With their limited medical resources, Guyana’s Indigenous communities are at risk of potential devastating consequences if the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) makes its way into any one of them, Amerindian People’s Association (APA) member Michael McGarrell has warned.
McGarrell, who serves as Geographic Information System and Forest Policy Officer at the APA, made the remarks during a panel discussion ‘Indigenous Peoples responses to the threat of COVID-19 in Guyana,’ with fellow APA members Laura George, who is the APA Governance and Rights Coordinator and Jean La Rose, who is the Executive Director of the non-governmental organization (NGO).
According to McGarrell, indigenous communities are closely knitted and should someone be infected the virus can be easily be transmitted to the entire community.
He noted that indigenous communities do not have the medical resources, such as personal protective equipment (PPE) or equipment like ventilators to fight a potential outbreak. While it is admirable that local leaders are doing what they can to protect people, he observed that many community remain vulnerable due to mining and logging activities.
He further pointed out that many residents have been failing to adhere to the advisories on preventative measures against COVID-19.
“They do not to want to listen to advisories put out to keep them safe. These are the reports coming in…,” McGarrell said as he suggested that specialized messages should be created to target indigenous groups.
“I think it is important to have messages tailored in such a way that they understand what is said and [the] seriousness of the this illness. What we need to bring home to our people is having one person infected in the community can destroy that community and bring an end to that community. Our communities are close-knitted or communal—one person come in can wipe out that community,” he asserted.
He also used the discussion to call on government agencies to assist in helping to enforce the adoption of social distancing measures by persons who are not natives to the communities.
With mining activities still ongoing in many communities, McGarrell said there are many persons who are entering communities and putting villagers at risk.
“There is still a high volume of persons traveling and engaging in social activities that will not go hand in hand to social distancing…therefore it must be reconsidered as to how we approach this, what measures need to be in place. Some communities have some screening but there is only so much we can do as communities. [We have to get inputs] to come from a policy level and this is how we can do it, the government can do to help us or we can be decimated,” Mc Garrell warned.
Meanwhile, La Rose also bemoaned the fact that while communities are equipped with health posts and in some cases hospitals, it is not enough for villages to fight the pandemic should it reach them.
She pointed out that in some far flung communities, communication is a major challenge and with open borders many communities remain at a high risk of contracting the illness.
“What happens if someone in the Upper Mazaruni or in Region Eight enters a community and later shows severe symptoms? Telephone communication is poor in these regions and medical supplies are not readily available. There is so much that can happen by the time the community makes contact for a medivac and the medivac arrives… we don’t know what can happen,” she stressed as she stated that indigenous communities need assistance from the government to reduce movement.
Additionally, George expressed grave concerns over the movement of miners in the indigenous communities and questioned how monitoring agencies like the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) can effectively supervise the activities now when in the past it has not been able to do so. “How effective can the GGMC be at this point to monitor what is taking place when they themselves have not been effective in the past in enforcing regulations for best practices?” she questioned.
George also argued that indigenous communities remain vulnerable and exposed to the worst case scenarios. She said while village councils have been fighting and working to enforce measures, they cannot block off the rivers that lead to mining lands and this poses a major challenge.
She stated that while there are provisions that gives the village councils the power to impose orders and allow them to exercise their functions and powers, it has been difficult to do so. George said this has been a long standing issue for indigenous villages since other governing bodies have been overriding those powers.
George pointed out that while the village councils can close off land access to villages, they do not have the power to restrict boats from using the river to access other places since they don’t have any rights over the actual waterways.
She cited the scenario with Santa Rosa in Region One, which has closed off access to their village. However, miners, who mine at Chinese Landing can still use the waterway to gain access to mining camps nearby.
It should be noted that the updated emergency measures instituted by government include a proviso that stipulates that where a Village Council, as defined in the Amerindian Act, has determined that a public health threat exists in relation to any mining or forestry operation carried out as an essential service, it can recommend to the minister that the operation be discontinued.
