“But what about the economy?” the baggy-eyed man asked. “How is Ecuador supposed to develop if we don’t drill for oil?” “How are the Waorani people supposed to survive if we don’t have our forest?” Alicia retorted. “How are our relatives, the Taromenane and the Tagëiri supposed to survive if there are no animals to hunt?” I gritted my teeth. I wanted to say these things. I wanted them to rise up in my chest and throat and mouth, these truthful words. “Isn’t it true that many Waorani people want jobs? Don’t they want roads, electricity, schools? Or do they want to keep living in poverty?”
