Amazon Updates
9 October 2001
We are now docked at Santarem port, in Para state, Brazil. I
am doing my four to eight watch while everybody is sleeping.
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There are so many piles of processed wood seated on the
dock waiting to be shipped, that the wind brings a very strong
smell of many different kinds of trees. It smells nice and
makes me think of a beautiful wood house in the mountains.
It also makes me wonder how many trees had to be cut down
to get this amount of wood…probably thousands every day!
And the majority of them are from illegal logging and destructive
sources. |
Santarem is one of the most important ports in the region. From
here, the timber travels out to many different countries, we can
see the names of the destinations on the wood, as well as to the
south of Brazil. Sitting here, I have an idea of how huge and
damaging is the logging sector operating in the Amazon. There
is no way the forest will keep up with the pace of exploitation.
One day it will fade away.
Last Thursday, October 4th, we had our first action against
a Chinese plywood company called Compensa based in Manaus,
Amazonas state. We invaded the plant by land and by river.
There were three teams; the front gate team, the climbers
and the painting team, I was on the painting team. |
 |
My group painted the word "Crime" on as much processed
wood as we could find. We also stapled leaflets to the wood which
said: "This wood comes from an unsustainable source in the
Amazon basin. By purchasing this wood you are contributing to
the destruction of one of the last remaining ancient forests.
Go FSC (Forest Stewardship Council)."
The whole action ran smoothly. The workers did not offer resistance.
They were very open and receptive. As I speak the language, I
could talk to them and explain why we were there. All of them
supported us and spoke about their reality. In fact, it is very
very sad.
They earn R$190 a month, more or less, US$70. They do not have
any training, it is heavy and dangerous work. They do not wear
safety equipment. If they want to use work boots, they have to
buy them from the company and the company deducts it from their
salaries. It is an unbelievable cruel reality. Compensa not only
exploits the forest, but also the people that work for them!
This gives me so much anger to see this happening in my own country!
And there are so many other wood companies like Compensa in the
Amazon , foreign companies that want to profit as much as they
can from this business.
But what makes me most angry is that my own government allows
it to happen in my country. Where is the political will to reinforce
our environmental legislation?! Where is all the money for the
Amazon being used?
Most of it is only in the form of papers and promises. In the
meantime, few are making lots of money from our natural and human
resources. As a Brazilian, I am trying to do my what I can as
a citizen, or I would say, as a caring human being. I hope our
effort in this campaign will not be lost in the waters of these
giant rivers.
Luciana
volunteer deckhand
Porte Alegre, RS, Brazil |
Santarém
and the Rio Tapajós. |
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