June 27, 2022

08:06

Priscilla Peixoto – Amazon Agency

MANAUS – “We will follow closely all the developments of the investigations, demanding justice, in the most comprehensive meaning of the term. We renew our fight so that our pain and that of Bruno Pereira’s family will not be repeated. As well as the families of other journalists and defenders of the environment, who continue to be at risk. Rest in peace, Bruno and Dom”, the sentence, in an emotional tone and of farewell, is from Alessandra Sampaio, Dom’s wife, during the journalist’s funeral that took place this Sunday morning, 26th, at the Parque da Colina Cemetery, in Niterói, in the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro.

At the farewell ceremony, restricted to family and friends of the British journalist, Alessandra guaranteed that she will not stop fighting for justice and for the causes in which her husband was engaged. While reading the letter written for the ceremony, she highlighted her husband’s qualities beyond his profession and thanked those who showed solidarity with him in his moment of grief.

“Today, Dom will be cremated in the country he loved, his chosen home, Brazil. Dom was a very special person, not only for defending what he believed in as a professional, but for having a huge heart.(…) I thank from the bottom of my heart all the people who showed solidarity with Dom, with Bruno, with our families and friends, here in Brazil, and in other countries”, said his widow.

In tears, Alessandra Sampaio also thanked the indigenous movements, especially the Union of Indigenous Peoples of Vale do Javari (Univaja), which has been, since the beginning, following the search for Bruno and Dom and updating information about the case to the press, which was also mentioned by the widow in a tone of gratitude for the “demand for transparency and mobilization around what happened”.

‘Died for trying to help’

Dom’s sister also spoke out during the funeral service. British Sian Phillips, who was next to Alessandra during the ceremony, remembered her brother’s commitment to the environmental agendas and pointed out how urgent was the conservation of the Amazon, a place so loved by Dom Phillips.

“He was a brilliant journalist, committed to sharing stories about the Brazilian diversity, slum dwellers, and indigenous people of the Amazon. He was killed because, he tried to tell the world what is happening in the rainforest, with its inhabitants, about the impact of illegal activities in that forest”, Dominic’s sister Mark Phillips stated.

Farewells

Just like Dom, Bruno Pereira’s funeral took place in the city where he lived, in Recife, Pernambuco. The farewell ceremony was held on Friday, 24th, at the Morada da Paz Cemetery, in a ceremony more open to the public.

During the wake, Bruno’s coffin was covered with flags from Pernambuco and Sport Clube do Recife, the team he used to cheer for. Beside the flag was a shirt of the Union of Indigenous Peoples of Vale do Javari (Univaja). Indigenous people also went to the place to pay their last respects before the body of the indigenous leader was cremated.

The bodies of Dom and Bruno were released to their families on Thursday afternoon, 23rd. The two were shot dead and had their bodies dismembered and burned. The pair was sailing on the Itaquaí river, in the municipality of Atalaia do Norte, when they caught the brothers Osoney and Amarildo da Costa fishing for pirarucu in an illegal fishing region. After being surrendered and murdered, the journalist and the indigenist, who were photographing in the area, were buried in a ditch.

Bruno Araújo Pereira was 41 years old and was known for his commitment to the indigenous cause. As a servant of the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI), he was regional coordinator of FUNAI in Atalaia do Norte and general coordinator of isolated and recently contacted Indians of FUNAI, during which time he led one of the largest contact expeditions with isolated Indians in the last 20 years.

Born in Merseyside, near the city of Liverpool, english journalist Dominic Mark Phillips, 57, moved to Brazil in 2007. Dedicated to environmental causes and an admirer of the Amazon, Dom covered stories on the theme for world-renowned newspapers such as “The Guardian” and “The New York Times”. He was currently working on a book about the Amazon Forest and the invasions of indigenous lands. “Amazon, you beautiful thing” was the last sentence the english journalist wrote on his social networks.

It was the second time the duo had traveled through the isolated region of the Amazon. In 2018, Phillips and Bruno did the same route in Atalaia do Norte, a region near Vale do Javari considered dangerous because of drug trafficking, and of dense complexity, where 26 indigenous peoples live, some of them isolated.