Demarcation Diaries
25 September 2001
Hello All,
As I write this, I listen to the often repeated conversation of who was
supposed to get water this time and forgot. The workers, who are the Deni,
have worked the entire day and feel like carrying water at the end of the
day is not their responsibility. We, as volunteers, are basically
"responsible" for all the comforts, like cooking, cleaning the dishes,
getting water... basically feeding everyone. In a system where everyone has
their place, it hurts a bit to miss a responsibility, and creates a bit of
frustration in the group. It is hot, humid, lots of insects, and the trail
seems long. It is times like these that different forms of diplomatic
conversation can be very helpful. I, personally, am bad at this... I would
just as soon go get water in the dark rather than listen to the normally
30 minute conversation of who forgot what. Yet, it gets solved, it is as
if the individuals in the group who need to have there say have had their
say, and the answer is to get water in the morning... drink less
tonight, not wash dishes, definitely no showers.
This will be our sixth night sleeping in the forest. It is wet, hot,
humid and full of insects. The Deni team that we are working with seem to
be a bit more immune to insect bits, sitting in shorts, no shirts, no
shoes. I myself am covered from head to toe, and the accompanying sweat
attracts more insects. I tried going shirtless, but after the third bee
sting and 50th insect bite, I gave in and put my shirt back on. Our computer
arrived yesterday by the helicopter, the long-promised answer to our
safety, food, and relaxation needs. It was nice to see her, we cleared a
path big enough for 5 helicopters, allowing video, camera, and a visit
from the others from the boat. Now, we will use the heli to help us move camp
in the morning. The logistics of trying to pick stuff up here, drop it
there, pick up more people, find water, take down camp, set up another
camp, do some work tomorrow... it is all more daunting than I care to
think about before I get to sleep.
Now, I can hear the conversation of the logistics about tomorrow
starting. It takes many rounds of suggestions before a conclusion
is reached. We have found that, basically, we are all very new to
the realities of the forest, and even the small things are hard to
decide, like who will carry the radio, or who will carry the sat
phone, or a list of other guesses and conjectures about tomorrow.
It is a lot of effort.
As time goes by here, I have seen that the forest is very beautiful, very
thick, full of exotic life, noises, shades of green. And here we are,
interfering, pestering, crashing through trying to make a line for a tribe
to keep this land as their own. As I sat with Sivilivi the other day, I
told him that this kind of land does not exist anywhere else in the whole
world. Their area is immense, and they are blessed. They already know
this. I told him that I had seen many places, and this just does not
exist elsewhere. It goes and goes and goes on and on and on. Wild pigs
just outside our trail, some of the most complicated songs sung by unseen
birds, giant green leaves that we use for waterproof ceilings and floor.
To bring ourselves here is a huge interruption to the natural flow of
things here. I wonder what they will do with this land in the decades to
come. I wonder every night and every day.
So, I will close this by brushing a fly away from my face, looking
down at the sweat covering my shirt, smelling myself like I have
never smelled before, looking head-on into a day of logistics
silliness, and I can say that I am happy for these guys, these Deni, and
their families. They, too, would walk in the night for water if we asked
them to. The five Deni men who are with us now are sitting to my left,
fanning themselves with
leaves, talking about the day. Sometimes speaking in Portuguese, sometimes
in Deni. It is pleasant to be around them all, very easy and calm. Doing
the necessary work that our civilization requires so that their land will
not be stolen from them. I guess I will sweat a little more to see how it
goes.
From the camp under the blanket of green,
Bryan
(Team A)
Find out about the different
volunteers on the demarcation project.
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