– says mining activities exposing villages to COVID-19

THE Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ) has joined the South Rupununi District Council (SRDC) in calling for a halt in mining in the Wapichan territory here during the pandemic, and for increased collaborative efforts to beat the health crisis.

The CHRGJ, which specialises in issues pertaining to international human rights law, said in a statement on Monday that despite repeated pleas for assistance from the SRDC, the collective governance body for 21 Wapichan villages, villagers are still exposed to the virus. The CHRGJ spoke directly to the National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF) when it stated that greater effort must be taken to protect these villages which are more vulnerable under such circumstances.

“The Global Justice Clinic echoes the SRDC’s repeated calls for the Guyanese government to take urgent action to protect the Wapichan people, and to minimise the spread of COVID-19 in Wapichan communities. These actions include: halting mining in Wapichan territory for the duration of the pandemic; respecting SRDC authority to monitor entry and access into their territory; increasing the amount of COVID-19 testing supplies available in Wapichan villages and immediately testing those with positive symptoms; and conducting contact tracing. The SRDC also urges the government to cooperate in closely monitoring the Guyana-Brazil border to prevent the further spread of COVID-19 into Wapichan communities from Brazil, which is experiencing an explosive outbreak,” the organisation stated.

The Global Justice Clinic also sent its deepest condolences to the families of two residents of Potarinau Village who recently passed away following exposure to COVID-19. It reported that since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Guyana in March 2020, the SRDC and Wapichan Toshaos have worked assiduously to protect their communities in the absence of adequate governmental support.

The SRDC conducts regular border monitoring to block illegal crossings along the Guyana-Brazil border; monitors entry and access into Wapichan villages; works with local security and health personnel to implement measures to protect the community; and recently instituted a lockdown in Wapichan villages on July 15, 2020. Even so, the CHRGJ called for a halt to the flow of miners, authorised by the government, into Wapichan villages against their wishes. It has reportedly further exposed Wapichan communities to the spread of COVID-19.

The Global Justice Clinic stated: “Wapichan villages have been made extremely vulnerable to health challenges and to COVID-19 in particular, through the inadequate healthcare system and lack of supplies in the South Rupununi region, as well as the government’s failure to respect the SRDC’s wishes concerning its territory. The Global Justice Clinic is alarmed that the government has not only failed to fulfil its obligation to protect the health and welfare of these citizens of Guyana, it has also undermined the SRDC’s efforts to protect Wapichan communities by prioritising mining interests over Wapichan lives.” In early May, the SRDC had reported that it is particularly worried about the continuous influx of miners into the villages while en route to the Wakadanao and Marudi gold mines, and that business people from Georgetown are also adding to the issue. That month, a Guyanese man with Brazilian citizenship tested positive for the coronavirus, the first confirmed case in the Rupununi. The man fled the isolation facility at the Lethem Regional Hospital, but was arrested hours later by the Brazilian federal police. It was then revealed that the man village-hopped several areas in the Rupununi, as well as parts of Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), including Monkey Mountain and Paramakatoi.

Sources say that the man reportedly travelled across SRDC territory to and from the Marudi mines, making stops within several villages along the way. Rupununi residents are growing increasingly worried over the state of affairs in neighbouring Brazil, as that country’s positive cases of the Coronavirus have climbed sharply to over 2,400,000 cases in recent days. More than 87,000 persons have died from complications attributed to the virus in the neighbouring country.