环球英语 — 556：Protecting Tribal Communities
Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight program. I’m Liz Waid.
Voice 2
And I’m Joshua Leo. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
In September of 2007 police in Botswana arrested six men. These men were hunting animals inside a protected area of land. But these men were arrested unfairly. Unlike most people, they had hunting rights in this area. The government let them hunt there. These men were Bushmen. They belonged to a group of people who have lived in Southern Africa for thousands of years.
Voice 2
Although the government permits the Bushmen to hunt on this land, the authorities sometimes still arrest them. The authorities are not respecting the Bushmen’s rights. Many other tribal communities also suffer from events like this. Today’s Spotlight is on protecting the rights of tribal communities.
Voice 1
Tribal communities are social groups of people with a similar culture. These groups, or tribes, are often very old communities. Before states, countries, and governments were established, people’s ancestors lived in tribes. But tribal communities have continued to exist through time. Tribal communities exist in the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australia.
Voice 2
These different tribes of people have one thing in common. They have all experienced problems with larger outside communities. Let’s look at the story of one tribal community in the country of Brazil.
Voice 1
The Anewene Nawe is a tribe that lives in the Amazon forest of Brazil. They first met people from outside their tribe in 1974. There are about four hundred fifty [450] people in this tribe.
Voice 2
The Anewene Nawe tribe does not eat any red meat. They do not hunt. Instead, they grow plants for food. And they catch fish. The Anewene Nawe are skilled at fishing out of the Juruena river. Every year, the men of the tribe build dams in the river to catch fish. They depend on the Amazon forest for their supply of food.
Voice 1
But the Anewene Nawe people have faced problems with people who do not respect the land. Businesses are cutting down areas of the forest near the tribe. They are using this cleared land to grow soy beans. And they built a road on the Anewene Nawe’s land. This road was illegal - they built it without permission. Other people are digging for diamonds and other costly stones on the land. People come to the forest looking for rubber trees to use. And a group of companies is planning to build dams that will affect the river the tribe uses every day.
Voice 2
But it is not just the Anewene Nawe tribe that is facing a disagreement about land use. The Bushmen of Southern Africa are also experiencing problems. In Botswana, the Bushmen used to live in an area that was protected by the government. In fact, this area was created especially for the Bushmen.
Voice 1
But in the 1980s, people discovered diamonds in this area. Soon after this, government workers told the Bushmen to leave their land. The Bushmen had to move because people wanted to dig for diamonds.
Voice 2
Police forced the Bushmen out. Their homes, school, and health post closed. Their water supply was destroyed. Today, the Bushmen live outside the protected land. They can no longer hunt on their land. If they do try to hunt on their old land, police will arrest them.
Voice 1
In 2006, the Bushmen won an important case in court. They won the right to return to their land. But the government has stopped the Bushmen from moving back. The government will not let the Bushmen use their water hole. They will not give the Bushmen hunting permits. They continue to arrest and torture the Bushmen. And they do not let the Bushmen take their herds of goats onto the land to feed.
Voice 2
Sadly, the tribes in Brazil and Botswana are not the only groups to face difficult situations like these. Powerful groups are often able to abuse the rights of tribal communities. This is because the communities do not have a lot of money. The tribal communities cannot fight in court alone. But there is a group that is helping to defend the rights of tribal communities.
Voice 1
Survival International is a group that has existed since 1969. A group of people saw what was happening to tribal peoples in Brazil. They wanted to help. Today, this group, Survival International, has supporters in 82 countries
Voice 2
Survival International supports tribes in three ways. The first way is through education. The group works with people in developed areas. They teach people living in large cities about tribal communities. They teach respect for the tribal communities.
Voice 1
People from Survival International educate others in many different ways. They speak in schools. They offer materials for teachers and students. They also publish books about tribal communities.
Voice 2
The second way Survival international helps tribal communities is through advocacy. The group helps tribes talk directly with the companies that are harming them. The group also gives the tribes important information using radio and written communication. Survival International also helps tribes speak to governments. The group helped the Bushmen of Southern Africa take their case to court. They continue to support the Bushmen’s case today.
Voice 1
The final way that Survival International helps tribal communities is through organized movements, or campaigns. The group helps people all over the world to write letters to governments. The letters urge the governments to protect the rights of particular tribes. An organized letter movement worked for one tribal group in India. The government there planned on moving a local tribal community off their land. But after receiving one hundred fifty [150] letters every day, the government changed their plans.
Voice 2
Survival International works with international groups like the United Nations. Together these groups protect the rights of tribal communities enforcing international laws. They also organise peaceful protests to encourage governments to protect tribal peoples.
Voice 1
If you are interested in the work of Survival International, you can visit their website. There is a link to their website on the script page for this program on our website at ~. There, you can find more information about tribal communities near you.
Voice 2
There are many ways you can become involved. You can join a letter writing campaign. You can attend a Survival International event. You can translate the group’s documents into different languages. Survival International’s website also includes information about how you can get involved in your own community. You can help support the work of Survival International. You can help protect the rights of tribal communities all over the world.
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