March 22, 2022

09:03

Malu Dacio – from Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – With calls for environmental preservation, an end to the government’s anti-indigenous political agenda and greater representation in an election year, on Forest Day the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT) and the Proteja Collective held a vigil on the night of Monday, 21, at Largo São Sebastião, in Manaus.

Non-governmental organizations, collectives and influencers were at the act. Besides CPT and Proteja, the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network (Repam), A Cry for Life Network, Minha Manaus and local social movements were also present.

In the schedule, the participants shouted slogans, said prayers and criticized the lack of protective measures to the environment by the federal government and the president Jair Bolsonaro. A series of projections were made, during the act, at a strategic point in downtown Manaus, with phrases highlighting the importance of preserving the Amazon

Juliana Pesqueira, from the Proteja Collective and organizer of the event, highlighted that talking about the moment we are living is essential for everyone’s awareness. “We have several issues of environmental violence. People, in the countryside, and even us, also contaminated; and how much these agendas of the current government have been providing for environmental flexibilization and the opening of indigenous lands and protected areas for mining. This ends up affecting our lives”, said Juliana.

Juliana defended that the act taking place at Largo São Sebastião, in the center of Manaus, is important for greater democratization and access to information for a larger number of people.

“Even more so at a time when people are going to college, coming back from school or work. We hope they will stop to listen to it. It is important that this has a reflection point beyond a commemorative date alluding to the forest. So that the forest stays standing”, reminded Juliana.

Maria Agostinha de Souza, from the Pastoral Land Commission and also an organizer of the event, affirmed that the action comes to evidence the concern of the actions that the government has with the forest people and the possible results.

“In this government that we have, we end up going through a concern, for the results that can happen to our forests. It could all end. Our land and water people may have nothing left, soon, and this will interfere with everything in our society”, said the organizer.

Participations

Indigenous activist Samela Sateré argued that there is no way to think about the Amazon, forests, and climate change without people being involved. “We are in the biome that we live in. The Day of Forests is important because we are in the largest and most diverse biome in the world. We need people to be aware that without the forests we don’t live”, she said.

Samela said that indigenous peoples also need to be respected and heard in these discussions. “There are few of us here, but we are caring about the future of the forests. We have several organizations united with a common goal. We believe that if we don’t fight, they won’t fight for us. The tomorrow of the Amazon is now”, added the indigenous leader.

Alessandrine Silva, from the Manas na Política movement, participated in the act and defended a greater political representation of people and groups that defend the Amazon and the rights of native peoples.

“Today is Forest Day and we need to say that Forest Day is a day in which the peoples and forests are also in confrontation. It is because of this agenda and this issue that we are here. We shout for the confrontation, but we also bring the solution and the solution is the occupation of leaders of these agendas so that we can continue discussing this seriously, and not trade people’s lives for gold”, criticized Alessandrine.

“I classify as urgent the mobilizations to confront this horror package that is going through the National Congress and that is already impacting our Amazonas. We had, in the last three months, an accelerated invasion of miners who are contaminating the indigenous peoples of the Madeira, and we need to talk about this”, argued the activist.

Influencers

Thinking of the whole and of the collective good, the Amazonian influencers Marciele Albuquerque and Vito Israel, left the social networks – where they also defend environmental preservation and Amazon issues – and went to the act as a way to defend the agendas raised.

With 169 thousand followers, on Instagram, Vito Israel or just Vito is a publicist and in his social networks always brings issues facing the Amazon. For this reason, he stated that his presence needed to leave the internet and take other even more effective actions, such as this Monday’s act.

“What brought me here was this daily will to fight for the Amazon. We have little time and we have to fight now. I saw the call and came. Every day I try to introduce more the fight for the Amazon in my content. I have been working for 8 years in this universe”, said Vito.

“We always have to be here. Unfortunately, there are few people here, but little by little we will manage to bring more people, more people from our Amazon, because they need to become aware of this”, said the publicist.

Marciele Albuquerque, cunhã-poranga of Boi Caprichoso, was also at the event and regretted the small number of people present. “I, as an Amazonian, consider all these agendas against our Amazon absurd. People should care more about the indigenous people and stop this exploitation. We can already see the result: these deaths, including of children. When they kill these children, they kill our future”, she criticized.

The influencer with more than 130,000 followers said that she has always positioned herself against the current government’s negationist agenda and intends to use her influence even more to spread actions aimed at environmental agendas, in view of the even more urgent need.

“Everybody needs the Amazon. Everything I can do, to use my voice and influence to defend this cause, I will do. Being in causes like this, spreading the word on my networks, and continuing to fight against this government that I am totally against and have always exposed”, she recalled.