The Matis Medical Emergency
- 12 Feb 08, 02:22 PM
Posted from: Aurelio
Today I moved into Tumi's house. Tumi was my host when we made the Tribe episode of the Matis and in most ways it is great to see Tumi and his family again - they have been really welcoming and pleased to see me, and the children have grown up loads. But I went to bed last night feeling disconcerted and strange - the Matis here, as in other communities, are having a really difficult time.
The Matis chief Txema begins to explain the health crisis to Bruce
Almost the first words everyone has said to us have been that their friends and family are dying. There is a real health crisis here - with people suffering fatal illnesses like hepatitis and malaria. Tumi's own daughter is sick, and her infant daughter has a fever that seems indicative of malaria.
Today I went to the health clinic in the village. There is one nurse there - a dedicated Brazilian called Giliana but the area she covers is huge and she just doesn't have the resources to even get to a lot of the emergency calls that come in to the clinic.
I feel huge empathy for my friends here. They and their community are really suffering, and they can't access the medical help they need.
Find out about Bruce's first visit to the Matis on the Tribe website
Find out more about Death in Javari
Comments
ME AND MY TWIN ARE VERY SAD AT THE ILL HEALTH AND SICKNESS THE MATIS PEOPLE ARE SUFFERING WITH AND EVEN THOUGH THERE IS NOTHING BACK HERE WE CAN DO AT LEAST WE ARE THINKING ABOUT THEM AND WISHING THEM ALL GOOD HEALTH AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.