|
| Edition 39 |
| Thursday, 02 May, 2024 |
|
| Our Voice
|
|
|
The fights for press freedom, indigenous rights and nature are one
|
Jonathan Watts
Altamira, Xingu River, Amazon
Let’s start with the good news for a change. The Instituto Dom Phillips will soon be launched by the murdered journalist’s widow, Alessandra Sampaio. This NGO will focus on education, stressing the value of the Amazon and its people. This move to carry forward Dom’s legacy is an expression of hope, idealism and an indomitable human spirit that refuses to be bowed by a horrendous crime and the ongoing assault against indigenous people by powerful business and political interests.
This is all the more remarkable because the prevailing trends in Brazil and the world are in the opposite direction. The forest, indigenous rights and journalistic freedom are all under assault. That much is obvious from the dire developments in Brasilia, where the agriculture and mining lobby is using its power in Congress, the Supreme Court and the government to hold-up demarcations of indigenous land, resurrect the historically unjust “Marco Temporal” law, and launch a new attempt to permit mining on indigenous land.
Reporting on the war against nature may generate fewer headlines than Gaza or Ukraine, but it is also high-risk with little legal protection. Worldwide, several dozen reporters have been killed for covering environment stories over the past 15 years. Barely one in ten of the assassins are convicted. Instead, the law appears to be increasingly used against journalists. More than 100 have been arrested for covering environmental protests.
Without the courage of correspondents to continue working in conflict areas, press organisations warn the world will start to see “zones of silence” where the risks are so great that important stories go unreported. The same can be said about the environment or democracy, both of which are more vulnerable when the truth is choked.
That is why the work of Dom and Bruno – and the countless other murdered reporters, indigenous activists and Earth defenders – must go on. Instead of being silenced, the voices of forest defenders and communicators must be amplified. This is an important part of the mission of SUMAÚMA.
It has never been more important. But whether anyone is listening is another matter altogether. |
|
Read more
|
|
| Howler
|
|
|
Episode 38
|
|
...as he explores his forest home and tries to understand the humans who threaten it |
|
Read here
|
|
|
|
Clique aqui para cancelar a assinatura
|
