The Truth Behind The Images: Government Plans To Build Mega-Dam In The Amazon Threatens The Survival Of Native Tribes

For more than three decades, a devastatingly high cost war between the Brazilian government and a number of tribal groups based along the Xingu River in the Brazilian Amazon, has been steadily brewing. These tribes have not only called this area home for the past few centuries, they have also become reliant on it for their survival; however, all of this became threatened when the Brazilian government announced their plans to build the Belo Monte mega-dam on the Xingu River.

Although the indigenous people’s continuous struggle has been featured within the media over the last few years, it had remained a relatively unknown story until two disturbing images recently began circulating the internet. The two images clearly resonate the people’s desperate yet powerful message to the rest of the world. Within the first image, a distressed indigenous man is being forcibly restrained by a solider. In the background of the image, other armed members of the military run to their positions and brace themselves for action.

The second image, and arguably the most disturbing, is of a mother desperately trying to hold back a wall of armed soldiers whilst she holds her young toddler on her hip. The soldiers, with their tall shields and batons in hands, mercilessly attempt to advance past the woman and child.

The Belo Monte building proposal is just one of the many infrastructures planned under Brazil’s ‘Accelerated Growth Plan’. The government is planning to build a number of roads, dams and other infrastructures within the tribal area to boost the country’s economy. If completed, the Belo Monte will become the world’s third largest dam and will create more than 200,000 jobs for the people of Brazil; but at what cost?

Due to its extensive size, the Belo Monte dam will affect over nine million hectares of pristine rainforest,  will force around 20,000 local people from their homes, many of whom have inhabited and protected the area for centuries; will destroy surrounding ecosystems, and will threaten a large number of native species.

In addition, if completed, the dam will also flood a vast area of fertile land a dry up parts of the Xingu River. As a result, fish stocks along the 100km stretch of river will be significantly reduced, ecosystems will be thrown out of balance and the indigenous people will lose resources crucial to their survival.

According to Survival International, a charity which is dedicated to fighting for the rights of indigenous people worldwide, the Kayapó, Arara, Juruna, Araweté, Xikrin, Asurini and Parakanã are all tribes that rely to the proposed area for survival. However, the people of these tribes are not just concerned about their own well-being; they are also fighting for preservation of the pristine ecosystem often referred to as ‘the lungs of the world’.

“We don’t want this dam to destroy the ecosystems and the biodiversity that we have taken care of for millenia and which we can still preserve”, the Kayapó explained to President Lula in an open letter. In another statement given to Survival, on of the Kayapó indigenous leaders said, “The world must know what is happening here. They must perceive how destroying forests and indigenous people destroys the entire world.”

Due to their limited contact with the modern world, tribal people are very vulnerable to outside infections and illnesses. It is therefore likely that the influx of immigrants to the area during the dam’s construction will endanger the lives of these peaceful people.

In addition, according to FUNAI, the National Indian Foundation, “there may be some uncontacted Indians near the site of the dam.” If this theory proves to be correct, the disturbance of this area could result in entire uncontacted tribes being wiped from the forest.

These plans issued by the Brazilian government are not just unjust, they are also illegal. The Indigenous people within these areas have not been properly consulted about the dam, an act which directly violates both Brazilian and International law. The survival of these people and the incredible ecosystem in which they live is currently at great risk. To help fight for the rights of the Amazon’s Indigenous people and the rainforest itself, you can ‘write a letter in support of the Indians’ via the Survival International website.

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