Missionary could face GENOCIDE charge after reaching uncontacted Amazon tribe

[KhalaiMakhlooq]

Missionary could face GENOCIDE charge after reaching uncontacted Amazon tribe

25 January 2019 | https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/wo...ampbell-convert-genocide-brazil-united-states

A CHRISTIAN missionary could face charges of genocide after he exposed an isolated Amazonian tribe to potentially deadly diseases.

Steve Campbell, an American missionary, is under investigation after he allegedly entered a part of the jungle under the control of the Hi-Merima tribe, last month.

The Maine preacher had been working with indigenous people from a nearby tribe at the time.

It is not clear whether Mr Campbell will be arrested, or whether he has been notified by police.

But, Survival International, an organisation that advocates for the rights of tribal people, claimed he could be charged with genocide.

FUNAI, Brazil’s Indigenous Affairs Department, is now preparing to press for him to be charged for his actions, according to reports.

A spokesman said: “It’s a case of rights violation and exposure to risk of death to isolated indigenous population.

“Even if direct contact has not occurred, the possibility of transmission of diseases to the isolated is high.”

It comes months after US preacher John Allen Chau, 26, was killed by a remote tribe living on the Indian-controlled North Sentinal island.

He ignored multiple warnings and was hit with arrows before being dragged around the island until he died.

Chau, a graduate of Oral Roberts University, Oklahoma, had hoped to convert the natives to Christianity.

Indian law forbids anyone from coming within five nautical miles of the islands.

Filming the tribe had even been illegal until just last year.

 

[KhalaiMakhlooq]

Christian missionary from Maine could be tried for GENOCIDE by Brazil after entering land occupied by an isolated tribe and exposing them to deadly disease

24 Janurary 2019 | https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6628727/Missionary-Maine-tried-Brazil-genocide.html

Christian missionary from Maine could be tried for GENOCIDE by Brazil after entering land occupied by an isolated tribe and exposing them to deadly disease

• American missionary Steve Campbell has been accused of exposing an isolated indigenous tribe in Brazil to diseases which could be fatal
• Campbell, from Maine, is being investigated and could be tried for genocide
• He allegedly entered an area occupied by the Hi-Merimã tribe last month
• Campbell has been living among the neighboring Jamamadi tribe for years, but received no authorization to do so
• He claimed to have entered the area by mistake, while teaching Jamamadi natives how to use a a GPS device
• Campbell and wife Robin are missionaries with Greene Baptist Church in Maine
• The latest case comes two months after American missionary John Allen Chau, 27, was killed by a tribe on North Sentinel Island
• He was shot by a bow and arrow, according to police, and local fisherman saw his body being dragged around

An American missionary has been accused of exposing an isolated indigenous tribe in Brazil to potentially fatal diseases.

Steve Campbell, a missionary linked to a Baptist Church in Maine, is being investigated by officials from FUNAI, the Brazilian government’s Indigenous Affairs Department, amid reports that he could be tried for genocide.

He allegedly entered an area occupied by the Hi-Merimã tribe last month while carrying out missionary work with natives from a neighboring tribe.

Steve Campbell, seen here with wife Robin, both carry out missionary work in the state of Amazonas

Campbell, seen with wife Robin, are pictured center with indigenous people from the Jamamadi tribe on an unknown date

The latest case comes just two months after another American missionary, John Chau, 27, was killed on North Sentinel island where native people have lived for 30,000 years.

The Hi-Merimã is one of a few dozen isolated communities in Brazil that have had almost no contact with the outside world.

Natives there have previously rejected attempts at contact. It is unclear what penalties Campbell may face, with federal prosecutors or police officials yet to be notified of his actions.

However, Survival International, an organization advocating for tribal peoples' rights, has reported that Campbell could even be tried for 'genocide'.

'It’s a case of rights violation and exposure to risk of death to isolated indigenous population,' a FUNAI spokesman said in statement to Reuters.

'Even if direct contact has not occurred, the probability of transmission of diseases to the isolated is high.'

According to reports from Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo, Campbell claimed to have entered the area by mistake, while teaching Indians from the neighboring Jamamadi tribe to use a GPS device.

Members of an uncontacted Amazon Basin tribe and their dwellings are seen during a flight over the Brazilian state of Acre along the border with Peru

He is a missionary with the Greene Baptist Church in Maine, which is known to carry out missionary work in the Brazilian state of Amazonas.

Campbell's wife Robin also works as a missionary in the area. 'Their work is to help with medical, mechanical and countless other ministry opportunites with the indians and missionary families.

'This frees up Jon so he can focus on translating God's word into their language,' the church's website states.

According to Survival International, contact has resulted in disaster for Brazil’s uncontacted tribes 'time and time again.' Attempts to reach Campbell were unsuccessful.

Little is known about the Hi-Merimã, who live in the state of Amazonas.

They became known for rejecting contact with the outside world and maintaining hostile relations even with other indigenous communities.

The tribe lives along Piranhas River, between the Juruá and Purus Rivers, in the state of Amazonas. Their numbers are unclear, but in the forties it was estimated to consist of 1,000 people.

Survival International estimates there are are a few dozen isolated communities in Brazil that have had almost no contact with the outside world

The Hi-Merimã tribe are located in the state of Amazonas and little is known about them

The latest case comes just two months after merican missionary, John Chau, 27, was killed on North Sentinel island where native people have lived for 30,000 years.

In letters to his family members, he asked loved ones not to 'blame the natives if I am killed.'

Responding to reports of Campbell's arrest, Stephen Corry, the director of Survival International, said: 'Fundamentalist Christian Americans must be stopped from this primitive urge to contact previously uncontacted tribes.

