Pain and resistance: the indigenous village threatened by the mining disaster in Brazil

Antonia Alves is 88 years old, her skin is hardened by the sun and a wreath of white and purple feathers surrounds her head. He says that he did not have an easy life, that being a native to Brazil multiplies the suffering, but until a few days ago. He had never seen a river die before his eyes.

It happened when the the mud from the dam dam that broke in Minas Gerais reached the Paraopeba Riverafter devastating the Brumadinho region, leaving up here 110 dead and 238 missing.

The water is now falling from one brown sick and a strong smell of dead fish evokes Nao Xoha, a village sheltered by the Atlantic Forest 22 kilometers from where the dam erupted, traces of the tragedy to which no one has escaped on this land lined with minerals.

"It's very sad, because the river was what we lived, we bathed, fetched water, washed clothes, we fished … The Indians live on fish, hunt", Antonia laments in a slow voice.

"It smells a lot and we have released large dead fish because here we are all fishing. We are now deprived of this food, "says Jocélia Josi, a 46-year-old neighbor who is still waiting for the return of her three-month-old daughter and grandson from Belo Horizonte, where they were evacuated after the disaster.

It's time to have lunch at Nao Xoha – which means "warrior spirit" – and Antonia and her husband Gervasio, a serene 93 year old, wait for her daughter to finish preparing food at the gates of his modest hut.

But today is not a normal day. Nothing is in the heart of Minas Gerais since last Friday I will break the dam I, touching this village where 27 families lived. Without a doctor, a doctor arrives to check the situation. 15 people who were not evacuated, while volunteers bring water and basic items to this community without electricity, which is now exhausted.

To get here, you have to take a track where a freight train pbades through the lush tropical forest.

The tsunami of nearly 13 million cubic meters of mud swept away on Friday, January 25, about nine kilometers before reaching the river. And its impact extends well beyond the slab of mud under which firefighters continue to search for bodies.

The government of Minas Gerais warned that water presents health risks and organizations such as the WWF have predicted that the consequences for the environment will be felt for years.

"They took part in our reserve, they killed some, but We are a people of resistance and we will not leave here. Let's continue, even if the river is dead. Nature depends on us so that we preserve it ", declares the cacique Háyó Pataxó Hã-hã-hãe, wearing an exuberant palm wreath.

He just had another meeting with the Funai (the federal agency responsible for indigenous affairs) and still can not advance the actions that will be taken against the mining company Vale. He only knows that Pataxó They will resist as they have for centuries.

Native to southern Bahia, the community arrived on these demarcated lands more than a year ago and did not intend to abandon them.

"It's a lack of respect for us" said Tahh & # 39; a, a stocky guard of 55 years, pinching black paint on his face.

"The great loss for us are the the fish"Because hunting is not allowed here," he adds, a sharp stake in his hand and a machete hanging from his pants after performing one of his daily chores to preserve the forest from aggression.

The worst, however, continues to fall without being controlled by the channel and, although its reach is still unknown, the precedents are terrible. Nobody forgets the destruction of the precious Twelve River, that a few hundred kilometers were devastated by the tragedy of Mariana, the biggest environmental disaster of Brazil. Too much damage in just three years.

"I want to say not only to Vale, but also to the leaders, to punish the culprits who did this with our native nation, the farmers and their families who lost their people there."asked the young cacique Háyó, 29 years old.

"How many will they still have to kill for justice to come?"throw

Girl of the powerful Brazilian nature, Antonia had not seen so much destruction since the burning of three children in the village of Bahia. His clear eyes are still shrinking in memory.

Now, the victims can exceed 340 and the environmental damage is incalculable.

"It's a great sadness. When will this river be cleaned? When will you have your little fish again?"

By Rosa Suleiro for AFP