My brave friend Gloria. She has fought for decades for the rights of her people and their piece of Amazonian jungle. They are only a few now... I think she said there are only a dozen of the pure tribe left.
Gloria has been jailed, torn from her bed in the middle of the night by masked men, beaten, tied up and thrown in the trunk of a car and left to die by the side of the road.
But she is not alone. The women of various tribes like the Shuar, the Huaorani, the Ashuar, the Quichua and others are putting differences aside and banding together now.
So why should we care about some women half a world away?
Even if you don't care about the human rights of Amazon Tribes,
Even if you don't care about ONE THIRD of the species of birds in the world,
Even if you don't care about the remarkable animals and birds, like the jaguar and the hyacinth macaw, that exist no where else on earth,
Then maybe care about this:
Without the Amazon the lungs of the world are gone.
Without the Amazon untold medicinal plants that could save your lives will be lost.
Her exhaustion, her ravaged face tells the story of what she has been through yet still she stands and fights for what she believes.
I wish I had a tenth of her guts.
Leonardo de Caprio and other famous people have taken up the fight for this cause and that of others Amazon nations.
I wish I believed it will make a difference.
Gloria Ushigua, President of the Sápara Women's Association of Ecuador
Gloria Ushigua harrassed for her legitimate and peaceful protests
Gloria has been jailed, torn from her bed in the middle of the night by masked men, beaten, tied up and thrown in the trunk of a car and left to die by the side of the road.
But she is not alone. The women of various tribes like the Shuar, the Huaorani, the Ashuar, the Quichua and others are putting differences aside and banding together now.
So why should we care about some women half a world away?
Even if you don't care about the human rights of Amazon Tribes,
Even if you don't care about ONE THIRD of the species of birds in the world,
Even if you don't care about the remarkable animals and birds, like the jaguar and the hyacinth macaw, that exist no where else on earth,
Then maybe care about this:
Without the Amazon the lungs of the world are gone.
Without the Amazon untold medicinal plants that could save your lives will be lost.
Her exhaustion, her ravaged face tells the story of what she has been through yet still she stands and fights for what she believes.
I wish I had a tenth of her guts.
Leonardo de Caprio and other famous people have taken up the fight for this cause and that of others Amazon nations.
I wish I believed it will make a difference.
Gloria Ushigua, President of the Sápara Women's Association of Ecuador
Gloria Ushigua harrassed for her legitimate and peaceful protests
