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by Brazil Justice Net
Number 589, May 7, 2008
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In this week's News from Brazil:
Leaders believe that the
Brazilian Supreme Court will up hold the legal recognition of Raposa
Serra do Sol
On
the morning of April 30, indigenous leaders of Roraima gave a
collective interview to the press about the tense situtation in which
the people of Raposa Serra do Sol are living. Because the
Brazilian
Supreme Court on April 9, in a preliminary verdict, suspended the
operation to return the indigenous lands, the leaders met in
Brasília
with representatives of the three Powers [three branches of the
Brazilian federal government] about the question of official
recognition of the Raposa Serra do Sol land.
During the
interview, Dionito Makuxi, coordinator of the Council of Indigenous of
Roraima (Conselho Indígena Roraima – CIR), said
“we are not here
fighting just for the rights of the peoples of Raposa Serra do Sol, but
for all people. If the rights of the peoples of Raposa are
not
respected there will be a precedent for not upholding the rights of all
of the indigenous peoples of Brazil.”
The possibility of the
Supreme Court reversing the decision of legal recognition for the land
of Raposa continues to weigh heavily on the minds of the
leaders. In
spite of this, they said they were confident in the ability of the
government official to discern what is just. “We
believe that the
Supreme Court is going to validate this right, already this very court
had determined the demarcation and the legal recognition of the
indigenous land”, said Makuxi, referring to the decisions in
2005,
guaranteeing recognition.
Dionito went on to explain the
arguments used by anti-indigenous groups that the legal recognition in
the area represented a threat to national sovereignty.
“The rice
farmer, Paulo César Quateiro invaded the indigenous land,
did not pay a
single cent to the state, he has torn down bridges, burned down the
homes of the Indians…. and it’s the Indians that
are the threat to the
sovereignty of the country? We did not run away. We
are Brazilians,
we are in our home and we are going to take care of our home,
preserving nature, taking care of the forests and the rivers.
We
believe that by doing this we are defending our country.”
José
Lourenço Wapichana, of the Association of Indigenous Peoples
of the São
Marcos Land, the area next to Raposa, also spoke during the
interview.
“We have come to support the population of Raposa, since the
confusion
created by Quarteiro also effects the São Marcos land and a
contrary
decision by the Supreme Court will also effect us.”
In the next two
months, the Supreme Court has to judge the merit of a lawsuit that
seeks the nullification of the declaration of the area as indigenous
land. On May 1, the state prosecutor gave his opinion to the
Supreme
Court, considering to validation of the legal recognition of Raposa
Serra do Sol.
Collectively, there are also ten other indigenous
leaders from the CIR, Sodiur, Alidecir, Apitsm, Apir, Opir and Cecac,
beyond these organizations the Forum in Defense of Indigenous Rights
(FDDI) was also present.
Source: ADITAL – May 2, 2008
The government finishes
first survey on the street population
Male,
between the ages of 25 and 44, black, literate, with a paying
job.
This description . . . . of people living in the streets of
Brazil, is
a profile produced by the first National Research on the Homeless
Population, finished in 71 cities around the country.
The
research found 31,992 people over the age of 18 on the street,
approximately 0.061% of the population of the cities participating in
the survey. Those who live in the street were found on
sidewalks, in
public squares and parks, under highways and bridges, at gas stations,
beaches, alleyways, in tunnels and abandoned buildings, at recycling
centers, junkyards and scrap heaps or passing the night in institutions
(hostels, shelters, churches, transitional and subsidized housing).
According
to the research, “70% are in the habit of sleeping on the
street and
22% in hostels, but 46.5% prefer to pass the night on the street,
mainly for the sake of freedom, and 44% show a preference for an
institution, out of fear of violence. Almost half (48%) of
those
interviewees that participated in the survey have been sleeping on the
streets for more than two years.”
Based on this research, out of
every 100 persons on the street, 71 work, but 48% of the interviewees
never have had a formal job, with a signed document. The
average
weekly income of those interviewed varied from 20 to 80 Brazilian Reais
(approximately 12 to almost 50 U.S. dollars).
The principal
activity for 28% of them is the collection of recyclable material,
followed by activities such as “flanelinha”
[informal car-park
attendant], working as a porter, in construction or in the cleaning
sector. Only 16% of those living on the street said that they
begged
money to survive.
In what was said with respect to family
relationships, 52% said that they have at least one parent in the city
in which they live. Around 35% have frequent contact with
their
family, and 39% feel that they have a good relationship with their
parents. Alcoholism and drug use are the main reason (35.5%)
why those
interviewed are homeless. This is followed closely by
unemployment
(30%) and estrangement from families (29%).
The research shows
that 88.5% of those living on the street are not reached by government
programs. The government handouts get to, at most, 3% of this
population. Although 95% of them no longer go to school, more
than 70%
of those interviewed know how to read and write. The majority
of the
interviewees, 80%, said that they make at least one meal a
day. In
relation to health, 30% said that they have some problem, such as
hypertension, mental illness or AIDS, and 19% take medication.
The
research highlighted that the percentage of the population of homeless
that self-identifies as black, 30%, is much higher than the national
average, which is 6.2%; meanwhile, those who consider themselves white,
29.5%, are well below the corresponding number among all Brazilians,
54%.
Source: ADITAL – May 2, 2008
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