under different mestizo masters
that exploited my life, I could not live in peace
Every time I got to a new home the same thing would happen
As an Indigenous person I did not know what to do, how to defend myself
I was mistreated in different places until I was 15
Now the problems that we have are with the lumber companies and the fisheries
who are contaminating our river with toxic chemicals
and also in the area of the Oroza River from those who come for petroleum
What are we to do? Where are we going to drink our water?
our environment…its bringing lots of health problems
the State will have to deal with the deterioration of public health here
The lumber companies are hiring our young men
our heads of families for 3 or 4 months for 100 soles
they are giving them 20 soles per tree,
these trees have something like 1,000 feet of wood
so this is a direct exploitation of us the Yagua people.
What we need now is education, training, we need to learn the laws
learn our rights…we need to teach our people how education can help us
because now, the Yaguas, we are not getting any help in that respect
not so much because we don’t want to learn, but mostly
because we lack any support, any type of aid to do this.