Powered by Nemonte Nenquimo we will not be saved Rather than relying on the observations of anthropologists, missionaries, and foreign adventurers, it is a reflection on the life experiences and ecological philosophy of actual forest dwellers.
Nenkimo’s fierce determination to secure the future of the complex forest of life and its human inhabitants is vividly depicted in this powerful narrative. And this book is a must-read for anyone who cares about the future of rainforests and, ultimately, our planet.
In recent years, we have read a lot about the destruction of the Amazon rainforest due to logging, livestock grazing, soy farming and mining. The focus is primarily on the Brazilian Amazon, especially what happened under the Bolsonaro regime. This important book focuses on Ecuador, one of nine countries that hold part of the Amazon rainforest.
rainbow
Nenquimo is a member of the Waorani tribe, who live in one of the most biodiverse forest regions on Earth. We introduce you to a world where people and nature are closely connected through the rich stories of hunting, fishing, gardening, and gathering told by elders and their daily lives.
The inner workings of a tribal community living in a tropical rainforest environment have never been revealed with such intensity. People live satisfying lives without shopping malls, cars, or government services.
In daily encounters with “the wild,” material concerns are accompanied by profound spirituality. Life continues without much change from generation to generation. A passionate love for the forest permeates countless stories told by the Waorani and other Amazonian tribes.
Nenquimo explains: “For us, stories are living beings. They bring life to our homes and forests. They pulse in our dreams, in our blood. They chase us like jaguars, click like peccaries, sail like macaws, run like fish…
“Like rainbows, they bring peace. Like lightning, they bring war. And they always change. That’s how we know they live. Stories die when no one tells them.”
extract
we will not be saved is a truly remarkable collection of stories of people who have been continuously harvesting the bounty of the forest since time immemorial.
But the invaders come. First came missionaries, then loggers and oil companies. The noise of the chainsaws begins to drown out the songs of parrots and the cries of howler monkeys.
Vast forests are erased in the name of progress, and drilling rigs litter the horrendous landscape polluted by oil spills.
Proud indigenous people are being squeezed out as low-paid employees for companies based in New York or London. Oil spills into the river, fish die, children can no longer swim, and the river water is no longer drinkable. And it was all done in the name of progress.
In recent years, the Ecuadorian government has auctioned off millions of acres of rainforest to foreign companies, which have seized more land to extract more oil and minerals as the forests are destroyed. Meanwhile, the tribesmen call on the new Christian god for help, but he does not respond at all.
manifold
Nenkimo, a young Waorani woman, is fascinated by the missionaries and their magic for a while, but then begins to understand that her culture is being wiped out. If her people lose their stories, the forests will collapse and the lives of the tribe will be lost forever.
The Ecuadorian government has a practice of auctioning off blocks of rainforest as if they were uninhabited.
But now a new spirit of resistance has emerged. Tribal people have teamed up with activists in Europe and the United States to resist the onslaught on the forests and their people.
With the help of satellite technology and drones, they map the forest and pinpoint the various uses of the forest environment, including medicinal plants, fruit trees, waterfalls, hunting grounds and fishing grounds. It is a landscape alive with meaning, with many villages and gardens scattered among the trees.
fight
Ultimately, in a major court case in Quito in 2019, Amazon Frontline, a coalition of local indigenous groups and activists from the United States and Europe, won a famous victory against the Ecuadorian government.
At least for the time being, oil companies are no longer given land to extract “ancestral blood.” The victory of the Waorani and their allies changed the situation.
Tribal groups in other regions now map their lands in a similar way to ensure they are not considered part of another region. terra nullius – Land that does not belong to anyone – a legal concept used by colonial powers to justify their conquest of land.
This book is a treatise on how to prevent outsiders from conquering the forest, and a vivid portrayal of a truly remarkable woman and her struggle to find her identity in a rapidly changing world.
aggressor
Co-written with her American husband Mitch Anderson, the book is a beautiful document demonstrating the importance of keeping forests intact rather than allowing them to be erased in the cut-throat quest to extract wealth beneath the forest floor. no see.
title, we will not be savedIt refers to the recognition that the struggle against colonial conquest must be led by the tribal people themselves.
Outsiders, such as international NGOs, can help in the fight for ecological and cultural survival, but indigenous people are at the forefront, drawing on their knowledge of the places they have inhabited for thousands of years.
These forest people are rapidly acquiring the skills to deal with and legally defeat invaders such as foreign oil companies. This book is a vivid portrait of forest life and a tool for protecting it. It’s an amazing achievement.
This author
Herbert Girardet He is a writer, filmmaker, and consultant in the field of cultural ecology. He is a trustee of the Resurgence Trust, which owns and publishes it. ecologist Online.
