“We’d rather drink poison or hang ourselves”

Choudamma from the Jenu Kuruba people couldn’t be clearer: living in an eviction camp is hell. Her people were kicked out of their villages to make way for the Nagarhole National Park and Tiger Reserve, because the park officials refused to accept that humans could live alongside “wildlife”. 

The Jenu Kuruba people have suffered so much since the illegal evictions. Choudamma and her village tried to return to their forest in 2022, but were beaten up and forced to leave again. But now, there’s new hope. In May 2025, another Jenu Kuruba village went back to their lands.

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Act now to ensure the Jenu Kuruba can stay on their lands: svlint.org/JenuKAct

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#TribalVoice is a project by Survival International, the global movement for tribal peoples. More than one hundred and fifty million people in over sixty countries live in tribal societies.

From the Amazon to the Kalahari, from the jungles of India to the Congo rainforest, Tribal Voice gives them a platform. They experience appalling racism and genocidal violence. Their lands and resources are stolen for profit. Their ways of life are being deliberately and systematically destroyed.

Here they speak out about what matters to them; watch, listen, and get involved: https://svlint.org/TribalVoice