Notes from the Amazon Watch Brazil field team, currently in Altamira.
Follow their journey directly here.
Justice Now!
Join the worldwide chorus calling for justice by urging Brazil’s Supreme Court to rule on lawsuits against the Belo Monte Dam!
I have started conducting interviews to share the stories of some of the impacted peoples of the Belo Monte Dam. Since working in Altamira I have come close to many of these people and I believe it is important to give voice to their struggles.
My first interview is with Karol and for me to talk about her isn’t easy. She is only fifteen years old and in her face it’s impossible not to notice a profound sadness behind her sweetness. I get emotional just when I think of her girly face hidden underneath her hoody and calling me aunt. Karol is one of four children of Sebastião. A farmer who over the past ten years had built a life on what has now become the Pimental Worksite of the Belo Monte Dam. Their family was expelled from their land fourteen months ago and as Karol and her sister like to say, “they never received even a kilo of salt in compensation.”
I tried to interview Karol and I ended up sitting on the ground crying with her. It is important for me to have some humanity with my work here. I am not a journalist and have no intentions to be one. I cannot hide what I feel or think. I am against the Belo Monte Dam and Karol is one of the many reasons why I don’t believe the government’s lies and why I don’t support their way of development at all cost.
Me: How did you first feel when you learned that your family would lose their land due to the Belo Monte Dam?
Karol: I felt horrible. I did not believe it would happen. I thought there was justice.
Me: How and what has changed in your life since then?
Karol: Everything has changed, it was horrible. Even at home because we ran out of money and resources, then my mother became ill. Before we were very happy … (She then lowered her head in silence.)
Me: So you are not happy now?
Karol: Of course not.
Me: What is your best memory?
Karol: Having everyone in the family sitting at home talking, spreading cacao to dry.
Me: What is your worst memory?
Karol: Seeing everything my family built being destroyed.
Me: What would you say to President Dima?
Karol: I would say a bad word but forget it. I would say she is evil and unfair.
Me: What would you say to the people of Brazil?
Karol: You are all blind. There is no development here. There is only injustice here.
The interview ended there, I could not keep going. I realized she was crying and sat by her side in a humble attempt to make her feel better. But honestly, what can one say to make things better in times like these?
