French Guiana — From April 16 to 20, The Invisible Thread (TINTA) accompanied the new representative organization of the indigenous peoples of French Guiana, COPAG, in its first territorial mission in the community of Trois-Sauts.

COPAG, the Coordination of Indigenous Peoples Organizations of Guyana, was formally established in August 2021 after coming together in the face of the COVID-19 crisis, during which -under the name of the ad-hoc Indigenous Committee- it provided support to the communities of the interior of the Oyapoque and Maroni rivers, eternally forgotten by the institutions of the French State.

In April 2022, with the administrative and logistical support of TINTA, the new indigenous organization of French Guiana carried out its first mission in the most remote community of the French department: Trois-Sauts. This mission was organized in response to a dramatic wave of suicides of young people under 20 years of age in this community, located on the south-west border with Brazil, on the Oyapoque River.

Trois-Sauts’ helplessness stems in large part from its isolation and the lack of prospects for its youth. Girls and boys who wish to complete their education after primary school must leave their relatives at the age of 10, to give continuity to secondary school in the urban centers, the closest being located 2 or 3 days by canoe in the dry season. Barely knowing how to read and write, these boys and girls from Trois-Sauts try to integrate into a school system with great academic disadvantages, in addition to being victims of discrimination, abuse and mistreatment by their host families.

As a representative organization of the indigenous peoples of both the coastal zone of the country (where State services do arrive duly) and of the peoples of the interior of the jungle, COPAG went to Trois- Sauts to give moral support to the community, as well as humanitarian assistance.

With funds from international cooperation raised by the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA) and its allies, COPAG distributed sanitary and personal hygiene kits, fishing and hunting materials, and even soccer balls to encourage the youth of each of the villages that make up the community.