November 18, 1995
Web posted at: 1:15 p.m. EST (1815 GMT)
From Correspondent Marina Mirabella
DOURADOS, Brazil (CNN) -- Terezinha Rosa has lost two of her nine children to suicide. Both children took their lives by hanging themselves from a tree behind their house.
Rosa says that the pain will never go away. "First I lost my 14-year-old daughter, then, just a few days ago, my 18-year- old son."
"There's more depression. Our young people are ashamed to be Indians. They have no sense of purpose," Peralta said.
-- Anastacio Peralta Tribal leader
It is a tragedy that has been repeated many times on the Guarani-Kaiowa reserve in southern Brazil. Suicide is ravaging the tribe. So far, this year, 49 Indians have killed themselves. Dozens of others have attempted suicide. Most of the them are teen-agers.
"What is there live for?" said Goncalo Moraes. "For years, we've been crying out for help but nobody listens."
The Guarani and Kaiowa used to be separate, nomadic tribes with lots of land, some of the best farm land in Brazil. When white settlers moved in, the tribes were pushed off their land, lumped together and isolated on a small reserve. Now, they can barely feed themselves.
In the past, young boys have left temporarily to earn money cutting sugar cane. This year, a drought has taken many of those jobs away.
Anastacio Peralta is the tribal leader. He says that there have been suicides before, but now suicides are on the rise. "There's more depression. Our young people are ashamed to be Indians. They have no sense of purpose," Peralta said.
And there is no hope for the future, either. They're surrounded by poverty, their culture is disintegrating. "This is a culture crisis," says historian Antonio Brandi. "These Indians are losing their identity, and many see no alternative but death."
In response to the alarming number of suicides, a human rights commission is conducting an investigation. "I'm shocked by what I see," said the head of the commission. "The country cannot stand by and allow this genocide to continue."
The commission is now preparing a report that it will submit to the Brazilian government. But tribal leaders are doubtful that anything will change. And they're worried, mostly about the children. They are worried that if the cultural crisis and suicides continue, they too may chose death as an escape from their desperation.
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