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highway and the fence, [which] is only 50 meters wide.” [T]he men [of the
Community] go hunting on private land, which formerly belonged to [them], or they
seek employment in the neighboring estates as temporary farmhands. Women
gather fruit and honey.”
The members of her Community live in appalling conditions; their children are at
constant risk, but “[they] have not had any fatal car accidents, as it happened in
Santa Elisa." However, many have died since they settled alongside the highway, as
verified by doctor Pablo Balmaceda, who visited the Community on several occasions
and reported it. The witness pointed out that the medical care the members of the
Community receive is inadequate, for which reason they resort to traditional
medicine. It is very difficult for them to go to hospital, since they lack sufficient
financial means. The city of Concepción, where the nearest hospital is located,
belongs to another department, so very often they cannot assist them, and tell them
to go to the very distant hospital of their department, i.e., Villa Hayes. Last year, her
niece fell severely ill and "while someone went for money for the bus fare, it was too
late to get her to the hospital, [and she] died [on] the way there." When somebody
dies at the hospital, sometimes their next of kin are extended “a piece of paper” to
be submitted to the vital records registry, which for indigenous people is run by the
INDI, whose offices are located in Asunción. On the other hand, no document is
extended for those who die at the Community, “who are simply remain in [their]
memory.”
Another one of the most frequent and stringent hardships suffered by the members
of the Community is the lack of drinking water in the area, specially at times of longrunning draught. The Community only has a small earth dam located approximately
1,500 meters away from the settlement, but the water it gathers is not good for
drinking, as it is used by the animals in the area. On the contrary, during the rainy
season, the surroundings of the houses in the village get flooded.
The lands the members of the Community are claiming have always been considered
their own. The men would go hunting into those lands, which still have woods, water
and forests, unlike other lands in the region, which are highly deforested. Likewise,
“the Paraguayans burn the grasslands and now [they] don’t know where [...] [their]
ancestors are buried."
The members of the Community in this settlement do not have an Indigenous school.
There is only a school for "Paraguayans" in the area, which the children of the
Community attend. This represents a problem for indigenous children, as “the
Paraguayan teachers discriminate against [them] for going barefoot.” Lessons at this
school are taught in Guaraní and in Spanish. This is regrettable, as in the "KM 16"
settlement increasingly fewer members of the Community speak the language of
their people. When they were in the Loma Porá estate, the members of the
Community started to forget their language because they were living among
"Paraguayans", and now that they are settled alongside a highway they have lost it
much more. The members of the Community wish to recover their customs, but it is
hard in the current circumstances; moreover, they need the resources of nature for
that.
When the struggle for land was at its fullest, many indigenous employees were
sacked from the estates, and now there are but few estate-owners who are willing to
hire indigenous people on their estate.