Empower Indigenous Brazilians to Save their Amazon

Once again, operations of the Belo Monte Dam have been ordered to stop.

Last month, a federal court in Brasilia suspended the dam’s installation license, finding fault with the operating company’s resettlement program.

It’s a decision that underscores what I saw on my recent trip to Altamira, and highlights the realities the people there are living with every day.

Not only did Norte Energía not build the three different-sized houses promised for displaced families, many of the homes they did build are now falling apart. While in Altamira, I heard of two different homes in two different neighborhoods that fully collapsed.

What’s more, the resettlement areas are located in the far reaches of the city, on freshly deforested land that borders the jungle, without proper transportation and infrastructure.

They’re far from the neighborhoods, the services, the corner stores, and the sense of community that the people of this once-tranquil jungle town grew up with. 

Many of the people in Altamira had lived in the same neighborhood all their lives—as kids they played in the streets, as adults they sat in chairs outside talking to their neighbors. Holidays and festivals were spent in community.

Now displaced from the homes they’ve always know, those affected by the dam are secluded in small, concrete houses. They’re far from their schools, their churches, their friends and families.

There are no corner stores, nowhere to walk to, and it’s too dangerous to even gather outside. They have to pay high prices for transportation to get into the city to get to work and school.

It’s a new reality for the people of Altamira—a traditional riverside town whose culture and commerce have long been based on the Xingu River.

It’s a reality they didn’t agree to, and one they certainly didn’t ask for.

The latest federal court decision is a step in the right direction for the people of Altamira.

It upholds many of the same arguments we’re making in our case before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and provides evidence of the hardships those affected by the dam are living with every day.

It’s for them that we’re continuing this fight, to hold Brazil accountable for the damages they’ve endured in the name of development.

Together, we can make their voices heard. Thank you for supporting the fight for justice for the people of the Xingu. 

Construction on the Belo Monte Dam in the Brazilian Amazon is complete and more than 90,000 workers have left the region.

For some, the job is done. But for the community surrounding the dam, life has been changed forever. Justice has not been served, the fight continues, and so does AIDA’s work.

That’s why fellow attorney Rodrigo Sales and I traveled to Altamira last month. We spent a week gathering stories, meeting with partners, and seeing first hand the realities of life on the ground.

TODAY your donation will support our work – and be matched at 50% by GlobalGiving! YOU can help us serve justice.

More than six years into this fight, it’s astounding that we still learn of new impacts of Belo Monte. There’s no end to the stories of people whose lives and livelihoods have been destroyed.

During our time in Altamira, we met Pedro, one of Belo Monte’s most recent victims. A few months ago, the island he was living on flooded and Pedro lost not only his home, but also the yucca and pepper crops he relied upon for food and to make a living.

Without a home, Pedro traveled an hour down the river in his dugout canoe, known as a chalupa, to Altamira, where he slept on a pier near the river. An elderly man, he quickly got sick and was admitted to the hospital. While in the hospital, his chalupa was damaged and his fishing gear stolen.

Norte Energía, the operating company of Belo Monte, at first acknowledged that Pedro was affected by the dam, and put him up in a hotel in town. But after 10 days they kicked him out, saying his island was outside of the affected area, and left him to fend for himself.

Your gift TODAY will help us advocate for Pedro and the communities living in the shadow of the Belo Monte dam.

Now bouncing between shelters, friends’ houses and old age homes, Pedro is in a state of unrest. He says he feels threatened and that his “soul is damaged” to be so far from the river, from his island and all he knows.

After three months, Pedro finally got a piece of good news: local activists with the Movimiento Xingu Vivo got him a new chalupa so he can return to the river. But he still feels he has nowhere to go.

As for Pedro, any inkling of hope seems to lie in the hands of the local people. They are helping each other, as best they can under bad circumstances.

But they’re still waiting on justice, and we’re still fighting for it.

Today your donation will go even further:

• Your one-time gift of up to $1,000 will be matched at 50% - UNTIL FUNDS RUN OUT!
• All recurring monthly donations will be matched at 100%!

Justice will come when Brazil is held accountable for the damages suffered by the indigenous and riverine communities of the Xingu. And when those affected have the opportunity to safely and adequately rebuild their lives.

This is our case before the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights. And that’s why we need your continued support.

Thank you for joining us in helping Pedro and the people of the Xingu River!