The common tragedy

摘要

THE NIGHTMARE began in earnest for residents of Parque das Tribos when their cacique, or local chief, died of co-vid-19. Messias Kokama had battled politicians, developers and drug gangs to transform a dusty informal settlement on the outskirts of Manaus, a city of 2m people deep in the Brazilian Amazon, into a haven for some 600 indigenous families from 35 ethnic groups. He was 53 and said he wasn't afraid of the virus. His death on May 13th shook the community.By then, hospitals in Manaus were turning people away and cemeteries were digging mass graves. Ambulances wouldn't come to Parque das Tribos ("Tribes Park") because the city and the federal indigenous agency each claimed that indigenous city-dwellers fell to the other institution. Such neglect exacerbated their grief. Every few days another elder would start gasping for air. Those who made it back from hospital told horror stories of frigid wards packed with dying patients and doctors who didn't speak their language. One resident fled the ICU. "He said he would rather die in a hammock than surrounded by tubes," said his daughter-in-law, Claudia Bare. Five weeks later, he did.