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| News February 2007 We are very pleased to be able to tell you that the village of Hoktek T'oi has received news concerning the 3000 hectares of their forest, which had been subject to a parliamentary Expropriation Bill in 2001. This was land which belonged to the community but which had been illegally sold off (and much of it has since been deforested). The community has at long last been awarded full possession of it. Chacolinks will be paying £200 for the notification procedure, and then the title to the land should finally be in the hands of the Wichí, who all along knew they were the rightful owners. This has been a long and arduous case, and we are pleased that Chacolinks was able to help the legal process along its way, both by providing funds, and by putting pressure for justice through our letter-writing action campaigns. You will remember the description in 2005 when the village of Pozo Nuevo was attacked by police with tear gas. The leader of that community was José Galarza, and he was wounded by rubber bullets in that incident. We now have the very sad news that José died, at the end of last year, of a massive heart attack. We strongly believe that the stresses of the past eighteen months contributed to his death. Chacolinks has sent a condolence letter to the community, and we have also promised to pay for a headstone for him. The Chacolinks’ Trustees are also sending money for the community to have a memorial meal in his honour. Another upset that the Zlaqatahyi communities are enduring is the imprisonment of a young Wichí man called Qa'tu. He entered into a marriage according to Wichí custom; the young woman, by whom he now has a child, was, according to Argentine law, underage at the time of her marriage. So he was charged with rape, and has been imprisoned for the past eighteen months. He is now being tried a second time for the same offence. Meanwhile his wife and child are suffering greatly – the child has recently been admitted to hospital with malnutrition, the family having lost the household breadwinner. There is also a dispute over the age of his wife at the time of marriage, falsified documents having been used as evidence in the case. In Wichí custom, it should be noted, it is the woman who advances the marriage proposal - without this first step no marriage would take place. We are supporting the appeal against his trial as being unconstitutional |