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RIVER PILOT Name: José Ribamar Ferreira da Silva Age: 42 Place of Birth: Eirunepé, Amazonas Until the age of 25, Ribamar lived by the Solimoes River, at Iranduba. He has always worked as a boat pilot. "I have piloted most kinds of boats that work in this region. Tug boats for barges carrying goods, passengers, vegetables--everything. I know these rivers very well." He moved to Manaus, the big metropolis in the middle of the Amazon forest. "But I kept travelling, because working inland and the life of a big city are not exactly made for me". At the age of 24, he married Gracinha, his partner to this day. They have five children, all of them named with names that begin with an S: Sidnei, 16; Shirlei, 15; Suziane, 12; Susane, 10; Sileno, 2. This is perhaps the strongest indicator that Ribamar is a superstitious man. The relationship between Ribamar and Greenpeace started in April last year, when he was invited to be the pilot of the NOE IV, the boat used for the Purus river expedition. "I had seen Greenpeace actions on TV before, but I could have never imagined that I would end up working with them one day," he laughs. During the expedition, Ribamar proved to be a great asset. Manuel Pinto, the logistics co-ordinator for the Amazon Campaign, hired him as a logistics and warehouse assistant when they returned to Manaus. Ribamar says that the work with Greenpeace improved his quality of life and allowed him to get in touch with new cultures. "I don't speak English, but manage to communicate with them. I think they are funny," he says pointing to at the Dutch, American and the other foreigners onboard the Amazon Guardian. His kids are also very enthusiastic about Greenpeace. Sidnei, the eldest son, has a haircut and an earring, a look he copied from Manuel. Shirlei says she wants to study Forestry Engineering to work for Greenpeace in the future. "She clips all the Greenpeace news in the newspapers and paste them into a very organised notebook," says the proud father. When asked about his dreams, Ribamar exposes all his natural simplicity. "I want to finish my house and maybe buy a car". He started to build his own house, with his own hands, five years ago. "It's a house of 8mX20m, and now there is only little work to be done. Sidnei and Gracinha have been helping me with it." Ribamar praises the Greenpeace Campaign with the Amazon Guardian, especially the open boats in small towns such as Labrea and Canutama. "It's very important to give these people the opportunity to see what Greenpeace is. Did you see how excited they were? I have spoken to the owner of a store in Labrea and she asked me what Greenpeace was. I answered that it was an organisation that works with ecology. Then she asked me 'What is ecology?' You see, we need to inform them." Ribamar thinks that the solution to deforestation is to stop logging. "The forest needs a rest. If you look around, there are new trees growing but they need time to recompose the forest. And when they are big, intelligence will be needed if someone is to log them again."