The Yanomami are too afraid to talk about the alleged rape and death of a 12-year-old girl because they were silenced and threatened, said indigenous leader Júnior Hekurari Yanomami, president of the Yanomami and Ye'kwana Indigenous Health District Council (Condisi -YY).
He brought the case to light in a video on his social networks last Monday (25th) and visited the region in Roraima on Wednesday (27th) and Thursday (28th), together with teams from the Federal Police, Federal Public Ministry , Funai (National Indian Foundation) and Sesai (Special Secretariat for Indigenous Health).
"The Yanomami were too afraid to speak up. They said: 'I don't know, I don't know', 'I'm the miner's manager', 'there's a pistol, there's a pistol'. Then I asked where the community was and they said it was in the bush. They didn't say anything at all. They were well oriented, I realized that", says Júnior.
The Aracaçá community was found burned and empty. Investigations are still ongoing, but indigenous leaders consulted by the Yanomami and Ye'kwana District Council for Indigenous Health (Condisi-YY) stated that these peoples have a tradition of burning and evacuating the place where they live if a relative dies.
Folha contacted the PF and the MPF this Saturday (30) to confirm the information, but received no response.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon