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What is that woman doing -- whose clothes indicate that she belongs to the Shipibo tribe --
in a deserted area of Lima and not in the middle of her jungle?
What is a face like this one -- a Shipibo-Conibo --
or this one doing at the foot of the San Cristobal hill in downtown Lima?
We asked around and found out that they are from the Shipibo-Conibo community of Cantagallo,
but what are they doing here? Why are they here?
The community from Cantagallo arrived here in 2000.
They were invited to a crafts fair and 15 families decided to leave their birthplace -- Ucayali --
which is located eight hours by raft and 18 hours by bus from the capital. They wanted to try their luck,
and, in so doing, get to know what Lima was all about.
They had been told that in Lima, there was plenty of everything,
and that there were plenty of opportunities.
Fifteen families came and now we are almost 600 families.
They settled by the river -- which was not as plentiful or as rich in species as the ones in their native jungle.
They built their little houses to the best of their abilities, even if they were precarious huts.
They mainly used cardboard and corrugated iron to build their houses.
We came here because of three very important factors: economical factors, health and education.
We were looking to improve our civilization's context, but, at the same time,
to adapt to the capital.
They quickly caught the neighborhood's attention.
The "mixed ones," as they call those who are not Shipibos,
received them with distrust, and there were even some confrontations.
It is true that we had many concerns, one being a huge concern about the information we had received
regarding the way we were viewed by the rest of society,
especially as we were adapting to this new one.
There in the jungle, they still have their lands. Part of the community stayed behind --
people dedicated to the land, hunting and fishing. What could they do now?
How would they replace their way of life and make a living?
We live by our own principles and from our handicrafts -- our main income that we learned from our grandparents.
After sewing dresses and making patterns for T-shirts,
women go all over town to sell their products -- and do not seem to be daunted.
We have suffered many times. Our context is very different from that of the society in which we live,
but, at the same time, we fight and get stronger through the work of our brothers and sisters.
Some non-governmental organizations, which noticed that they were making a living from their handicrafts,
approached them to help them make their products better.
Sometimes, they even organize cultural events in the area.
They earned the right to be here with their art.
One can say that education has improved since they moved here,
and that the health sector is more within reach.
Peruvian society is no longer something shapeless.
Our children learn Spanish and Shipibo. The school is bilingual.
Anthropologists they have spoken with have questioned their actions.
"You have to take care of the forest; you must not abandon your lands," they told them.
We wish for improvements in education, health
and, at the same time, to think about the economical part -- to improve our income
and every aspect that this society and the government has to offer.
But what this community has made is a very simple and pragmatic bet:
"I will go there, where there are more opportunities,
without being completely disconnected, culturally speaking."
They maintain their culture as best they can. For the youngest members, however,
the cultural references start to become more and more distant.
Certain things have affected our culture,
simply because we are part of this community.
They are not even close to the best of what the world has to offer.
Parasitic disease has infected the children, and their living conditions are still difficult.
Their businesses do not generate lots of money, but they keep at it and are looking for business associates.
Some of them go back to the jungle to bring materials and seeds to keep producing their handicrafts.
Why should progress, as they understand it, be denied to them?
Why should the forest hold them back?
Even though their clothes and faces are different from those in the city
and the "mixed ones" see them as being strange,
their right to emigrate -- to think that progress is something else -- is intangible.
To my people in Pucallpa, I want to tell them that we are fighting more and more, every day, to have strength
in the political, social and economical aspects here in the capital,
and that we will never, ever, give up.