The indigenist Bruno Araújo Pereira, and the English journalist Dom Phillips, correspondent for The Guardian, have been missing since Sunday (5) in Vale do Javari, in Amazonas, according to the Union of Indigenous Organizations of the Vale do Javari (Univaja). Phillips was going to a place called Lago do Jaburu to interview indigenous people and Pereira was accompanying him. According to indigenous organizations and The Guardian, the indigenist is the target of threats from loggers and miners who try to invade indigenous lands in the region. The Navy is searching the region.
The note released this Monday (6), also signed by other associations representing indigenous peoples, informs that the pair disappeared on the way between the Ribeirinha São Rafael community to the city of Atalaia do Norte, departure points and departure points.
return, respectively, in the state of Amazonas.
The two traveled with the aim of visiting an Indigenous Surveillance team that is located near Lago do Jaburu, a location close to the Funai Surveillance Base (National Indian Foundation) on the Ituí River.
The two arrived at the destination on Friday (3) at 19:25. On Sunday, the pair would return in the morning to the city of Atalaia do Norte, however, before they stopped in the São Rafael community, on a previously scheduled visit.
The indigenist would hold a meeting with a member of the community nicknamed Churrasco. The meeting would deal with joint work between riverside people and indigenous people in the surveillance of the territory, which is greatly affected by invasions, according to Univaja.
“From what appears in the information exchanged, via Satellite Communication Device [SPOT, na sigla em inglês], they arrived in the São Rafael community around 6 am, where they talked to Churrasco’s wife, since he was not in the community and then left for Atalaia do Norte, a trip that takes approximately two hours. Thus, they should have arrived at around 8:00 am, 9:00 am in the city, which did not happen,” said the note from the indigenous associations.
At around 2 pm, a search team left Atalaia do Norte formed by indigenous people “extremely knowledgeable about the region”, according to the statement. The team covered the same stretch that Pereira and Dom Phillips had supposedly covered, but no trace was found.
Their latest sighting information is from the São Gabriel community with reports that they saw the boat passing towards Atalaia do Norte. At 16:00, another search team left Tabatinga, in a larger vessel, returning to the same place, again no clue was found.
According to the statement, Pereira is experienced and has a deep knowledge of the region, having been the Regional Coordinator of Funai de Atalaia do Norte for years.
“The two disappeared were traveling with a new boat, 40 HP, with 70 liters of gasoline, enough for the trip and seven drums.
fuel voids. We emphasize that in the week of the disappearance, as reported by Univaja employees, the team received threats in the field. The threat was not the first, others were already being made to other members of Univaja’s technical team, in addition to other reports already
made official to the Federal Police, the Federal Public Ministry in Tabatinga, the National Human Rights Council and Indigenous Peoples Rights International,” the association said.
Fear for the journalist’s safety
In a statement, The Guardian confirmed the disappearance of the British journalist, who is working on a book on the environment with support from the Alicia Patterson Foundation. Philips is currently based in Salvador and has been reporting on Brazil for over 15 years for newspapers such as the Guardian, Washington Post, New York Times and the Financial Times.
“Fears are growing about the safety of a British journalist and a Brazilian indigenous expert who disappeared in one of the most remote corners of the Amazon a few days after receiving threats.
“The Guardian is very concerned and urgently seeks information on the whereabouts and condition of Phillips. We are in contact with the British Embassy in Brazil and local and national authorities to try to get the facts straight as quickly as possible.”
Phillips joined one of Pereira’s expeditions to the same region in 2018 to report on the lost tribes of the Amazon to the Guardian.
“He is known for his love of the Amazon region and has traveled there extensively to report on the crisis Brazil’s environment and its indigenous communities face,” the newspaper’s statement reads.
Last week, Phillips posted a video on his Instagram profile on one of the Amazon rivers. “Amazônia you beautiful”, posted the journalist.
Through a note, Funai informed that it is following the case and is in contact with the security forces that operate in the region, in addition to collaborating with the searches. He is not on official mission with the agency.
“Although the indigenist Bruno da Cunha Araújo Pereira is part of the Funai staff, he was not in the region on an institutional mission, as he is on leave to deal with private interests,” the note said.
The MPF opened an administrative procedure to investigate the disappearance and called the Federal Police, the Civil Police, the National Force, the Vale do Javari Ethnoenvironmental Protection Front, and the Brazilian Navy. According to the statement from the MPF, the Navy stated that it will conduct search activities in the region through the Naval Operations Command.
“The MPF will continue to mediate search actions and mobilize forces to ensure the integrated and articulated action of the authorities, with a view to solving the case as quickly as possible,” the agency said.
The Federal Police said in a statement that it is already following up and working on the case of the pair’s disappearance. “The investigations are being undertaken and will be disclosed in due course”, says the institution.
The CNN report also reached out to the Army and the Ministry of Defense and is awaiting more information about the disappearance of the professionals.
The British Embassy in Brazil said it was in contact with local authorities following reports of the disappearance. “We are providing consular support for your family,” the statement reads.
(Posted by Carolina Farias)
Source: CNN Brasil
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