Demarcation Diaries
10 October 2001
This will be my final update from the Deni Demarcation. Today we recieved the message that the Minister has signed the decree that recognizes the Deni land and protects the Deni's rights. All we are waiting for now is publication of this in the "Diario", the Federal newsletter.
The Deni's self-demarcation and our Greenpeace work including the cyber-activist actions managed to put enough pressure on the government to convince them to do the right thing. We are leaving behind an area of 1.5 million hectars of pristine
rainforrest linking up with six other indigenous lands, thereby creating a protected corridor of over 3,000,000 hectars.
There has been many good-byes the last few days. The Deni have gone back to their respective villages and we've flown out Jan and Paula who had to leave early. Manuel left with Tweetie, the helicopter, as Phil the pilot
took off from our beach for the last time. The chopper and its crew, Phil and Arjen, deserve to be mentioned as they were a crucial part of this operation. Tweetie has been flying every day since she got here, save one.
I also want to mention the support from the Greenpeace members and cyber activists, without you this wouldn't have happened. We may have been the
ones to swing the machete but you put it in our hands.
The only bad news right now is the serious death threats to Paulo Adario, one of the campaigners. This is unrelated to our action and we are not in any danger, but of course it affects all of us. There are a lot of things
being done to counter these threats and assure Paulo's safety.
Despite the success, it is not without a sting of sadness that I feel the Commandante Savio pull lose from the sand where she has been sitting for the last month as our base camp. This action helped protect a large chunk of rainforest in a very concrete way, but I believe that we also sent a message. A message to the aggressive logging companies and the governments
that keep their eyes shut: Not this time, not this forest, no further.
I sit at the stern and watch until the last glimpse of the Deni land, now in the capable hands of the Deni, has disappeared.
Steve
(Team B)
Find out about the different
volunteers on the demarcation project.
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