Demarcation Diaries
13 September 2001
Since the arrival of the Deni and other people, the Comte Savio
has turned into a hammock jungle at night. I would say it is even
more difficult to get through the hammock jungle than the tropical
forest.
It takes quite some efforts to be awake, make passage and survive
in the ship after 9pm. Things like getting a glass of water or
going to the toilet suddenly turn into difficult tasks when all
the hammocks are hung up. But sleeping so close to each other
certainly heightens our team spirit and strengthens our shared
mission.
"This is very important to us, and we need to do it,"
Biruvi said during the evening meeting. Then Haku and Sivihili
all expressed similar feelings, they think the demarcation is
very important to the Deni and they are enjoying what they are
doing.
We had a long meeting, because the logistics of working in such
a difficult environment are complicated. Every word needed to
be translated, but for the Deni, it was just that simple. And
it is this simple belief that ties us, volunteers from 11 countries,
together with the Deni people.
Unfortunately, the demarcation process hasn't been as smooth
as we planned. The helicopter was delayed by bureaucracy in Manaus
and has not arrived yet. Before the helicopter arrives, we will
have to sleep on the Comte Savio, fearing that there is no helicopter
to take people out of the jungle in case of emergency.
Without the helicopter, we have to depend on the voadeira (aluminium
boat) to make the long journeys, as a result, we are quickly running
out of gasoline. Bryan, myself and the crew on Comte Savio spent
the morning mixing up gasoline and H-gas, in order to maximise
the volume of fuel for the voadeira. Apart from these logistical
problems, some journalists have cancelled their visit because
of the terrorist attack in the US.
Fortunately, Manuel came back from Manaus this morning. He brought
back a new pair of glasses for me, with the correct prescription.
Finally I can say farewell to my dizzy days. I swear I will never
play football with glasses again, especially when playing with
Brazilians.
Manuel's return is also vital to the campaign which is in the
midst of logistic problems. Hopefully, we will have more luck
from now on.
Jan, Janine, Merel and Marcio visited Morada Nova, a Deni village
close to the Rio Xerua today, partly to examine a few sick women
in the village and partly to bring a German journalist to take
pictures of the Deni people.
Jan came back with some very nice pictures on his digital camera.
Manuel said the Deni in Morada Nova look healthier than those
living in villages close to Cuniua river (which is on the east
side of the Deni land). The Deni living near the Rio Xerua area
also speak better Portuguese and have more contact with the outside
world.
There are less than 700 Deni people, but the inter-village differences
don't allow us to draw very quick and general conclusions about
their culture and society.
To avoid the hammock jungle, later sleepers usually stay on the
top deck after 9pm. Tonight I joined other late sleepers like
Jan, Marcio, Merel and Janine. At the insistence of Marcio, we
exchanged wise sayings from our respective countries. Then we
quietly looked at the stars above us, and, for the first time
in my life, I saw two shooting stars make their way through the
deep blue sky.
As always, the shooting stars are too quick for anyone to make
a wish upon seeing them. If I had the chance to make two wishes,
I would have made these two: everything will go smoothly for the
demarcation process, and to have a seafood dinner back in North
Point pier in Hong
Kontau
(Team A)
Find out about the different
volunteers on the demarcation project.
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