A message from the Amazon about the Belo Monte Dam

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A message from the Amazon about the Belo Monte Dam


A message from Sheyla Juruna, Juruna Tribal Leader
YouTube - A Message from Sheyla Juruna

On behalf of the Juruna Indigenous people of the Xingu River Basin, I am writing to ask for your support to help stop the Belo Monte Dam. At any moment, the Brazilian government could break ground on the Belo Monte Dam, causing irreparable impacts for our communities, the environment and the global climate. We are at a critical time in the campaign to stop the Belo Monte Dam and it is essential that the international community take action now to defend the Amazon and support indigenous peoples' rights.

The Xingu is home to over 25,000 indigenous people from 18 ethnic groups, including the Juruna, Arara, Xikrin, Kayapó, Xipaya, Kuruaia, Asurini, and Parakanã. It is also home to thousands of riverbank communities and approximately 100,000 people in the city of Altamira – 1/3 of which will be flooded if the Belo Monte Dam is built. If the Dam is built, it will divert water from the Big Bend, known as the "Volta Grande", of the Xingu – a 100km stretch of the river that is the cradle of Xingu's indigenous civilizations. This destruction would be devastating to the Juruna and Arara as we will be displaced by flooding or not able to survive on our ancestral lands because our river will be diverted and dried out. The Pakisamba village where my Juruna brothers and sisters rely on the river for fishing and boat transportation will be especially affected.

The government says that Juruna will not be directly or seriously affected, but we do not believe this. We have not been consulted and we do not want the government to speak for us. We are against the Belo Monte Dam and we are committed to fight with our bodies and souls... to defend our lives and the life of our river.

Please join us by signing the petition to the Brazilian government today.
Amazon Watch

The government is moving quickly to give the green light to begin the construction of roads, work-camps and airports, while other environmental and social conditions in question are being reviewed by the courts. We cannot allow for any construction to begin as this will pave the way for the first of many dams, including 60 more dams planned in the Brazilian Amazon alone, to be built. Even if all the environmental and social conditions are met, Belo Monte will still cause irreversible harm that we cannot allow to happen. What we need to do is encourage our government to defend the Amazon, respect indigenous peoples' rights, invest in energy efficiency and alternative energy.

Please help us defend our river and future generations by signing this petition.
Amazon Watch

Please help us gather over 40,000 petitions – the approximate number of people that would be affected by the Belo Monte Dam if built – so we can make a special delivery to our government before any construction begins. If you have already signed the petition, please watch the video and share the petition with at least five friends or family members.

Thank you for your support!

For the Amazon and our future generations,

Sheyla Juruna
Juruna Tribal Leader