December 20, 2023

11:12

Winicyus Gonçalves – From Cenarium Amazon Agency

BOA VISTA (RR) – During an action by the Federal Police (PF) on Tuesday, 19, 33 Venezuelan migrants were rescued in working conditions analogous to slavery. The operation was carried out in partnership with the Federal Public Defender’s Office (DPU) and the Labor Prosecutor’s Office (MPT), at a shelter run by a religious institution in Pacaraima, Roraima, a city on the border with Venezuela, about 213 kilometers from the capital Boa Vista.

During the operation, the exploitation of Venezuelans who had recently arrived in the country was found. They paid a monthly fee of R$100 to stay and had their exit restricted, while also being forced to work in exchange for shelter. In addition, according to the complaints, they were forbidden to carry out activities elsewhere, had their documents withheld and were threatened.

As a result of the operation, one person was arrested for illegal possession of a weapon. The owners of the establishment were not present during the police action.

Rescues

The action was carried out less than two weeks after an elderly man from the Wapichana ethnic group, aged 73, was rescued living in conditions analogous to slavery on a farm in the Serra da Lua region, in Bonfim (a municipality 126 kilometers from Boa Vista), on the border with Guyana.

The elderly man told the Roraima Military Police (PMRR) that he had been living there for 30 years on R$400 and a basic food basket. PMRR agents arrived at the scene via an anonymous tip and found the victim, who lived alone in a house, in a precarious situation. On the balcony of the house, there was meat with flies hanging from the clotheslines.

Workers

In 2023, Roraima had 69 workers rescued by labor inspectors in conditions analogous to slavery. In March, workers were rescued during an inspection by the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MTE), six in a deforestation activity in Caracaraí, Roraima, and 29 on a farm located in Amajari, also in the state. In the case of Caracaraí, located 140 kilometers from the capital Boa Vista, the six workers were found extracting native wood using tractors and chainsaws. Five of them worked directly on cutting the wood and one was a cook.

Across Brazil, 473 names of employers who subjected workers to conditions analogous to slavery are on the slave labor blacklist released in October. The update is the largest in history, according to the Ministry of Labor and Employment. The economic activities of the Brazilian employers included on the list are: charcoal production (23), beef cattle breeding (22), domestic services (19), coffee growing (12) and stone extraction and crushing (11).

Edited by Yana Lima
Reviewed by Adriana Gonzaga