4 minute read
The Man And The River
Wednesday – 13/01/2016
Many affected people are not even considered due to legal problems, or even lack of registration with the government. Many live off fishing, feed on fish and depend on them, but if there is no record with the government of their economic dependence on fishing (that is, if they are not recognized professional fishermen), no assistance is provided... the river belongs to those registered in some file, in some virtual folder... Nevertheless, what is most shocking, in this small town of Conselheiro Pena, is the total absence of assistance related to the disaster that has occurred. This isolation prevents them from gaining any direct measure of response or even an understanding of their rights, placing them in a condition of great socioenvironmental vulnerability.
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Wednesday – 13/01/2016
On the other hand, further north, in São Tomé do Rio Doce, a village of just over 100 inhabitants, we meet Jackson, a robust, although thin, fisherman, and his family. Living about 8 metres from the river, their wrecked boat remains halfway in the water, and the irrigation pump that used to fill the water tanks has been stopped; they had little aside from the Doce. The animals are no longer drinking. All possible autonomy has been taken away from them since the dam collapsed. The catfish, mullet, anchovy, bass, tilapia and many others, once taken from the river, have now been converted into packets of pasta, cassava flour, soy oil and sugar, delivered as a compensation card by Samarco. The insertion of this community into this system could not be a greater sign of disgrace to any kind of effectively free and autonomous people. This conversion, always painful, is seen here in a tragic and revolting way.
“Lírio in Conselheiro Pena. After several hours spent looking for the fishermen’s union27 in the region, we find Lírio. Our injuries from a motorcycle fall have taken our full attention. Luckily, we are welcomed and during the conversation he summarizes the fragile situation the fishermen find themselves in. His indications lead us to other stakeholders who tell us what has happened among the sound of the silent Doce.”
Wednesday – 13/01/2016
“The man is the river. Here, more than ever it makes sense. In it, he fishes, drinks, washes, grows his crops. The river is his life in all its dimensions. The everyday life perfectly described by Jackson illustrates the vital dependence of the riverside communities. The miles twisting along the river have fed our awareness of what it is, subtleties alive in every meander.”
“Licério, in Barra do Cuieté, shows us a new perspective. Arriving in this community, we find a curious behaviour among the local fishermen. An atmosphere of denunciation prevails: they are criticizing each other for not being professional fishermen, thus not having the legitimacy to receive benefits. As if they were more concerned with the financial compensation than with the contamination itself. What is the real role of benefits in such a situation of abandonment?”
Wednesday – 13/01/2016
Zé, the Pavuna of the entire Tumiritinga region and beyond, shows us his production in the form of persistent bananas, shrivelled okra and thirsty animals wrapped in their dry skin.
“On his small farm, he shares his concerns about how to feed his own people, the families of his own, and so many others. Being a community leader and followed by many, he opens up, he exposes the difficulties of the reality in his so recurrent losses. Evidence that the fight is intrinsic and the need to change is long overdue.”
Always aware of his abandonment, he prefers to face the river with his tools and his hands marked by persistent resistance, as always.
“As is usual throughout the Doce and its disregard, a lot is left out. However, in Derribadinha, the omission is complete. Amidst river and trains, the heritage village, the first settlement in the region, remains silent, an evidence of the neglect even of the past. Despite being close to Valadares, the seat of the municipality, few services are provided to the region – schools, health centres or any type of transport. Their absence marks the passing of days. So we were told by João Gualberto, along with a parrot, his companion.”
