A pandemia e os conflitos no território Jambuaçu, no Pará

The story excerpt below was translated from Portuguese. To read the original story in full, visit Amazônia Real. You may also view the original story on the Rainforest Journalism Fund website here. Our website is available in English, Spanish, bahasa Indonesia, French, and Portuguese.

Belém, State of Pará, Brazil - "In addition to all the issues that we already face here with these corporations, this new virus came and complicated everything even more for us." Guiomar Tavares' grievance summarizes the consequences of the novel coronavirus' arrival in the Sebastião community, one of 16 that make up the quilombola territory of Jambuaçu, in the municipality of Moju, in northeastern Pará.

Historically surrounded by large mining and agribusiness enterprises, the quilombola communities of the Jambuaçu territory had to face the advance of the pandemic in addition to the struggles they have waged for decades for their right to land, against the territorial suppression of their properties caused by the presence of underground pipelines, against the contamination of their waters caused by extensive oil palm plantations, and for the recognition of the cultural identity of their people.

Watch the short documentary in Portuguese below.