Since the Penan episode of the BBC’s Tribe series aired last night on UK television, we’ve had lots of messages of support for the Penan – with comments here on the blog and e-mails asking what people can do to help.

We’ve had several donations, which of course are vital in helping to continue Survival’s campaign for the Penan (and the other peoples and campaigns we’re working for). But there’s more that you can do to help the Penan directly.

We’d like you to write some letters supporting the recognition of the Penan’s rights to their own land, and the halting of Samling’s logging activities on Penan ancestral land.

Time and again we’ve found that letters from Survival supporters have called governments and organisations to account. Policies have changed and lives have been saved.

The most powerful way is to post your letter, but for some of the addressees we have published e-mail addresses or fax numbers. However, e-mail addresses change and fax machines get unplugged. If you can post a letter, please do.

It’s also great to hear about the letters you write, and any response you get. Please post a comment on this article or e-mail us at info@survival-international.org. Thanks!

1. Please write a polite letter to the chief executive of the Malaysian Timber Certification Council, asking him to revoke the certification of Samling’s Sela’an-Linau Forest Management Unit on Penan land:

Mr. Chew Lye Teng
Chief Executive Officer
Malaysian Timber Certification Council
19F, Level 19, Tower 1 Menara PGM
No. 8, Jalan Pudu Ulu, Cheras
56100 Kuala Lumpur
MALAYSIA
FAX: +60 3 9200 6008
chewlt@mtcc.com.my

2. Please write to Samling, asking them to recognise the Penan’s right to their land and to stop logging Sarawak’s last remaining primary forest:

Mr. Yaw Chee Ming
Chief Executive Officer
Wisma Samling Head Office
Lot 296, Jalan Temenggong Datuk Oyong Lawai Jau
98000 Miri, Sarawak
MALAYSIA
enquiry@samling.com

3. Finally, please wite to the Chief Minister of Sarawak asking that the Penan’s right to their land be fully recognised and that no logging should take place on their land without their full, free and informed consent. Please also urge him not to allow the authorities or companies to use force against the Penan to gain access to their forest:

YAB Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud
Chief Minister of Sarawak
Office of the Chief Minister of Sarawak
22nd Floor, Wisma Bapa Malaysia Petra Jaya
Kuching
93502
Sarawak
MALAYSIA

Fax: + 60 82 442755

I’ve just completed my ballot application to run in the 2008 Flora London Marathon. It’s now sitting on my desk, ready to send, and I’m trying hard to stop myself from putting it in the recycling bin instead.

For the last few years, Survival has had a small but dedicated team of runners taking part in the marathon. Named after the Bushmen of Botswana’s word for ‘keep going’, our Saa! Saa! Saa! Marathon Team plays an important part in raising funds for our vital work for tribal peoples.

There are more than 150 million tribal people worldwide, including over 100 uncontacted tribes. Almost all are persecuted relentlessly – they are flooded by dams, wiped out by disease, driven from their homes by logging and mining, and evicted by settlers. However, with the support of people outside, these threats can be averted and tribal peoples can live healthy and secure lives.

Taking part in the marathon is the experience of a lifetime. Unfortunately, the only way to enter the ballot is by obtaining a copy of ‘Marathon News’ and completing the enclosed form (to find your nearest stockist, please go to: http://www.london-marathon.co.uk/site/?pageID=9). When you’ve sent off your entry, fill out the form entitled ‘I want to join the Saa! Saa! Saa! Team and run the Flora London Marathon in 2008’ at http://www.survival-international.org/actnow/marathon to let me know that you’ve entered, and that if you get a place, you’ll be racing to raise vital funds for Survival.

The ballot closes on October 19, 2007, and ballot results come through in November. If you win a place through the ballot, we’ll welcome you to the team with your fundraising pack and Saa! Saa! Saa! Team vest. If you don’t get a place through the ballot, you’ll get a second chance by being considered for one of our Golden Bond places.

Please help me recruit runners for the 2008 Saa! Saa! Saa! Team by telling anyone you think might be interested. The more people who apply through the ballot, the bigger and better our team will be.

Go on. If I can have a go, anyone can. Here’s hoping we’ll be running together for tribal peoples.

In episode two of Barney & Mike’s triathlon video diary, the budding athletes practice their wetsuit quick-change routine, and go looking for new bikes.

Training’s going well, but they are still a bit of a way from their £3,000 fundraising target. Visit their Justgiving page to read the back story of their triathlon efforts, and give them the support they deserve!

I have been supporting Survival International for over 20 years. In fact my first job after school was working for Survival, and I went on many trips to visit tribal peoples including Peru, Guyana and Namibia.

Most recently I have been advising them in their successful campaign against De Beers and the Botswana government in support of the Bushmen who were evicted from their lands in the Kalahari to make way for diamond mining – which has resulted in the Bushmen winning the right to return to their lands.

I am now getting on my sparkly new bike and doing a sponsored bike ride from home in Ampthill, Bedfordshire to Cowley Manor in Gloucestershire on Sunday 19 August 2007 in aid of Survival (just under 100 miles and then I can relax at super spa Cowley Manor!).

It is now over 10 years since I have raised any money for Survival so please dig deep and sponsor me!

You can check on Ghislain’s fundraising progress (and sponsor him!) at his JustGiving page: www.justgiving.com/ghislain

On Sunday August 5th 2007, Survival supporters Barney and Mike will swim, cycle and run in the London Triathlon, Olympic Distance, to raise money for Survival. Neither of them has competed in a triathlon before, and this video diary will record the highs and lows of training for and taking part in such a challenging event. Visit Barney & Mike’s JustGiving page to support them.

Mike Henson, 23
Sports researcher

Why are you doing the triathlon for Survival?
Survival looks after groups who really don’t have many other people sticking up for them in the world. It seems that, after all the wrongs that have been done to indigenous societies during the past, we still allow such a basic, clear justice to be steamrollered. It makes me really angry.

What are you most looking forward to?
Eating a load of high-calorie food in front of the telly the evening after the event, safe in the knowledge that I have earned it and we have raised a bit of cash of a good cause.

What is your biggest fear?
What lurks deep in the depths of the Thames. And the fact that it might include my lifeless body unless the swimming improves.

What’s the first thing you’ll do when it’s over?
Wander around aimlessly feeling a bit sick I imagine.

Why are you doing the triathlon for Survival?
Survival is a fantastic charity that needs our support. I first heard of Survival through a friend, but following the Bushmen case really cemented my interest. The Bushmen’s legal victory, in which the Botswana Supreme Court ruled that their eviction from ancestral lands by the government was ‘unlawful and unconstitutional’. This victory shows that the work of Survival can have a real and significant impact on tribal people’s lives.

What are you most looking forward to?
Relaxing in an armchair having (hopefully) completed the race, with a legitimate reason to be pampered for the rest of the day. Also it will be cool to be able to say that I’ve swum in the Thames.

What is your biggest fear?
Having said that, the swim is my biggest fear. The idea of dodging rusting shopping trolleys, whilst getting kicked in the face by hundreds of testosterone fuelled triathletes isn’t too appealing, but as long as I don’t cramp up and sink all should be fine…

What’s the first thing you’ll do when it’s over?
Pose for the cameras; I look good in the all-in-one, skin tight lycra tri-suit.