Deusdedit Ruhangariyo
ICT
Around the World: Amazon tribes are impacted by a drying river; Prince Harry’s African charity admits to human rights abuses; Victorian Aboriginal Health Service cuts ties with Melbourne Storm, and Yukon teen celebrates Kaska Dena roots through fashion in Canada.
BRAZIL: Amazon tribes sound alarm about disappearing river
In September 2024, the Amazon’s worst drought in generations hit Paraizinho, a small riverside community that depends on the once-reliable Madeira River. Crops withered. Wells ran dry. The river, lifeline to 33 families, receded into cracked earth, Mongabay reported on May 5.
“There was a shortage of everything we cultivate here,” said João Mendonça, a local health agent. “We had to fetch drinking water from the city. Even fishing became impossible – not even for ourselves.”
The Madeira, the Amazon’s largest tributary, is no longer dependable. Rising Atlantic temperatures shift trade winds and rob the region of rain. “The southern Madeira sub-basin is especially vulnerable,” explained Nicole Laureanti, a researcher at Brazil’s space agency, INPE. “Each lost rainy day brings deeper harm.”
That harm is measurable. Since 1994, the Madeira Basin has endured more extreme floods and droughts than any other part of the Amazon. In 2024, the river reached its lowest level ever recorded. Brazilian studies reveal that Madeira’s water flow has declined nearly 10 percent per decade.
“If this trend continues, we may lose another 400 cubic meters per second in the next 10 years,” Laureanti warned.
Communities across the basin are already breaking. In the Sustainable Development Reserve, fields lay barren. River transport halted. “We experienced hunger up close,” said Silvana Cabral, a local leader. “The lakes that once fed us dried up like never before.”
In the Diahui Indigenous Territory, rivers like the Maici and Amazônia dropped so low that families had to dig makeshift wells. “The water is not clean,” said Nilcélio Jiaui, coordinator of the Upper Madeira’s Indigenous Peoples. “It gives us skin diseases and parasites.”
According to Brazil’s Civil Defense, more than 5,700 natural disasters have hit the Amazon since 1995 – most of them floods and droughts. But the last four years have been especially brutal, with back-to-back extreme events fueled by climate change and the melting of Andean glaciers.
“These extremes are no longer anomalies,” said hydrologist Arthur Matos. “They’re proof the region is changing fast.”
Rainfall has dropped by 17 percent during the dry season since the 1970s. Fishing has collapsed – down from 800 tons a decade ago to just 100 tons in Humaitá. “The fish can’t feed or spawn without flooded forests,” said fisher leader Samuel de Moraes. “They’re too weak to survive.”
On top of that, mercury from illegal gold mining contaminates the Madeira’s waters. Predatory fish now carry mercury levels unsafe for human consumption.
And 2024 was more than just another bad year – it was the first time the planet crossed the 1.5ºC warming threshold.
“This is the line we should not have crossed,” warned climatologist José Marengo. “Beyond this, adaptation becomes harder.”
To avoid collapse, scientists are calling for urgent governmental action: deforestation controls, forest restoration, expanded forecasting systems, and direct support for riverine and Indigenous communities.
“The solution has to be governmental,” said Laureanti. “Some people now live half the year without any reliable income. They can’t face this crisis alone.”
CONGO BASIN: Prince Harry’s African charity admits to ‘human rights abuses’
An investigation conducted by Cherie Blair’s law firms has confirmed numerous human rights abuses against Indigenous communities in the Congo Basin, carried out by conservation rangers employed by African Parks, The Times reported on May 9.
Cherie Blair has voiced hope that her firm’s inquiry into African Parks, a conservation charity with ties to Prince Harry, would “contribute positively to ongoing human rights efforts” in one of Africa’s oldest national parks.
Her law firm, Omnia Strategy LLP, led the investigation into African Parks’ activities in the Republic of Congo after serious allegations emerged of abuses – including rape and torture – carried out by park rangers against Indigenous communities. While the complete report has not been released, African Parks has now publicly admitted that “human rights abuses have occurred.”
