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Article

20 Oct 2017

Author:
Conectas Direitos Humanos (Brazil)

Brazil: Antônia Melo, long-time environmental defender of Xingu, wins Alexander Soros Foundation Award for her fight against the construction of Belo Monte dam

"Inspirational struggle-Antônia Melo, long-time environmental defender of Xingu, wins Alexander Soros Foundation Award", 10 October 2017
Antônia Melo da Silva, a Brazilian environmental activist known for her work as general coordinator of the Xingu Forever Alive Movement, received the Alex Soros Foundation award for environmental and human rights activists...[on 10]...October...The award is a homage to her inspirational role leading campaigns to prevent the construction of the Belo Monte dam and other infrastructure projects that cause damage to the Amazon region. Now that the construction of the dam is underway, she is pressuring the authorities for reparations for the communities driven from their lands by the project in the Xingu region..."The Belo Monte complex is a project of destruction...causing the death of flora, fauna and countless cultures of traditional and indigenous peoples that live in the Xingu river basin. Our community faces increased violence, unemployment and misery as a result of the greed of the government and a group of businesspeople who want to exploit our lands and rivers for profit. I dedicated my life fighting this project and even though it is going ahead, I will continue to fight against what Belo Monte represents: a model of development that is destructive, unsustainable and unviable..."...[said Antônia Melo da Silva]...Two decades ago, Antônia Melo, a mother five children, founded the Xingu Forever Alive Movement, a group of environmental and social organizations located in Altamira...impacted by the Belo Monte hydroelectric plant project...formed by people...united in their opposition to the hydroelectric dam, including riverside and fishing communities, agricultural laborers, indigenous peoples and religious and women's organizations...According to Caio Borges, coordinator of Business and Human Rights at Conectas, "Antônia Melo is a leader for indigenous peoples and traditional communities. She has faced threats, losses and resistances of all kinds and yet has remained firm in her struggle that has already lasted decades...As a result of the struggle..., there has been enormous public awareness and debate..."...