Project June 22, 2021
Illegal Road Construction During Pandemic Threatens Indigenous People
Country:
Illegal activity in the Peruvian jungle did not stop during the COVID-19 pandemic. The construction of illegal roads, motivated by the expansion of drug trafficking, has changed the lives of all the people in their path.
The population, which includes people for and against the roads, faces threats and benefits; there is no black and white. Yurúa, the destination of one of these roads, is an area where Indigenous people took refuge 20 years earlier, fleeing similar threats. Now they must choose whether to flee again or stay to fight for their lives and their lands.