In a six-page statement, the organization expressed remorse: “We deeply regret the pain and suffering that these caused to these victims. Omnia’s process also highlighted several failures of our systems and processes that were insufficient for the level of responsibility given to us.”
The allegations center on Odzala-Kokoua National Park, where rangers employed and overseen by African Parks are accused of violent assaults against the local population, particularly the Indigenous Baka people. Blair’s firm was commissioned by African Parks to lead the investigation, which lasted 16 months.
However, Survival International, the group that initially raised alarm over the abuses, has criticized the charity for withholding the full findings.
“Omnia’s investigation has confirmed that multiple abuses have taken place against the Indigenous Baka people,” said Caroline Pearce, director of Survival International. “Baka men and women have been beaten, tortured, and raped in Odzala-Kokoua National Park by rangers who are managed and paid for by African Parks. The charity has known this for many years, but it was only after Survival complained to Prince Harry, and the ensuing global media story, that the charity finally commissioned this ‘independent investigation.’”
Pearce also condemned the charity’s approach: “African Parks continues to cling to a racist and colonial model of conservation,” she said. “Celebrity supporters like Prince Harry should pull the plug on African Parks now.”
The controversy comes just weeks after The Times reported that Prince Harry, his co-founder Prince Seeiso, and all other trustees had resigned from Sentebale, his Lesotho-based charity, following a disagreement with the board’s chair, Sophie Chandauka.
Prince Harry has been approached for comment but has yet to respond.
AUSTRALIA: Victorian Aboriginal Health Service cuts ties with Melbourne Storm
The Victorian Aboriginal Health Service has ended its partnership with Melbourne Storm following the NRL club’s last-minute cancellation of the Welcome to Country ceremony before this year’s Anzac Day home game, the National Indigenous Times reported on May 10.
The Victorian Aboriginal Health Service has officially cut ties with the Melbourne Storm after the NRL club abruptly cancelled a planned Welcome to Country ceremony by Wurundjeri Elder Aunty Joy Murphy Wandin at its Anzac Day home game.
The move deeply affected Aunty Joy, a respected Elder who has long represented the Kulin Nation at sporting events, including many Melbourne Storm fixtures. In response, Victorian Aboriginal Health Service has withdrawn all partnership activities, including Deadly Choices health campaigns, halftime Koori children’s exhibitions, and involvement in Indigenous Round events.
“(Victorian Aboriginal Health Service) has made the very difficult decision to withdraw our partnership on the Deadly Choices campaign with Melbourne Storm, effective immediately,” the organization stated on social media.
“Our decision is directly related to the Melbourne Storm board’s decision to cancel Aunty Joy’s Welcome to Country at the Anzac Day match: Storm vs. Rabbitohs. This decision directly had a hurtful impact on Aunty Joy, the Djirri Djirri dancers, and the Wurundjeri People.”
The statement added that the fallout caused a ripple effect of pain among Aboriginal people across Naarm (Melbourne), Victoria, and the nation.
Wurundjeri performers, expecting to take part in the Anzac ceremony, only learned of the cancellation after arriving at AAMI Park. A last-minute offer to allow them to perform without the Welcome to Country element was firmly rejected by Aunty Joy and the entire group.
The club cited a lack of board approval for the ceremony and denied the cancellation was influenced by earlier booing of a Welcome to Country at Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance that same morning.
However, recent reports have pointed to the influence of Storm co-owner Brett Ralph, who holds a 20 percent stake in the club. Ralph has ties to a conservative group, Advance, which campaigned against the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum and received $275,000 in donations from him.
“The decision made by the Melbourne Storm board demonstrated a lack of respect and cultural sensitivity,” Victorian Aboriginal Health Service continued. “Such an action is inconsistent with our values of respect, cultural integrity, and cultural safety.”
While Victorian Aboriginal Health Service has cut all current ties, CEO Michael Graham left a small window open for future engagement: “Any future engagements will reflect a genuine, iron-clad commitment to Aboriginal lore, people and place.”
Storm chairman Matt Tripp said the issue had “upset him greatly” and attributed it to miscommunication. The club has yet to formally respond to Victorian Aboriginal Health Service’s decision.
