| Show ti t a r 1 t r c RI yh wJ j Missionaries' Missionaries Mission at Issue Chris Kraul Los Angeles Times Earnest and God-fearing God jungle missionary Gary Greenwood may not look like a spy for the CIA But Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says the lanky young man from central Michigan is no less than an advance scout for an imminent imminent imminent nent US U.S. invasion of this South American country Last month Chavez ordered the expulsion of about evangelical Baptist missionaries from the country's Amazon rain forest He accused them of spying mining exploiting indigenous tribes and using jungle airstrips for imperialist imperi alist penetration Last week the missionaries were given 90 days to leave the zone Greenwood laughs off the charges and said there was no time for espionage in the isolated Indian village where he and his family lived Jived for four years Although he and other missionaries missionaries missionaries mis mis- acknowledge that t their primary goal was to convert Indians to Christianity the year old said he spent most of his days helping them drilling wells fixing outboard motors and making their huts more livable As for the issue of US U.S. intentions Greenwood jokingly jokingly jokingly jok jok- wondered why the Pentagon would launch an invasion from the dense A. A jungle of the Amazon mazon where movement of troops or military vehicles would be problematic the Caribbean coastline make more sense he asked as he made his way out of the jungle from this Orinoco River port town The seemingly outlandish accusations illustrate the deterioration in Chavez's relations with the United States a once-close once ally that still depends on Venezuela for 12 percent of its oil imports Chavez blames the imperialist United States for a host of social ills in Latin America rhetoric that polls show is resonating in a continent impatient for change Some observers see the expulsion which targeted the Florida-based Florida New Tribes Mission and its offshoots off off- offshoots shoots as a part of a hardening hardening hardening hard hard- ening attitude toward religious religious religious reli reli- groups since US U.S. televangelist tel tel- televangelist evangelist Pat Robertson suggested in August that tha t someone assassinate Chavez The Utah-based Utah Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Latter Saints announced last month that it had withdrawn all of its US U.S. missionaries from the country because of increasing increasing increasing ing delays and difficulty in obtaining or renewing visas Chavez has also sparred with the Roman Catholic Church Retired Cardinal Rosalio Castillo Lara a Venezuelan who was a confidant confidant con con- confidant of the late Pope John JohnPaul JohnPaul JohnPaul Paul II has accused Chavez of being increasingly autocratic auto auto- cratic Chavez needs confrontation confrontation confrontation con con- because this allows him among other things to lessen tensions within his coalition said Javier Corrales a political scientist at Amherst College and a Venezuela specialist He He is also trying to weaken weak weak- en organized groups that are autonomous especially if they are foreign Some anthropologists and government officials cheered Chavez's action saying the expulsion was a welcome conclusion to a i year 60 debate in Venezuela over Dver whether r the evangelicals evangeli- evangeli 1 cals als threaten cultural diver- diver 1 Sir SHY sity oy aSSImIlatIOn and modernity on the tribes even as they deliver much- much needed services The problems posed bythe by bythe bythe the missionaries they say are not espionage or unbridled unbridled unbridled capitalism but the religious religious religious reli reli- and behavioral changes that critics say the missionaries force on tribes in exchange for material and ad medical h help Those se changes are destroying destroying tribes' tribes primitive rituals and robbing people of what the United Nations has termed world cultural patrimony the critics claim New Tribes activity am amounts to cultural genocide genocide genocide geno geno- cide for which the state has hasto hasto hasto to share responsibility anthropologist and former Sen Alexander Luzardo said in an interview in Caracas the capital The state tolerated ed their presence presence presence pres pres- ence in tho those e areas too long and ceded to them its responsibilities in health and education services too long But many of the estimated ed indigenous people people people peo peo- in the Amazon basin resent the expulsion order saying the missionaries have improved their lives Ingrid Turon a city councilwoman councilwoman councilwoman coun- coun and member of the indigenous community in the village of Toki Told six hours by outboard motorboat from here said those who oppose missionaries missionaries missionaries mission mission- aries want to deprive indigenous people of the advantages of modern life For them we are like animals in the zoo that people people people peo peo- should pay to come see so they can charge admission admission admission sion publish their books and take pictures Turon said They want to deny us the progress that they want that the entire world wants Greenwood says living among the Indians as a friend and neighbor gives him a different and he says more caring perspective perspective perspective per per- than that of the anthropologists who visit periodically to study the communities and their cus cus- toms where we are a little bit critical of the scientists scientists scientists who look on the as a classroom project These arent aren't objects these are people Greenwood said If you have a textbook approach to them rather than relational the Indians suffer as a result Greenwood doesn't deny that he wanted to teach the Indians the Bible which has been translated to the language and to o snow mem me way or me Lord Those teachings include discouraging from taking alcoholic or hallucinatory substances from committing committing committing commit commit- ting polygamy and incest and from engaging in intertribal intertribal intertribal inter inter- tribal violence But he insisted that none of the Indians in were d denied nie c clothing g f food od or or medicine for failing to folI follow follow fol fol- fol- fol I low w his religious teachings The son of a contractor Greenwood is a self- self described Mr It Fix-It and much of his activity is spent fixing living practices he views as unhealthy For instance he installed concrete floors and built tables and benches for many of the huts in as part of an effort to dissuade the Indians from eating on the floor which leads to diseases diseases diseases dis dis- dis- dis eases such as amoebic dysentery But he has learned not to intrude in some areas especially especially especially espe espe- politics We never criticize the president These people are very patri patri- otic A relatively small part of Greenwoods Greenwood's day was dedicated dedicated dedi dedi- dedicated to religion he said He spent most of it helping the stay fed clothed and healthy always a struggle in the unforgiving Amazon His wife Sarah a nurse op operated rated a clinic where she treated the tery malaria and snake bites suffered suffered by the Indians who live in which in in means you are here Some proponents of the expulsion view it as a positive positive positive tive sign that the Venezuelan government is finally assuming responsibility responsibility responsibility for the indigenous Chavez has in recent months sent outboard motors food and generators to isolated Amazon Liborio the first indigenous governor of Amazonas state and a Chavez ally said in an interview interview interview inter inter- view that Chavez was defending diversity in Venezuela called it a reversal of previous presidents' presidents policy of favoring favoring favor favor- favoring ing cultural unity a goal that he said the missionaries brought closer by speeding assimilation of the tribes What you saw on analysis sis was a disconcerting picture picture picture pic pic- ture the New Tribes Mission imposing an apocalyptic apocalyptic apocalyptic apoca apoca- compulsory view on the indigenous that the end of the world was near said He says say the Chavez havez gov gov- is making mating a commitment commitment commitment com com- to provide the health and education services services services ser ser- ser ser- vices that missionaries have shouldered in the past But anthropologist Isam Madi who favors the presence presence presence pres pres- ence of the missionaries fears that the new government government government govern govern- ment impulse will fade after local elections in December He He- He warned il that t C death death rates among the and other ther tribes which have fallen with the presence of the missionaries such as Sarah Greenwood will rise again especially among newborns and infants once the missionaries have left Yes there is a cultural change that comes with missionaries but I prefer the cultural change if it comes with a lower death rate said Madi who runs a charitable foundation called Foundation for Indigenous Democracy in Santa Elena Bolivar state The Greenwoods last month changed affiliation to toa toa toa a Venezuelan church in hopes of being allowed to stay They are now in Caracas having applied for fora a visa that would permit them to go to a different community Weve prayed about it and we think that's what the Lord wants that we keep helping these people he said |
