Friends of Peoples Close to Nature
Encyclopedia
Friends of Peoples Close to Nature (fPcN) is a non-governmental human rights
organization that works in the field of indigenous rights
. The organization is dedicated to the survival of tribal peoples, in particular hunter-gatherer
s. They believe that these people are "the first and the last societies on Earth to have a non-exploitative relationship with the natural world", and they define their task as an organization in helping them to "preserve their unique cultures from enforced assimilation, the ideologies of 'progress' and 'growth' and absorption in the global economy". The organization was founded in Germany
, with several partner organizations having since then been established in different countries. The campaigns are carried out on a global level, giving support to tribes that go from East Africa
to the Amazon
to the Philippines
. fPcN considers that, unlike other organizations working in this field, they oppose the pushing of any Western values and practices on indigenous cultures.
, Czech Republic
, West Papua, Thailand
, Paraguay
, DR Congo
and Kenya
.
's tribe named Save the Savages, describing the story of the last free tribal people in the Philippines. The film praises the tribe's cooperative way of life and reports its destruction by logging and mining activities.
Blood On the Cross is an ABC
documentary about the 'Red Cross' involvement in the WWF hostages saga in 1996 and the resulting slaughter of the indigenous peoples of West Papua. Mark Davis investigates allegations about the role of the International Red Cross and the British military in a massacre in the Southern Highlands of West Papua in May 1996. The story of what happened has never been told before.
In 2003, fPcN released the documentary Papua Merdeka. It talks about the continuous struggle of the west papuan tribes for independence from the Indonesia dominance. It includes historical footage of events showing the UN
vote that allowed for the continuing colonization and exploitation of their natural resources.
In 2007, fPcN released the documentary West Papua - The secret war in Asia about the war against tribal people on the island of New Guinea. It tells the story of the West Papua, which is annexed by Indonesia
and exploited by international companies. At least 100.000 Papuans have lost their lives in this conflict.
Prisoners of a White God
is a documentary about the Akhas, produced and distributed by Twin Star in September 2008. It won the Grand Prixes at RAFF Film Festival, at Ecofilm Festival, at Festival of the Mountain Films, at "It's Up To You" Film Festival and the Main Prize at Ekotopfilm in 2008. It's about a Czech researcher who goes to the Thail and Laosen mountains in order to search and document the causes of alleged wrong doing and violence done to the indigenous peoples and their children by Christian missionaries.
Forgotten Bird of Paradise
is a documentary made with fPcN interCultural assistance and co-operation, released in 2009. Filmed undercover in West Papua 2008, this documentary reveals the efforts of the West Papuan tribes in resisting the occupation of their ancestral homeland.
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
organization that works in the field of indigenous rights
Indigenous rights
Indigenous rights are those rights that exist in recognition of the specific condition of the indigenous peoples. This includes not only the most basic human rights of physical survival and integrity, but also the preservation of their land, language, religion and other elements of cultural...
. The organization is dedicated to the survival of tribal peoples, in particular hunter-gatherer
Hunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
s. They believe that these people are "the first and the last societies on Earth to have a non-exploitative relationship with the natural world", and they define their task as an organization in helping them to "preserve their unique cultures from enforced assimilation, the ideologies of 'progress' and 'growth' and absorption in the global economy". The organization was founded in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, with several partner organizations having since then been established in different countries. The campaigns are carried out on a global level, giving support to tribes that go from East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
to the Amazon
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
to the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. fPcN considers that, unlike other organizations working in this field, they oppose the pushing of any Western values and practices on indigenous cultures.
Mission
fPcN sees the afflictions of indigenous tribes lying in the imposition of alien interests and not in a deficiency of their way of living. They consider that the real struggle for these remote peoples is not in seeking equal opportunities for them in our own world, but in recognizing their autonomy and right to live in the way that they choose. Furthermore, they recognize the threat as a part of a culture of violence and standardization of the industrialized societies. fPcN considers these tribes as representing a successful way to live in a sustainable fashion, and see the lack of respect from states and economic entities as stemming from their very own distancing from nature in modern society. fPcN's mission is not in the field of reforming the poorer of those who live or have been assimilated by that system, but to assist those threatened by it in living their non-hierarchical ways in harmony with their environment. fPcN believes that the best we can do to help these peoples and respect their will is to let them be.Origin and structure
fPcN was founded in Germany, in 1991. Since then, many of the same organisations have sprung from countries around the globe, working in connection with the German based, FdN - Freunde der Naturvölker e.V. (friends of Peoples close to Nature). These branches, working in connection with the overall objectives of the fPcN, are associated with the struggles of tribes in specific parts of the world. fPcN has chapters in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, West Papua, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
, DR Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
and Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
.
Peoples
Among the peoples they have worked with are:- Asia: the AetaAetaThe Aeta , Agta or Ayta are an indigenous people who live in scattered, isolated mountainous parts of Luzon, Philippines. They are considered to be Negritos, who are dark to very dark brown-skinned and tend to have features such as a small stature, small frame, curly to kinky afro-like textured...
, Ati, Agta, BatakBatak (Philippines)The Batak are one of about 70 indigenous peoples of the Philippines. They are located in the northeastern portions of Palawan, a relatively large island in the southwest of the archipelago. There are only about 500 Batak remaining. Also called Tinitianes, the Batak are considered by anthropologists...
