B R A Z I L AT THE END OF THE RIVER By Dario Bosio parallelozero
A woman is wahing the clothes in the Igarapé Ambé not far away from the favela of Invasão dos Padres, which will be flooded by the waters of the Xingu as soon as the dam will be built
The recent Brazilian expansion is constrasting with the global tendency and the global economic crisis. As the country wealth is rising, new infrastructures are needed to support the new brazilian growth. The Belo Monte dam, on the Xingu River, is one of them. The dam, which will be the world s third largest and will flood an area of approximately 500 square kilometers, will have serious consequences on the environment and the communities living on the shores of the Xingu. Apart from affecting several indigenous territories, the dam will flood a third of the city of Altamira, which is already suffering from an increasing crime rate due to the massive immigration caused by the working opportunities offered by the dam. The tension on the Xingu is rising, as the amazon people try to cope with the so-called progress and resist against the project.
An Arara warrior relaxes on his hammock with his son after lunch in the Arara indigenous village of the Big Bend of the Xingu. The whole tribe is among the most affected by the construction of the dam
Donna Maura, 55 years old, is sitting on the floor of Patricia s house in Invasao dos Padres. After loosing everything, she s been somehow adopted by her and contribute by cleaning the clothes of the family. On the left Eugenia, 23 years old, is waiting for her boyfriend to call her. Her ex-husband is in jail charged with homicide
A stilt house in the favela known as Invasão dos Padres. The stilts, which prevent the houses from flooding during the rainy season, will be useless in the future due to the increased capacity of the Xingu caused by the dam
The main working area of Belo Monte, where the powerhouse will be built. The turbines will generate up to 11.000 MW when working at full capacity thanks to a ninety mters high artificial waterfall. The Belo Monte dam complex will be the third largest in the world once built. It will flood an area of approximately 500 square kilometers and will have serious impacts on the population living on the shores of the Xingu River, in the Brazilian Amazon
Seu Leoncio, 73 years old, is the cacique of the Arara village. He is the only one in the village that still remembers the first contact with the white people. He fears that the dam will be the last step of a process that long ago started killing the indigenous culture
A boy fishes in the river in front of the Arara indigenous territory. The indigenous communities are still living following very traditional lifestyles and their own existance depends on the river
Alini and her daughter in front of their house in the favela of Invasão dos Padres, which will be flooded as soon as the dam will be operating, forcing residents to leave their settlements
One of the families that will be evicted from the favela of Invasão dos Padres as soon as the area will be flooded because of the dam
Eugenia, 23 years old, is waiting for a call from her boyfriend in the favela of Invasão dos Padres. His ex husband is in jail charged with homicid
Cecilio Kayapo is speaking with Don Lucio, leader of the Fishermen Association, in front of his house in Invasão dos Padres. Since the construction started the fishermen are having meetings among themselves and with the enterprise to negotiate a fair compensation
Police checking on suspects in a brothel of Altamira. Due to huge immigration rate Altamira is experiencing a crime wave that the police is struggling to fight. Drug traffic, prostitution rate, rapes and robberies increased since the construction of Belo Monte began
A suspect is being checked by the military police in the favela of Invasão dos Padres. Crime rate is rising in Altamira due to the huge increase of population brought by the working opportunities offered by the dam
A kid is playing with the slingshot in the favela of Invasão dos Padres
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