Share With Cassie: Hakani, the real story of Infanticide Survivor....

The Suruwaha people live in the western Amazon region of Brazil. Over the past 100 years, this tiny group of people has had sporadic contact with the outside world. While some of these encounters have been positive, most of them have been devastating.

Several generations ago, outsiders massacred most of the Suruhawa's witchdoctors. The only one survived left a terrible legacy to his tribe. He said that a people without spiritual guidance had no hope except suicide. As soon as he said this, he ate a poisonous root and died a swift and painful death. From then on, suicide became the Suruhawa's most common method of dealing with anger and pain. Today, it is the leading cause of death within the tribe.

Human Rights violation is unacceptable

Despite such a brutal past... Beauty and strength are two of the most important aspects of Suruwaha life. These values are best demonstrated in the Tribe's Puberty Ceremony, through which young men learn the honor and respect they will receive if they can endure pain and lead their people. Such customs provide hope that one day the Suruhawa will regain the optimism and self-respect that were taken from them so many years ago.

A growing number of indigenous people are rising up to fight this practice but when they seek help from the government, they are told that their children are not protected by Brazilian or international law, and that preserving culture is more important than saving individual lives.

Infanticide is something written in the history of human kind. Infant or baby are killed because of some reason. Majorly because they are unwanted. Back to the olden day in China, most time when baby girls were born, they are to be killed because baby boys are much preferred. Please remember, if there's no girl there won't be boy too.

Now... Let me share the story of Hakani, the survivor of infanticide in the heart of Amazon

Hakani whose name means "smile" in Suruhawa language. She is one of the hundreds of children who are targeted for death each year amongst Brazil's 200 plus indigenous tribes. Physival or mental handicaps, being born a twin or triplet or being born out of wedlock: are all considered valid reason for taking a child's life.

Buried alive because her tribe believed she had no soul, just because she couldn't talk or walk yet, at two years old. Plucked from the grave at the last moment. Shot with an arrow by her own grandfather. Then forced to live as a social outcast for three long years until sickness and negligent brought her once again to the doorway of death..

That was the reason she was to be killed

1995 was the year Hakani been born. She was a little girl full of bright smiles and laughter. Until the age of 2 unfortunately she has not develop the ability to speak or walk and this caused her tribe to put pressure on her parents to kill her. Hakani parents chose to escape the ordeal and killed themselves with poison leaving behind Hakani and her four other siblings.

Since her parents are dead, the responsibility to kill Hakani now fell to her eldest brother. This is all by pressure from their tribe. He took his sister a short distance from the communal hut and buried her alive in a shallow grave. Hakani's muffled cries continued as she lay buried in the makeshift grave.

Many children who were buried alive cries continued for hours until a deep silence descends but for Hakani the deepest silence never come. This we know God wants her alive still. Someone heard her cries, saved her from the shallow grave and placed her into the hands of her grandfather, who then took her into his hammock. As the oldest member of the family, however he knew what the traditional practice demand him to do.

Hakani's grandfather too his bow and arrow and shot Hakani. His arrow missed her heart and pierced her shoulder. Immediately guilt overcome him and he ate the poison root in attempt to take his own life. The deep silence still does not greet Hakani yet that she had survived again this time.

This is Hakani when she was found

From that day on, at only two and a half years of age, Hakani lived as an outcast. For three years she survived on rain water, bark, leaves, insects and occasionally on food scrap one of her brothers smuggled for her. Along with this gross neglect she was physically and emotionally abused. Children burned her legs because she could not walk and they laughed when she cried. When other walked by, they shouted "Why are you still alive?" "You have no soul!" "Why don't you just die?" I guess the best answer to that is God give her a mission in this life.

Over time Hakani lost her bright smile and all other facial expression. Her situation grew increasingly worse and yet for Hakani the deep silence of death did not descend. Eventually her brother, Bibi rescued her. Carried her to the home of a YWAM (Youth With A Mission) missionary couple who had been working for over 20 years with the Suruwaha Indians in the Amazon Basin. This couple is Marcia and Edson Suzuki.

Marcia and Edson Suzuki with Hakani

The missionaries knew Hakani was weak and very ill. At five and a half years old, she was only weighted 15 pounds, that is 7kg and was only 27 inches in length. The couple began to care for her as their own child but it was hard. She responded to nothing, had no facial expressions, no emotion and would scream and cry when touched because she had gone for so long without any physical contact.

Edson and Marcia cared for Hakani in the Amazon Basin but they knew if they did not get medical treatment she would soon die. Fortunately, they received permission to take Hakani out of the jungle in time. Within six months of receiving love, care and medical attention, Hakani had begun to walk, started to talk and her bright smile returned to her face. After a year she was double her size. This year of 2013, Hakani is eighteen years of age with a bright laughing smile she dances and sings. A lover of art too. Her voice today is a voice for life.

Below are the photos of Hakani through the years.