However, he came out of his comfort zone in the jungles to take part at the “Friends of the Earth” Asia Pacific conference on Jerejak Island here, yesterday.
There, Sagong said was in Penang to share the plight of his community with other participants of the conference.
Speaking in his mother tongue with the aid of a interpreter, Sagong complained of how logging companies had encroached onto their native lands without seeking permission from them.
“They [the logging firms] come without our consent... they steal our timber,” Sagong lamented.
“If our forest is gone, how [are we] to survive?” he asked.
His sentiments were echoed by Friends of the Earth Malaysia (SAM) Sarawak co-ordinator Jok Jau Evong.
He said forest-dependent indigenous communities such as the Penans suffered from shortage of food and that they have been continuously fighting for their survival.
“They not only fight to defend their native rights, but also to defend the [forest] resources,” he said.
He said Sagong decided to be at the two-day conference on preserving the rights of indigenous communities throughout the world because he “was left with no other choice”.
“We have complained to relevant agencies and ministries but nothing has been done,” he said.
Like Sagong, Alfonso Morales, a member of the Mayan community from Guatemala, was also at the conference to complain about how modern activities had encroached on his native land.
Morales said “big companies, especially those from Canada” involved in mining and the constructions of hydroelectric dams and roads, have not only destroyed the forest, but also the livelihood of his people.
“We don’t oppose development, but we want development to be based on the culture of people living on the land,” he said.
Morales and Sagong were not alone at the conference. Also present were representatives of indigenous communities from countries such as Uganda, Indonesia, Costa Rica, the Philippines and Ghana.
According to SAM honorary secretary Meenakshi Raman, discrimination against indigenous communities would end only if there was political will from the developed countries
“The over consumption of the North [developed nations] has been the reason why the South is destroyed,” she said.
Pointing out at green-development mechanism (GDM) as an example, she said such mechanisms were a false, feel-good solution.
“It’s just there in name... to make it look like something is being done. In simple words, GDM means, if you can preserve one area, you can destroy another area. It’s an offset system,” she said.
The Malaysian Insider
18/101/10
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