By Nikolin Svetlana

While the whole world is battling against coronavirus pandemic, the tribes around the world are having hard times without any proper and continuous help. Coronavirus has made inroads in many tribal areas around the globe taking them almost totally unprepared.

Being traditionally without proper healthcare and depending mostly on their own natural medicines of treating most common diseases, they are not able to face huge health problems with coronavirus making them extremely vulnerable.

Indigenous communities living near urban centers are bracing for the spread of coronavirus, which indigenous and health experts say threatens their livelihoods as well as their health.

The big problem they are facing today is loss of land and access to the resources they have traditionally relied upon. This is now leading to extremely poor nutrition and under-nourishment which is making them extremely vulnerable to diseases. Tribal people who have control over their lands, or who are still living on their lands, are able to go into lockdown and live self-sufficiently but many who have been evicted from their ancestral areas in the name of conservation or whose land has been stolen by different companies or plantations and thrown into overcrowded resettlement camps, are some of the most vulnerable people in the world in the face of Covid-19.

Knowing that the most tribes have sensitive immune system any coronavirus infected person there can lead to complete exterminating of the tribe.

Governments of many countries with tribal communities give some help and some benefits of government schemes to tribes but it is a huge question how much of that reach the tribes.

The biggest help they have been receiving comes from NGOs, some funds and volunteers who are visiting them and who try to give them proper information how to protect themselves, give medicines and even treat them when infected.

All that is not enough at all.


Pictures: Facebook

Nikolin Svetlana

politicologist /journalist
journalist/ editor in chief monthly news paper ‘Trgoprodukt’ (1982-1990)
freelance journalist from1990
editor in chief – non profit
intercultural magazin „XXI Century” (2006-2016)
independent researcher on intercultural dialogue, minorities and small ethnic communities of the Balkans (Banat Bulgarians, Aromanians)
specialised ”XXI Century” magazine editions:
”Palchens in Banat”
”Aromanians of Pancevo city”
books:
Aegeo (Egej) travel book
‘Small anthology of Aromanian poetry’
‘ Aromanian old songs’
‘Aromanians in south Banat’/project book)
‘The nomads of the Balkans’ -(translation project book)
coordinator in NGO”In Medias Res” department for small ethnic communities and intercultural dialogue ( from 2006 to 2016)