The National Assembly (AN) approved this Thursday in an ordinary session a draft agreement to commemorate the National Day of the Indigenous Girl and Boy.
Deputy Kariela Aray, indigenous commissioner of the Youth of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (Jpsuv) in Delta Amacuro, highlighted the efforts made by the Venezuelan government to make indigenous peoples visible.
He indicated that “it is worth giving a voice” to indigenous children, because they are “joy, hope, resistance, rebirth.”
“I want to ask the deputies present to unanimously approve this agreement that reflects the feelings of our original peoples, because indigenous children are the guarantee of the continuity of our ancestral knowledge,” said Aray.
The celebration of this day dates back to 1981, the date on which the Wayúu Children’s Day was initially commemorated, the largest indigenous group in Venezuela, located in the state of Zulia, but it was from 2006 when it was decreed every March 18 as the National Day of the Indigenous Child.
“We will not lose heart, we will continue the fight because our sons, grandsons, granddaughters must continue to have this great homeland that our ancestors defended,” stressed the deputy.
For his part, the opposition Democratic Action (AD) deputy, Dixon Maniglia, was in favor of the draft agreement but asked to act in depth to serve the indigenous communities.
In total, there are 41 indigenous communities in Venezuela.
Agreement
The document approved by the AN celebrates the National Day of the Indigenous Child «as a right that is part of their own cultural identity, their language, traditions and ancestral knowledge.
In addition, the parliament urged all bodies and entities of the Public Power to promote and disseminate the rights of indigenous children “in favor of their dignity, their social inclusion, leading participation and equality and non-discrimination.”
