Demarcation Diaries
15 September 2001
Bryan (Team A) : I am hoping, one day,
that I can show a next generation of mine, on a map, a land that
I helped to keep free during one of the hardest times in US history.
It is strange not to know the future, strange not to be part of
the decisions my friends and family will make. So, I sleep here
thinking of there every night. more
Ian (Team B) : The forest just buzzes with
activity. The greenery seems to be the backdrop for the endless
motion of infinite numbers of insects. If you leave a bag on a
tree it is black with flying ants or their infantry counterparts
when you return. Butterflies drift around, land on your radio,
unfurl a yellow coiled proboscis to taste it and then sit in the
sun, slowly closing their wings to keep the air moving in and
out of their breathing system. Yesterday I saw a huge butterfly,
it's wings were the size of hands, neon blue, weaving down a dry
stream. more
Kontau (Team A) : Then there are ants.
When you stand in the forest for more than a couple of minutes,
there are always ants which make a long journey climbing up your
legs, under your trousers, and give you a good bite before you
realise how far they have travelled on your body. All in all,
for those of you who are thinking about going to tropical forests,
here is my advice: bring sturdy and tight underwear. more
Paula, Samuel and Petros (Cuniua Team) : Cutuvi was sick
yesterday, not very sick, just stomach pain, probably because
the food. But Cuama, the shaman, as well as Cutuvis' father, said
that it must be a spell that somebody put on him (this seems to
be the usual explanation for all kind of sickness). I gave him
some pills and he said he was better, but this morning they left,
through the jungle.Maybe they were right about the spell, but
I am still thinking it was the oily food... more
Note: Volunteers and the Deni work in three different teams. Team C (Cuniuã Team) works by boat following the Coxodoã, Cuniuã and Canaçã rivers, the natural boundary of the Deni territory along the eastern perimeter. Teams A and B started at the north west tip, working away from each other, assisting the Deni in cutting a 1.5 meter path through the jungle and erecting signs identifying the Deni territory.
|
|
