To Help Kuy People Save Unique Forest in Cambodia ~ @CSORG #indigenous

Kuy People of Cambodia Help us Save Prey Lang ("Our Forest")!        At a demonstration in Phnom Penh, Kuy activist Mao Chanthoeun painted her body like the "avatars" of the James Cameron film. The Kuy people are defending their forest against mining and other destructive practices. Photo by Samrang Pring, Reuters. This week, while protesters in cities around the world are symbolically occupying Wall Street, Indigenous Kuy people in Cambodia are "occupying" the forest that means life itself to them - Prey Lang ("Our Forest").   Right now, Kuy men, women, and children are holding vigils at sites throughout Prey Lang where bulldozers are slashing the forest to build new roads, rubber plantations, and mines. They are beseeching the invaders to stop their destructive activities and preserve this unique primary forest -- one of the last of its kind remaining on the Indochina peninsula.   For generations, the Kuy people and their neighbors in the villages surrounding Prey Lang have protected the forest with its sacred areas where spirits dwell and its places for gathering fruits, medicinal plants, housing materials, and resin. Their use of forest resources is sustainable, but now their Prey Lang forest (top). The forest is clearcut for a rubber plantation (bottom). Photos by Allan Michaud. livelihoods and the life of the forest itself are under attack. The government has issued a dizzying patchwork of concessions to road builders, mining companies, and agro-industries. Bulldozers are slicing huge swaths through the forest, clear-cutting enormous blocks of land for rubber and other plantations and mines. Right now the companies are gearing up for the dry season, their season of forest destruction.  The Kuy people are desperately trying to persuade the government to stop the destruction and allow them to protect and manage Prey Lang, before it is too late. We can amplify the Kuy people's voices by sending letters to Cambodian authorities. As Thai Bunleang, a Kuy elder and Prey Lang Network activist told us, "Prey Lang is our forest, but it is your forest, too.  You can help save it."    HOW YOU CAN HELP   Read our Action Alert Background information Write a letter Send an email from our website Youth Action Alert Maps Thank you for participating in this campaign!  To support this and other Cultural Survival/Global Response campaigns, please send a donation today. With each letter you write and each dollar you give, you help us win campaigns that protect Indigenous Peoples' lands and resources and defend their rights.  Thank you.   Sincerely,    Paula Palmer, Director Global Response Program As always, we welcome your comments. Please send your feedback and suggestions to agnes@cs.org.   Cultural Survival is a global leader in the fight to protect Indigenous lands, languages, and cultures around the world. In partnership with Indigenous Peoples, we advocate for Native communities whose rights, cultures, and dignity are under threat. For more information go to www.cs.org