Number 439, March 23, 2001.
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Dear News from Brazil readers,
We regret to inform you that News from Brazil will be sent out less frequently over the next few months. Our editor/translator and mailing list manager are leaving Brazil for a three month furlough. We will attempt to send out articles as people send them to us. News from Brazil will return as a weekly mailing in July. Thank you for your understanding.
Sejup
In this week's issue:
>NEWS BRIEFS
- Latin American Conference invites women journalists
- 500 million dollar oil platform sinks off coast of Rio de Janeiro
- Group proposes innovative scheme for better conditions in the dry Northeast
>INDIGENOUS ISSUES
- Malaria and malnutrition affect Indian villages
>URGENT ACTION APPEAL
- Trial of Massacre at Eldorado do Carajas could begin soon
NEWS BRIEFS
- Latin American Conference invites women journalists
From May 3-6, 2001, the capital of Brazil, Brasilia, will be transformed into the Latin American capital for women journalists. Nearly 300 women journalists from Brazil, the Carribean, and Central and South America will join together for the 1st Latin American Conference for Women Journalists. The conference is in preparation for a World Conference to be held in Seoul, Korea, in June. The conference is Brasilia will take up such issues as: the current realities of women journalists, respect for women’s rights, salary scales, and discrimination against women in the workplace. The conference will also address human rights, and for this reason has invited Nobel Peace prize-winner Rigoberta Menchu to open the conference. Menchu will talk about the situation of women workers in the new millenium. Registration is open to all students, professionals, NGO’s and the general public. For more information and registration, visit the following site: http://www.sjpdf.org.br
- 500 million dollar oil platform sinks off coast of Rio de Janeiro
An oil platform worth US$500 million belonging to Petrobras sank this week off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. The platform began to sink last week after three gas explosions shook the base of the platform. Ten men were killed in the accident. The company estimates that somewhere between 350,000 - 1,500,000 liters of diesel and crude oil has leaked out. Workers are attempting to keep the spill isolated. Environmental specialists are saying that the environmental effects of the spill will probably be minor.
Source: Folha de Sao Paulo
March 22, 2001
- Group proposes innovative scheme for better conditions in the dry Northeast
An independent Forum acting in the semi-arid region of Ceará has proposed a unique well-building scheme for the improvement of living conditions of small farmers. "Forum Cearense pela Vida do Semi-árido" was founded in response to the drought of May 1998, and has since continued in its work to raise awareness and change society’s and the government’s perception of the arid region’s problems, and to seek more adequate responses and actions. The organisation aims to do this with the widespread divulgence of simple and cheap technologies to the rural population. In organising themselves to achieve and construct something new, people are already taking one step towards agrarian reform and the ultimate goal of democratising power and the use of the land. The Forum is currently promoting the scheme "No family without quality water", which recommends government or local funding for the construction of wells for capturing and holding rain water – in all houses in the sertão (arid region of the Northeast). Made of concrete slabs a well of, for example, 15,000 litres can hold enough water to sustain a family of 6 or 7 people for around a year. While these wells would not solve all the problems of the arid regions, they would solve the problem of drought and thirst in the sertão, allowing for families to remain in such areas which have already been abandoned by many due to lack of drinking water. It costs US$200 for the material and labour in one well, which can be constructed in 4 days. Some 1000 of these wells, which are backed by technical guarantees from various professional firms, have already been installed in the Northeast with success. It is estimated that an investment of US$50 million would be needed to provide every home in Ceará. The Forum argues that the funding already does exist (for example money spent on debt payments or assistance to banks) and that new taxes would not be necessary. It is more a question of pressuring the government to redirect public investments, which currently favour large rural companies, and to prioritise domestic production.
INDIGENOUS ISSUES
- Malaria and malnutrition affect Indian villages
An outbreak of malaria is afflicting the Guarani and Kaiová Indian villages in Mato Grosso do Sul. The first focus was discovered on 23 February in the Jaguapiré village in the municipality of Tacuru in the extreme south of the state, but it has already spread to the neighboring villages of Sassoró, Porto Lindo and Paraguaçu. About 100 indigenous people have been infected by the Plasmodium Vivax mosquito, and in some cases entire families have fallen sick. In Jaguapiré, a community of 480 people, 91 are infected. There have been no deaths so far. Funai and the National Health Foundation (Funasa) have begun to combat the mosquito, disinfecting homes and treating the sick. Official organs suspect that the disease entered the state by members of the Guarani community infected in Paraguay, due to the intense transit being villages. The rainy season increases the risk of the disease spreading.
In Rio Grande do Sul, malnutrition has killed 12 Guarani children between the months of December and March in the Guarita village in the municipality of Redentora. The local government has decreed a state of emergency. After mutual accusations, Funai and Funasa have begun a nutritional recovery project, with reinforced feeding and distribution of milk to children. A team of nutritionists and doctors is examining the families.
In the Guarita village, approximately 300 families live in miserable circumstances. The eating habits of the indigenous people have been altered by intense contact with non-indigenous society, thereby favoring malnutrition. This means that one of the tasks faced by the Funai and Funasa technicians is to recover the alimentary pattern of the indigenous people and correct the nutritional deficiencies.
The living conditions of the indigenous people in these two states is similar to most of the Indian communities in the country. Cases of diseases characteristic of poverty, malnutrition and the consequences (dysentery and dehydration) are very common situations in many communities.
Instead of concentrating efforts to prevent and control malnutrition, the federal government outsources health services, thus jeopardizing the attendance given to the indigenous people. The most effective investment is when the situation reaches a climax or the international press, as in the case of the Araweté community in the state of Pará, infected by chicken pox in November last year. In these situations, it is common for Funai and Funasa to stop accusing one another and announce programs to control the diseases, but these programs are quickly forgotten when the emergency is over.
Source: Indianist Missionary Council - Cimi
March 15, 2001
URGENT ACTION APPEAL
- Trial of Massacre at Eldorado do Carajas could begin soon
Sejup received an email from the MST (Movement of Rural Workers Without Land) this week alerting us to the fact that the trial of the Massacre at Eldorado do Carajas (for background for this case, see past issues of News from Brazil on our web site) could begin again in the near future, perhaps within a few weeks or as late as the second half of this year. They would like us to get the word out so that those who are able can begin to make preparations to travel to Para. The MST is once again requesting a strong international presence to ensure a fair trial.
Also, there is legislation being proposed (Ref. Projeto de Emenda Constitucional nº 96/1992) which would require that cases against human rights be tried at the federal level. This is a good proposal as often times local courts are in the hands of the local elite and powerful, who are also often the accused. Hence, fair trials are difficult to obtain. The MST therefore has requested a letter-writing campaign to support this bill. Send letters to:
EXCELENTÍSSIMO SENHOR PRESIDENTE DO CONGRESSO NACIONAL
SENADOR JADER BARBALHO
Praça dos Três Poderes
Brasília - DF - Brasil
CEP 70165-900
barbalho@senador.senado.gov.br
fax: 55 - 61 - 323-3429
Ref. Projeto de Emenda Constitucional nº 96/1992 - Projeto de Lei que
transfere a competência para a Justiça Federal nos crimes contra os
Direitos Humanos.
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