, Mamanwa, Manik (Kenseu and Kintak), Lanoh, Kintah, Yahai, TboliTboliThe Tboli are one of the indigenous peoples of South Cotabato in Southern Mindanao. From the body of ethnographic and linguistic literature on Mindanao they are variously known as Tboli, T'boli, Tböli, Tiboli, Tibole, Tagabili, Tagabeli, and Tagabulu. They term themselves Tboli or T'boli...
and the Mendrik. All of south east Asia (commonly referred to as Negritos) - the Wanniya-laeto (Veddah) (Sri Lanka)
- Oceana: the Tjapukai in Australasia, the tribes of West Papua - the AdivasiAdivasiAdivasi is an umbrella term for a heterogeneous set of ethnic and tribal groups claimed to be the aboriginal population of India. They comprise a substantial indigenous minority of the population of India...
s, ChenchuChenchuThe Chenchus are an aboriginal tribe of the central hill regions of Andhra Pradesh, India. Their traditional way of life has been based on hunting and gathering. The Chenchus speak the Chenchu language, a member of the Telegu branch of the Dravidian language family. In general, the Chenchu...
and Kurumba of the Indian subcontinent, the KwaioKwaioKwaio is an ethnic group found in central Malaita, in the Solomon Islands. According to Ethnologue, they numbered 13,249 in 1999. Much of what is known about the Kwaio is due to the work of the Marxian anthropologist Roger M...
and Landalanga on Malaita in the south west Pacific, (commonly referred to as Negritos)
- Africa: the Great Lakes TwaGreat Lakes TwaThe Great Lakes Twa, also known as Abatwa or Ge-Sera, or in English Batwa, are a pygmy people who are generally assumed to be the oldest surviving population of the Great Lakes region of central Africa, though currently they live as a Bantu caste...
, Bahrwa, Baka, Aka and BambutiMbutiMbuti or Bambuti are one of several indigenous pygmy groups in the Congo region of Africa. Their languages belong to the Central Sudanic and also to Bantu languages.-Overview:...
of central Africa (commonly referred to as Pygmees), the HadzabeHadzabeThe Hadza, or Hadzabe, are an ethnic group in north-central Tanzania, living around Lake Eyasi in the central Rift Valley and in the neighboring Serengeti Plateau. The Hadza number just under 1000...
, Hai//om, !Kung!Kung peopleThe ǃKung, also spelled ǃXun, are a Bushman people living in the Kalahari Desert in Namibia, Botswana and in Angola. They speak the ǃKung language, noted for using click consonants, generally classified as part of the Khoisan language family...
and Gǀwi of South Africa (commonly referred to as BushmenBushmenThe indigenous people of Southern Africa, whose territory spans most areas of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola, are variously referred to as Bushmen, San, Sho, Barwa, Kung, or Khwe...
)
- the Americas: the Jupaú ("Uru eu Wau Wau"), AyoreoAyoreoThe Ayoreo are a native ethnic group living on Gran Chaco, in an area among rivers Paraguay, Pilcomayo, Parapetí and Grande, stretching both in Bolivia and Paraguay. They speak the Ayoreo language, which is classified under Zamucoan, a small language family of Paraguay and Bolivia...
s and Mequens (commonly referred to as Indians)
Documentary films
The fPcN has produced several field documentaries about tribal struggles. In 1998, fPcN produced a short film about the AetaAeta
The Aeta , Agta or Ayta are an indigenous people who live in scattered, isolated mountainous parts of Luzon, Philippines. They are considered to be Negritos, who are dark to very dark brown-skinned and tend to have features such as a small stature, small frame, curly to kinky afro-like textured...
's tribe named Save the Savages, describing the story of the last free tribal people in the Philippines. The film praises the tribe's cooperative way of life and reports its destruction by logging and mining activities.
Blood On the Cross is an ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
documentary about the 'Red Cross' involvement in the WWF hostages saga in 1996 and the resulting slaughter of the indigenous peoples of West Papua. Mark Davis investigates allegations about the role of the International Red Cross and the British military in a massacre in the Southern Highlands of West Papua in May 1996. The story of what happened has never been told before.
In 2003, fPcN released the documentary Papua Merdeka. It talks about the continuous struggle of the west papuan tribes for independence from the Indonesia dominance. It includes historical footage of events showing the UN
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
vote that allowed for the continuing colonization and exploitation of their natural resources.
In 2007, fPcN released the documentary West Papua - The secret war in Asia about the war against tribal people on the island of New Guinea. It tells the story of the West Papua, which is annexed by Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
and exploited by international companies. At least 100.000 Papuans have lost their lives in this conflict.
Prisoners of a White God
Prisoners of a White God
Prisoners of a White God is a documentary about the Akha people, produced and distributed by Twin Star in September 2008. The documentary is about a Czech researcher, Tomáš Ryška, who goes to the Thai and Laotian mountains in order to search and document the causes of wrong doing and violence done...
is a documentary about the Akhas, produced and distributed by Twin Star in September 2008. It won the Grand Prixes at RAFF Film Festival, at Ecofilm Festival, at Festival of the Mountain Films, at "It's Up To You" Film Festival and the Main Prize at Ekotopfilm in 2008. It's about a Czech researcher who goes to the Thail and Laosen mountains in order to search and document the causes of alleged wrong doing and violence done to the indigenous peoples and their children by Christian missionaries.
Forgotten Bird of Paradise
Forgotten Bird of Paradise
Forgotten Bird of Paradise is a 2009 documentary film produced by British filmmaker Dominic Brown, about the Papua conflict. The film was shot undercover, and includes interviews with human rights victims and political prisoners, as well as footage of rebels in their jungle...
is a documentary made with fPcN interCultural assistance and co-operation, released in 2009. Filmed undercover in West Papua 2008, this documentary reveals the efforts of the West Papuan tribes in resisting the occupation of their ancestral homeland.
External links
- fPcN International: fPcN interCultural: friends of Peoples close to Nature
- fPcN Germany: Freunde der Naturvölker (de)
- Batwa: Statement at the WGIP