Início » Indigenous students approved in universities in SP raise funds to buy tickets

Indigenous students approved in universities in SP raise funds to buy tickets

O grupo foi aprovado na Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp) e Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar), ambas no Estado de São Paulo. (Arte: Mateus Moura)

March 7, 2023

17:03

Marcela Leiros – Amazon Agency

MANAUS – A group of 11 Amazonas natives approved in universities outside the state is raising funds to buy airline tickets before the beginning of the school term. The students won places in the State University of Campinas (Unicamp) and Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), both in the state of São Paulo, but the price of air travel makes it almost unfeasible for the young people to go.

The students live in the cities of São Gabriel da Cachoeira, São Paulo de Olivença, Tabatinga, and Santa Isabel do Rio Negro, in the interior of the state of Amazonas. Since there are no direct flights from these locations to São Paulo, it is necessary to travel to Manaus, the state capital, by boat or plane, from where aircrafts depart to the southeastern state. A ticket from Tabatinga to the capital, for example, can cost almost R$ 2 thousand.

The fundraising initiative is the brainchild of Claudia Baré, a master’s degree student in linguistics at Unicamp and indigenous teacher. Living in the city of Campinas, where Unicamp is located, she faced the same difficulties that the university students face.

“We [from Manaus] already have the greatest difficulty in coming and now imagine the relatives who are in the ‘bases’, in São Gabriel da Cachoeira, São Paulo de Olivença, Tabatinga, Santa Isabel do Rio Negro… So, we have to do something for the relatives because it is an opportunity that arises”, she explained.

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Aline Matos, 26, of Tukano ethnicity, was approved for the Pedagogy course in the indigenous entrance examination of Unicamp. The amount to be collected by her is R$ 2 thousand. To CENARIUM MAGAZINE, the now university student explained that the university provides an emergency aid of R$ 1,200, but the amount does not cover the total costs of the trip to São Paulo.

“What Unicamp gives is an emergency aid scholarship of R$ 1,200, which only covers half of the fare from Manaus to São Paulo. In the case of São Gabriel da Cachoeira to Manaus, it is up to us, at our own expense. So, this money I put, the goal of R$ 2 thousand is to meet the cost of passage, R$ 2,100”, he said.

Aline Matos, 26, of the Tukano ethnic group, needs to raise R$ 2 thousand to go to São Paulo (Release)

André Barbosa Carvalho, 24, also from the Tukano ethnic group, was also approved for the Pedagogy course at the State University of Campinas (Unicamp). The approval was a dream of his and his family’s, which became possible because of the indigenous entrance exam. “It is an opportunity for us, indigenous students, to take advantage of. It is the only one I am having in my life and I don’t want to waste it”, he said.

The student, who comes from a farming family, also criticized the “absurd” prices of airline tickets. “The tickets here are very absurdly priced, from R$ 2,000 to there, or R$ 2,800. It is very difficult to find a ticket that fits in our pocket. As my parents are farmers, they live from agriculture, and their monthly income is not much,” he added.

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