CANADA: Yukon teen celebrates Kaska Dena roots through fashion
Inside her school in Ross River, Yukon, 13-year-old Jael Johnnie sat quietly at her Singer sewing machine, carefully hemming the edge of a vibrant purple fabric as the machine hummed in a steady rhythm, CBC News reported on May 10.
In her home economics class, Jael Johnnie has been creating a ribbon skirt – just one of the many handmade garments she’s crafted with care. At only 13 years old, the Ross River, Yukon, teen draws inspiration from traditional Kaska Dena clothing, and in doing so, is becoming a source of inspiration herself within her community.
This summer, Jael is planning to host two fashion shows – one to close out the school year and another in Carcross in July. She has already designed and sewn custom pieces for friends and family, including a tiny, embroidered vest for her younger brother.
Although naturally reserved, Jael comes alive when talking about her favorite creation to date: a striking black and purple parka adorned with a fox fur collar.
“It makes me feel calm,” Jael said of the creative process. “And happy,” she added with a smile.
Her passion for sewing took root while watching her older sisters, Dawn and Tracy, prepare for their high school graduation ceremonies. Each June, Indigenous students across the Yukon gather at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre in Whitehorse, proudly wearing their traditional regalia.
Inspired by those moments, Jael picked up beading and sewing, and has since developed a talent for intricate work. Her growing portfolio now includes dozens of handcrafted vests, backpacks, earrings, and slippers.
Her sister Dawn speaks of her with admiration: “I think it’s very inspiring. She works every day, seven days a week.”
Jael is quick to acknowledge the guidance and support she’s received from community members, especially elder Florence Etzel, who sees great depth in Jael’s artistic journey.
“It’s a privilege to work with this young person,” said Etzel. “I feel quite happy and proud of her.”
Through her work, Jael has found both purpose and pride. In addition to her upcoming fashion shows, one of her original designs will be featured on this year’s Truth and Reconciliation T-shirts, sold each September in Whitehorse for Orange Shirt Day to honor residential school survivors and the path toward healing.
Looking ahead, Jael dreams of showcasing her creations on a bigger stage: Vancouver’s Indigenous Fashion Week.
My final thoughts
My final thoughts are in the Amazon where the Madeira River is vanishing. The fish are disappearing. The crops are gone. And now, the people who have lived in harmony with this waterway for centuries are beginning to say what many global leaders still refuse to: We are dying too.
In the Amazon, drought is no longer a season – it’s a sentence. Entire communities, like Paraizinho and Santa Maria do Uruá, are running out of water to drink, food to eat, and fish to catch. Families dig wells in desperation. The water is warm, dirty, and dangerous – but it’s all they have.
Yet the world remains captivated by abstract numbers: degrees Celsius, tons of carbon, cubic meters of flow lost. They make great graphs. But none of them explain what it feels like when your river disappears, and with it, your ability to live.
This is not just an environmental crisis. It is a human one, and it is a political one.
Because while scientists warn that crossing 1.5°C was a “critical threshold,” for Amazonian tribes and river communities, that threshold crossed them long ago. They are no longer trying to “adapt.” They are trying to survive. Meanwhile, national and international responses remain lopsided – quick to fund satellite monitoring systems, slow to deliver drinking water.
We talk about biodiversity loss, but ignore the collapse of lifeways. We speak of resilience, but ask the most vulnerable to carry the weight. What good is a flood forecast system if a community cannot afford to eat until the rains return?
And here’s the hardest truth: the river’s collapse didn’t begin in 2024. It began the moment decision-makers saw the Amazon not as a living system, but a ledger – something to be traded, mined, dammed and defended from afar.
Illegal gold mining poisons the water. Dams disrupt fish migration. Climate change dries the skies. Yet in every crisis, it’s the Indigenous, the fishers, the farmers – those who did the least to cause the damage – who are left to bear the cost.
So yes, the river is dying. But it’s more than that. A way of life is being erased under the banner of progress, with silence as its accomplice.
And make no mistake: when the last canoe is grounded, when the last child drinks mercury-tainted water, and when the last voice on the riverbank goes unheard – it won’t just be a tragedy. It will be a crime.
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