“We should be finding a solution together to preserve the forest for the future of our children and our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren. What’s going to happen when it’s all gone, when it’s all destroyed and there’s nothing left?”
Justice Now!
Join the worldwide chorus calling for justice by urging Brazil’s Supreme Court to rule on lawsuits against the Belo Monte Dam!
While the world watches Brazil host the global sporting spectacle, a darker reality lurks beneath the country’s attempt to project a veneer of harmony, environmentalism and cheer. Abetted by President Rousseff’s Workers Party, Brazil’s powerful agribusiness sector is laying the groundwork for a massive land grab, intent on gutting indigenous territorial rights while riding a shocking wave of racism and intolerance.
When legendary Kayapó Chief Raoni touched down in Paris alongside his nephew Chief Megaron earlier this month, urgent concerns over the deteriorating rights of Brazil’s indigenous peoples were foremost on their minds and in their voices. Having just come from a national indigenous mobilization in Brasilia where police brutally repressed a peaceful protest outside a World Cup stadium, the chiefs bore a message of indignation and alarm.
Bringing global awareness to this situation is a critical tool for Brazil’s indigenous movement as it confronts spiraling threats. And chiefs Raoni and Megaron are among the movement’s principle ambassadors. Their European delegation took them to France’s National Assembly and England’s Parliament, meetings with figures such as Prince Charles, and into packed halls where their message resonated to an appreciative and engaged public.
“We came here because we understand that international support is essential to our struggle for survival,” said chief Megaron. “It’s also important to expose the European companies behind the destruction of our lands and rivers, such as [French energy company] GDF Suez.”
Europe’s interests and markets have an influence over the direction of Brazil’s development, where European political and consumer demands for robust environmental and human rights standards could put the brakes on the country’s reckless expansion of its agricultural frontier into indigenous lands and protected areas.
“Our visit has had a positive impact – the public understood my message and committed to supporting the struggle for the future of our people,” said Chief Raoni. “We should be finding a solution together to preserve the forest for the future of our children and our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren. What’s going to happen when it’s all gone, when it’s all destroyed and there’s nothing left?”
Having confirmed meetings with GDF Suez CEO Gérard Mestrallet in Paris, the chiefs walked out of the company’s offices in protest when he failed to show up. Mr. Mestrallet’s disrespect exemplifies the negligence of European corporate actors like GDF Suez, whose Amazon dams have wrought incalculable destruction and rights abuses. The actions of chiefs Raoni and Megaron herald a growing and vocal indigenous protest movement against European profiteers of Amazon destruction.
“We indigenous people live in a moment of dramatic threats and regressions, marked by rights violations and brutal violence,” said Sônia Guajajara, coordinator of Brazil’s Articulation of Indigenous Peoples (APIB). “One way to continue our struggle and enact this political confrontation is to internationalize our discourse in order to bring more visibility to the real situation in which we live in Brazil.”
Guajajara will lead a large and diverse committee of Brazilian indigenous leadership to Portugal this month to build international support for the movement’s fight for rights. While the stakes are high in Brazil, the country’s native peoples are bravely rising to confront the challenge, mounting a frontline resistance to plans for wholesale Amazon destruction. They do this not only for the sake of their own right to healthy lands, vibrant communities, and cultural integrity, but for humanity as a whole.
