There you go!by Oren Ginzburg

Our original aim was the same as usual:

to bring them sustainable development.

However, in this specific case

we encountered an unexpected challenge.

It turns out that these people,

in their own strange kind of way,

were already sustainable.

So all we could reallybring them was...

Development.

We started with ParticipatoryCommunity Development...but they did not fully participate.

We tried income-generating activities...but some people seem satisfied withless than a dollar a day.

We even attempted to empower them...but their reaction was more powerfulthan expected.

So we opted for a Multi-StakeholderCross-Disciplinary Integrated approach.

We developed innovative PrivateSector Partnerships.

We developed Vocational Skillsadapted to a shifting economy.

We developed tough conservationmeasures, to protect the environmentfrom further harm.

And we developed ambitious SocialSafety Nets – for those unable totake care of themselves.

This has been a challenging processwith many lessons learned.

We certainly look forward to applyingthem elsewhere in the very near future.But for now let us just say,

Welcome to the Global Village!

is an arrow defending tribalpeoples. In my 35 years withSurvival, I have not come acrossanything else that hits the bull’seye with such simplicity, accuracyand irrepressible humour. Todaythe subject of tribal peoples anddevelopment is saturated withwords, but if you really want tounderstand what’s going on,read this book.

The ‘development’ of tribal peoplesagainst their wishes – really to letothers get their land and resources– is rooted in 19th centurycolonialism (‘we know best’)dressed up in 20th century‘politically correct’ euphemism.Tribal peoples are not backward:they are independent and vibrantsocieties which, like all of usalways, are constantly adapting

to a changing world. The maindifference between tribal peoplesand us is that we take their landand resources, and believe thedishonest, even racist, claimthat it’s for their own good.It’s conquest, not development.

Survival International helps tribalpeoples defend their lives, protecttheir lands and determine theirown futures.

We are delighted to have theopportunity to give Oren’s bookto tribal communities aroundthe world, as well as togovernments and others whoshould know better and whomust stop living in the past.

Stephen CorryDirector, Survival International

‘There you go!’

The destruction of tribal peoplesin the name of ‘development’ –invariably because outsiders wanttheir land and its resources –continues to be the most acuteproblem they face. It is notconfined to poor countries.

In Canada, the Innu Indians ofLabrador and Quebec have beensettled in communities whichare subject to the ‘development’depicted in ‘There you go!’.The Innu were self-sufficient asrecently as the 1960s. Now, veryfew hunt the caribou or fish thelakes they once depended on.Grossly insensitive schooling,total dependency on welfareprogrammes and the resultingabject poverty have largelydestroyed their way of life and

demolished their self-esteem.Domestic violence and thecheapest forms of drug abuse –gas sniffing and alcoholism – arerife. Some communities have thehighest suicide rate in the worldand every family knows at leastone teenager who has killed himor herself.

Canada says it will negotiate abouttheir land rights, but only once theIndians have abandoned them. It isno accident that Innu territoryincludes some of the world’srichest nickel deposits. The Innuhave not given up: they arestruggling to fight back, but theyface powerful odds and grosslyout-of-date prejudice.

There you go, again

The future for tribal peoplesdoesn’t have to be as depicted inthis book.

In the 1970s one of the largestAmazonian tribes, the Yanomami,was threatened by the destructionof its land to make way for Brazil’sroad programme. Despite theinternational campaign Survivallaunched to defend the Indians,about 20% of Yanomamitragically died from diseasesbrought in by gold miners.

The campaign was victorious in1992, when all Yanomami landwas secured. Although theirproblems are not over, the Indiansnow have their own organisationto press for their rights. In somecommunities, children arelearning from their own teachers

and in their own schools how tocope with outside threats. TheYanomami remain true to the bestof their traditions. They do not seethemselves as poor or backward,and can expect to lead fulfillinglives – as Yanomami – forgenerations to come.

To read, watch and hear moreabout tribal peoples and find outhow you can help, please visit:

www.survivalinternational.org

Survival also has offices inFrance, Germany, Italy, Spain,and the Netherlands.

T +44 (0)20 7687 8700

info@survivalinternational.org

Registered charity 267444

Fighting back!

Roy Sesana GANA BUSHMAN, BOTSWANA

‘I SAY WHAT KIND OF DEVELOPMENT ISIT WHEN THE PEOPLE LIVE SHORTER LIVESTHAN BEFORE? THEY CATCH HIV/AIDS. OURCHILDREN ARE BEATEN IN SCHOOL ANDWON’T GO. SOME BECOME PROSTITUTES.THEY ARE NOT ALLOWED TO HUNT. THEYFIGHT BECAUSE THEY ARE BORED ANDGET DRUNK. THEY ARE STARTING TOCOMMIT SUICIDE. WE NEVER SAW THATBEFORE. IS THIS ‘DEVELOPMENT’?’

The illustrations in this presentation have been clippedto accommodate a smaller format.

If you would like to view the full format please go to:www.survivalinternational.org/thereyougo.

If you would like to buy the book go to:shop.survivalinternational.org/products/there-you-go

Appendices © Survival InternationalText and illustrations © Oren Ginzburg

www.hungrymanbooks.comContact the author at: oren_ginzburg@yahoo.com

Also available in German, Italian and Spanish

First published March 2005 – First Survival edition published June 2006Second edition published July 2008, funded by The Christensen Fund.

Dedicated to Violaine, Noa and Eithan