Tourist abuse of the Jarawa continues
I wrote back in December about Tourism Abusing Human Rights and in partiular about the tourists treat the indigenous Jarawa of India’s Andaman Islands.
On Saturday The Guardian reported that “Jarawa girls told to dance semi-naked for the camera as two videos offer fresh proof of official involvement in 'human safaris'”
“A three minutes and 19 seconds clip, shot on a mobile phone, shows
half-naked girls from the tribe dancing for a seated Indian police
officer. A second, shorter clip again focuses on a girl's nudity, while
men in military uniform mill around.
The new evidence comes as
authorities in Orissa state set an example to their counterparts in the
Andamans by moving swiftly to end human safaris to see the Bonda tribe,
another abuse revealed by an Observer investigation.
The
Indian government had ordered both sets of officials to take swift
action to investigate and prevent abuse. In an interview last week,
tribal affairs minister V Kishore Chandra Deo said exploitation by
outsiders had to be stopped.”
Today Survival International reports that MP Andrew George has tabled a Commons motion calling for an end to recently contacted Jarawa being treated like attractions in a ?human safari park?.
MEP Sir Graham Watson, Chair of the
Parliament’s Delegation to India, has described the Jarawa’s
exploitation as a ?disgrace?, and vowed to keep pursuing the issue with
Indian officials.
Survival’s Director Stephen Corry said, ?This new video released by the Observer shows current
precautions by the Andaman authorities are not working. It’s time the
government got to the root of the problem, which is the road: it must be
closed.?
Survival International is calling on the public to write emails through its website urging the Indian government to take immediate action to stop the human safaris.
