Documentary portrays the struggle of indigenous people against illegal mining in the Amazon

The documentary “Listen: the earth was rent”which premiered this week on the Brazilian cultural cinema circuit, portrays the struggle of the peoples Kayapó, Yanomami and Munduruku against the illegal minery.

The production, led by the Alliance in Defense of the Territories, an organization created in 2021, and directed by Cassandra Mello and Fred Rahal, is part of the twelfth Sao Paulo Ecofalante Film Festival.

With recordings between 2021 and 2022 and stories from indigenous leaders, such as Davi Kopenawa Yanomami, Beka Munduruku and Maial Paiakan Kayapó, and other representatives of the three communities most affected by illegal mining, the documentary is also accompanied by a report.

The complementary study Torn Earth: how illegal mining progresses in the brazilian amazon” points out that this activity shot up 495% between 2010 and 2010.

The story also indicates that deforestation, the contamination of rivers with mercury, the spread of diseases and acts of violence against indigenous peoples committed by illegal miners increased in similar proportions.

These illegal actions raised the risk of food security and child malnutrition in indigenous peoples, a situation that was recognized by the president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, when he took office in January, the report highlighted.

Lula declared the Yanomami people, on the border with Venezuela, in “emergency situation” due to the health and humanitarian crisis and began actions to assist the communities and to expel the almost 20,000 illegal miners by the authorities.

Some caciques, like Tuíre Kayapó M?bêngôkre, asked in the documentary “respect for the jungle, the land and the indigenous people”also due to infrastructure works that may affect the ecosystem, such as the Kararaô Hydroelectric Power Plant project.

The shaman Davi Kopenawa Yanomami warned about the danger of his people disappearing “if the jungle dries up”, while the Juarez Saw Munduruku called for more unity from all the affected communities.

Source: EFE