'It may lead to the martyrdom they seek, but always ends up killing tribespeople,' he said.

Under new far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, the threat to indigenous land is only expected to grow.

John Allen Chau, 26, was shot dead with arrows in November by tribesman when he arrived at North Sentinel Island - one of the world's most isolated regions in India's Andaman islands

Brazil's new leader has to open up protected land for economic exploitation and refusing to dedicate even 'one centimeter' to indigenous groups or quilombolas, the descendants of runaway slaves.

Environmental groups and other stakeholders claim many indigenous tribes in the Brazilian Amazon have already seen their homes destroyed by colonialism, logging and mining operations and foreign diseases.

The development comes two months after another American missionary John Allen Chau was killed by members of the Sentinelese tribe after landing on their Indian Ocean island.

Chau, 27, had repeatedly tried to make contact with the residents of the North Sentinel Island before his death, despite knowing the tribe had previously shunned all contact with the outside world.

Local fisherman reported seeing the tribe drag his body days after Chau paid them to take him as close as they would to the island before he kayaked over to it.

The Sentinelese attracted international attention in the wake of the 2004 Asian tsunami, when a member of the tribe was photographed on a beach, firing arrows at a helicopter (pictured)

Chau took a boat ride with the fishermen before venturing alone in a canoe to North Sentinel Island

Shortly after his death in November, his parents John and Lynda Chau, who live in Washington State, revealed they had forgiven the tribe and urged Indian authorities to release the local men who Chau paid to take him close to the island.

'He loved God, life, help those in need, and had nothing but love for the Sentinelese people.

'We forgive those reportedly responsible for his death. We also ask for the release of those friends he had in the Andaman Islands.

'He ventured out on his own free will and his local contacts need not be persecuted for his own actions,' the family said in their Instagram statement.

John Chau's mother Lynda (left) claimed she had forgiven the tribe and urged Indian authorities to release the local men who Chau paid to take him close to the island

The Andaman and Nicobar Police Department later arrested seven people including five fishermen and two of Chau's friends, alleging that they helped him get to the island despite it being illegal for anyone to go there.

It still remains unclear if the police department has merely opened a murder investigation for the purposes of thoroughness or if they intend to level charges against the group which would pose a labyrinth of logistical and ethical challenges given its status as a protected tribe.

Chau had written a letter to his parents before he kayaked to the island. In it, he told them not to hold the tribe responsible for his death if he did not come back alive.

Before he was killed, he tried to approach the island at least one other time and was shot at.

He described how an arrow pierced his bible as he approached them.

'I hollered, "My name is John, I love you and Jesus loves you,"' he wrote in his diary. He went on to say: 'You guys might think I’m crazy in all this but I think it’s worthwhile to declare Jesus to these people.

'God, I don't want to die.'

One of Chau's friends revealed to DailyMail.com that he was 'committed' to travelling to the remote island, deep in the Indian Ocean, to preach Christianity to the tribesmen and had been planning the trip for at least three years.

Neil MacLeod, of Stornaway, Scotland, said he met Chau on a flight from London to Phoenix, Arizona, in October 2015.

'I saw him reading some Christian literature and I'm a Christian and we started talking,' he said.

 

[Foxtrot Delta]

There should be no compulsion or forced preaching of religion as Quran and torah clearly state...


Poor guy his intentions were good. Methods no so much. Rest in peace brah. Should listen to warnings.. They are always for ur safety.

 

[maximuswarrior]

Notice the radio silence in this thread.

 

[untitled]

I do admire the courage of these Christan missionaries.

 

[valkyr_96]

They give you some credits but not full credit. Most important thing is when you look for work, employers will not treat his Indian MBA as a Canadian equivalent.

I do admire the courage of these Christan missionaries.

Sure you do

When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said 'Let us pray.' We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land. Desmond Tutu
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/desmond_tutu_107531

 

[untitled]

Desmond Tutu

Lol
Isn't he a priest himself? Why doesn't he go back to the 'old' religion if he believes he has been wronged

True colonial powers did use religion to consolidatet their power. These two missionaries as far as I am aware carried no such baggage

 

[TruthTheOnlyDefense]

These missionaries are disgusting people, they should all be jailed, can't stand them.

 

[valkyr_96]

Lol
Isn't he a priest himself? Why doesn't he go back to the 'old' religion if he believes he has been wronged

True colonial powers did use religion to consolidatet their power. These two missionaries as far as I am aware carried no such baggage

Yes he is and the reason why he probably said it is there in your post.

 

[untitled]

Yes he is and the reason why he probably said it is there in your post.

And you ignored the other part of my post.

 

[Desert Fox]

The disease thing goes both ways.

When Christopher Columbus arrived to the America he gave the natives small pox while the natives gave him and his men syphilis.

 

[Menthol]

He is a good person. Spread the words of God to this isolated tribe in the middle of jungle.

But too bad, the world is run the God released Dajjal to rule the world.

Now his must bear the consequences. It's a sin.

 

[Nein]

There should be no compulsion or forced preaching of religion as Quran and torah clearly state...


Poor guy his intentions were good. Methods no so much. Rest in peace brah. Should listen to warnings.. They are always for ur safety.

To be honest nowadays both Muslims and Christians care about converting as much people as they can its all about the numbers.

As Muslims when a person converts to Islam it must come from his intention and his heart there is no pointing in converting so much only for them to leave the next day. Christians dont care they just to want to convert as much as they can even compromising onntheir beliefs hence why you see so many indigenous peoples who became christian but mix their beliefs with their native religions.

When it comes to uncontactes tribes no point in making contact with a people that can easily be wiped out by a cough or a sneeze.