The Pium community, Pium Indigenous Land, Tabaio region, located in the municipality of Alto Alegre, has not yet overcome the violence they suffered and has already suffered another attack in the early hours of June 4, 2022. Again, they destroyed and burned houses, community sheds that were being built to host a meeting with leaders from all regions. This is already the third time that this type of act has happened. The first time was inDecember 1, 2021and the second, on May 20 of this year, when they demolished the house of a teacher in the community.
According to reports from leaders, the attack took place during the night, around 4 am. The gunmen used tractors to knock down the houses and then set them on fire. No one was injured, as there was no one from the community on site. It is also not known if the invaders were armed.
The farmers are using old strategies for this. They are going to court, which usually believes first in the right of the whites, with Repossession actions. The farmers say that the land is theirs. The point is that the only "proof" they have about the "property" they say they have, are white-to-white contracts called "Concession of Use Rights", that is, no one has definitive property title.
Upon learning of the facts, the general coordinator of the CIR, Edinho Macuxi, was at the site of the attack and highlighted that he is following this act of vandalism against the indigenous community of Pium. Because the community shed that was being built was burned and that in fact there is no justification for this.
"Because all this is a crime, it is violence and we understand this as an act of extermination. But I want to say to society, to Brazil and the rulers, that these people here will not be silent or surrender, because this territory here belongs to the indigenous peoples. This will not be cheap and we have to take the necessary measures. If justice is not done, we will do it. Because we will no longer allow this wave of violence to continue to occur, since December 2021 and now this act is repeated once again. The community repudiates this type of act and is against this farmer who has been committing this type of injustice. But we are together in the struggle and the people will resist. We are sure that this victory will be ours, we will remain firm and strong in the struggle, the people continue to organize and unite. This territory is ours and will be occupied by this and other generations in the future," he said.
According to a leader in the region, he said that two tractors and a pickup truck were used to knock down the shed that was being built to host regional events.
"In addition to tearing down our property, which was our community shed, they also burned other people's houses that were built here. We do not accept this type of crime within our community, since December 1, 2021 we have been living with this situation, especially with threats. They are thinking that they are the owners of the world in coming here and doing this to us. We are very angry, but also in panic because of this violence," said the leader.
In the Pium community, families of the Macuxi, Wapichana and Sappará peoples live. The Indigenous Land has 4,607.61 hectares and approximately 500 people. Despite the small space, for years the leaders have been denouncing invasions and violent aggressions, such as the destruction of indigenous homes.
Pium is one of the indigenous lands in Roraima that had the area demarcated in the 80s by the National Indian Foundation (Funai), during the military dictatorship. During the identification and delimitation process, the area was reduced after great pressure from squatters who invaded the indigenous land. Because of this, there is a request for a restudy of the demarcated area filed with FUNAI since 2000. Since then, leaders and residents have been fighting for the resumption of the territory that is part of the community.
HEARING AT THE MPF
On the afternoon of Monday, June 6, 2022, 16 leaders of the Pium Indigenous Land and other communities in the Tabaio region, filed a document with the Federal Public Ministry (MPF). The prosecutor of the republic, from the 7th Office, Alisson Marugal, was the one who received the documents.
The CIR's legal counsel, who accompanied the leadership delegation at the MPF to denounce the attacks, reinforced that it will activate other bodies in charge of guaranteeing the right of the Pium community and that the culprits and those who ordered it be held accountable by justice.
The leaders reported to the prosecutor that they can no longer stand so much violence that they have suffered over time. That the territory, the forests, the streams are important, because it is where traditional medicine is harvested from and are the means of survival of indigenous peoples.