Surrounded by mountain ranges, bathed by lakes and with vegetation with an immense area of ploughed, the Raposa II community is located west of the Raposa Serra do Sol Indigenous Land, municipality of Normandia in the state of Roraima. Since September 2019, the residents of the community have been threatened by the installation of illegal mining in Serra do Atola, which is about 2 kilometers from the center of the community.
Tuxaua Matias, Macuxi, from the Raposa II community, reported his concern about this illegal activity. He said that the community's way of life has been changing because of the entry of strangers, and with the constant traffic of vehicles. He also reported that there are more than 300 people in the mountains.
Considered by traditional leaders as a sacred place and habitat for animals and birds, Serra do Atola is gradually collapsing due to the action of miners.
"As a tuxaua of the community, I think about the future of children, the well-being of my community, my animals, we want to keep our mother earth healthy, I ask the authorities to take action before something worse happens," he said.
"It was the place of our hunt, we had streams where we fished, today it is being destroyed because the miners are using mercury" said Mr. Orlando de Souza.
Mr. Rufino de Souza, who has lived in the community for 45 years, is not satisfied with what they are doing to nature. If he does not close this mine, he fears the worst. According to him, mining will only bring death and disease. "I'm not enjoying these mines on our land, this mountain we hunted, fished in the lakes and now we can't anymore, because they are destroying everything," he said.
For Dona Diva da Silva, 65, mining made her feel like a stranger in her own land. She recalled that her struggle was not to bring miners, but to see her people free."It's painful because we fought for the land, I saw my brothers dying fighting and now the mining is very close to my house," she lamented with her eyes full of tears. Her cattle ranches lost their pasture and together with her husband, Mr. Caetano de Souza, now spend the day herding the herd. She reported that a king disappeared and the fence was knocked down. The creek of the atola is no longer good for anything because the water is contaminated.
Concerned about this illegal activity, coordinator Valério Macuxi decided to put it on the agenda at the regional assembly held at the beginning of February 2020. He said that it was a day of reflection and in the end 35 tuxauas present in the region decided to close the mine, "before the mining, we lived peacefully, we fished, let our cattle loose, today they are disappearing, today it is no longer possible to fish, the streams are polluted," said the coordinator.He also said that Senator Chico Rodrigues went looking for him, wanting to talk, but he told the Senator that he does not have a conversation and agreement if it is to deal with mining.
Indigenous leader Valério also pointed out that it is not only the Raposa II community that is being affected, but all 51 communities in the Raposa region. He has already sent documents to the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI), the Federal Public Ministry (MPF), the Federal Police (PF) and the Army so that the necessary measures can be taken to close this illegal mining.
Raposa Serra do Sol:The Raposa Serra do Sol Indigenous Land was ratified by decree April 15, 2005, after political and legal clashes, in 2009 the Federal Supreme Court (STF) decided by 10 votes to 1 to maintain the homologation decree. The indigenous land has an area of 1.7 million hectares, belonging to the Macuxi, Wapichana, Ingarikó, Sapará, Patamona and Taurepang peoples, with a population of approximately more than 20 thousand indigenous people.
The peoples of Raposa Serra do Sol have their own model of organization, divided into 04 regions, Serras, Surumu, Baixo Cotingo and Raposa, being directed by regional coordination, councils and tuxauas.