Indigenous villages establish checkpoints against COVID-19

Indigenous villages that are located in the hinterland are taking their own measures to keep COVID-19 out. They have reportedly established checkpoints to keep an eye on everybody who wants to enter the villages. The measures were taken with the permission of the authorities. “So no laws have been broken”, said Gwendoline Babel, deputy director at the National Security Bureau and member of the National COVID-19 Management Team. People who want to visit the Indigenous

villages must follow the instructions of the guards at the checkpoints. The district commissioners and the Police Force Suriname (KPS) are aware of the existence of these checkpoints and their security protocols. “People who want to enter these villages need permission to pass. The village chiefs know exactly which people carry out operations in their areas”, said Babel. Officials have also discussed the measures with the Association of Indigenous village Chiefs in

Suriname (VIDS). About 50 Indigenous villages that are being coordinated by the VIDS have established a good communication network to stay in contact with each other despite the self isolation measure.

Josee Artist, Community Development Specialist at the VIDS, pointed out that “we have a Facebook page named VIDS and a website namely www.vids.sr where all of our material is avialble to everybody”.