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12. Human Rights: Defending the Defenders
Note: You have 2 days to complete this online discussion and reading. This can be done on Friday. The reading will summaries will count as two days worth.
Watch: The Burning Season https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/50b65bcc-22d2-4909-b094-5861ac70de50 (you will need to use your CC login)
Watch: Rainforest Mafias 
Why Do Environmentalists Keep Getting Killed Around the World? https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-do-environmentalists-keep-getting-killed-around-world-180949446/
The Second Death of Chico Mendez https://www.climatechangenews.com/2020/03/06/second-death-chico-mendes/
Latin America saw the most murdered environmental defenders in 2018
https://news.mongabay.com/2019/08/latin-america-saw-most-murdered-environmental-defenders-in-2018/
Enemies of the State https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/enemies-state/
Amazonians on Trial https://www.hrw.org/report/2018/03/26/amazonians-trial/judicial-harassment-indigenous-leaders-and-environmentalists
Glazebrook, Trish and Emmanuela Opoku. “Defending the Defenders: Environmental Protectors, Climate Change and Human Rights.” Ethics and the Environment 23(2):83-109.
(optional) Article 19. 2016. A Deadly Shade of Green: Threats to Environmental Human Rights Defenders in Latin America.
(optional) De Paula, Marilene. 2012 “Obstacles for Development? Human Rights, Infrastructure Policies, and “Mega-events” in Brazil” Inside a Champion.
(optional) After Chico Mendez https://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2013/apr/02/chico-mendes-killings-amazon
One of the best ways we can participate in social change is not by leading but by following. Protecting and strengthening the voices of people on the front lines of the struggle, and is one way that you can use your privilege to help those that are politically marginalized and publicly dehumanized.
There's a couple of ways that the rights of environmental defenders are violated. Assassinations are common throughout South America, and they rise and fall with the needs of industries. Colombia in particular has a long history of paramilitary death squads tied to the displacement of indigenous peoples by industry, but we're also seeing assassinations rise in Brazil with the road being build into the Amazon to colonize indigenous territory and extract natural resources. Environmentalists are murdered, sometimes by the state, sometimes by private interests with complicity of the state, throughout the Americas. Most of the readings examine this approach.
Another approach is criminalizing environmentalism and environmentalists. We've touched on that a bit with DAPL and the criminalization of protest in the US (I'm not sure how you feel about the ELF case from the first day, but it definitely fits into this discussion one way or another), and also with the Peruvian case, where indigenous leadership was charged with not only the deaths of the police officers, but of his own people who the police killed. This is extremely common throughout Latin America. Sometimes they look for ways to charge envrionmentalists with totally unrelated crimes-- murder, rape, drug trafficking. These cases are unusual in that there's usually a conviction with little or no evidence. It is a highly effective strategy as it sews doubts about activists in the broader community, staining the movement with the accusations and their associations. In Ecuador, all of the indigenous communities that sued Texcaco discovered that they had been charged with all sorts of things, and to this day spend much of their efforts fending off a slew of totally unrelated legal cases that destroy lives and drain all of their energy. I've only assigned one article the HRW "Amazonians on Trial" piece for this topic. It's not really discussed much, but it's an incredibly important topic and a very common and powerful strategy of the state to destroy environmental movements.
As we saw in Awake! and Two Worlds Collide and from our speakers Barbara and Mateo, establishing a rights protective space is absolutely key. Groups like Human Rights Watch, Amnesty and others conduct research and advocacy on these issues. Groups like Peace Brigades International (PBI) actually send people from the US and Europe to accompany those getting death threats in the hopes of protecting them. When we learn about environmental icons like Chico Mendez (from the movie) we remember them, we memorialize them, we take a step towards making sure that their deaths can help create a safer space for those to come. In learning that this does happen, allowing it to upset us, sharing it with others, we lay the foundations of creating a rights protective space that can save lives.
Was any of this new to you? Have these reports and stories changed your worldview? How so? What are the next steps and how do we take them?
This thread is open for two days, and also I'd like double the amount of posts. Feel free to refer to things from other days as well.
Comments
One thing that stuck out to me in The Burning Season was the American filmmaker. I wondered why he was not more afraid, and getting threats himself. I would think if anything him being American would make him more of a target. Josh's mention of the PBI sending American and European people to go with the environmentalists getting threats is really interesting. I didn't think about the power that being an American holds in those scenerios, and that filmmaker now makes complete sense to me. Thats SUCH a powerful privilege we have and thats really cool of organizations and its workers at PBI to utilize it.
To address Josh's questions, yes these stories were completely new to me. As I mentioned briefly on zoom, I think it was Barbara? who talked about her experience with the dams and her life being in danger. That really stuck to me- I had NO idea that was an aspect of the environmental equation. This just cements that. The idea that its typically local activists and leaders who are only working to protect their families and friends are targeted is kind of incredible. They are some of the most vulnerable groups and its so beyond wrong of the government to allow these things to happen. In terms of adjusting my worldview, absolutely this changes it. This gives me such a different perception of the global south specifically. It's hard though, because the blame cannot be fully placed on, for example Brazil's government. America and other "developed" countries have such a lucrative role in these situations and deserve a lot of the blame.
For next steps, I can't really think of many that directly address offset program human rights violations. It feels like we need the brave people who continue the battle down south to keep doing that. More filmmakers, etc are important to spread the news in America so that fuel can be more widely lit here. I think that so long as the US uses and needs offset programs, the problem will not be fixed. Ideas anyone?
Many of these stories were new to me, and I am thankful that I now know about incredible activists like Chico Mendez. However, it saddens me to think that such an instrumental figure is not well understood by my generation. It could be due to the time gap since his murder, but I think it is more likely due to his being in Latin America. A lot of the atrocities happening in this part of the world were previously unknown to me. I think that also says a lot about the dominant mainstream narratives we are fed in the global north. A lot of these issues are perpetuated by companies from the global north who are continuing the colonial legacy of exploiting the global south. My worldview has been changed by the reports on the murders of anthropologists and environmentalists to a more cynical one. The underreporting of the killings in all of the articles we read is scary to think about, as is how they must have lived in fear. The deaths of José “Zé Cláudio” Ribeiro da Silva and Maria do Espírito Santo in 2011, and Chico Mendez and Dorothy Stang should be publicized more in the media. I think that activists, in general, should be included in school or college curriculums when talking about injustice, the global impacts of capitalism, and environmental issues. What they fought to protect is still very much relevant, and an interdisciplinary approach to introducing our generation to these defenders could help students realize their positionality to these broader issues. Especially for those in the global north or anyone in general who is privileged enough not to have to worry about paramilitary raids and hitmen for standing up for what they believe in and survive on.
I bet if his character is based on a real filmmaker that he did feel some of the threat for both being associated with the rubber appears union and Chico but also for his recording of the issue. As for him being American, I agree with you that that puts him in a unique situation to be heard by a broader audience. Yet again, the reasons as to why that is are based on inequality. Utilization of his position to champion the cause is something that I see as honorable. I think it is dangerous when Americans or Europeans come to assist smaller groups in Latin America without a clear understanding of the situation. That is why it is so important for anthropologists and activists to prepare themselves beforehand for culture shock as well as do some introspective work on their own role.
Yeah that is an interesting point. I think because this is based on a true story and not the story itself, there was some things that were lost in editing. Films do have to pick and chose what makes it in and what doesn't and theres a good chance the American did feel threatened, it just didn't make it into the cinematic take. As for the nuances of being American in this situation, I felt a little uncomfortable by it. Even if the "power" that being an American holds is executed justly and for the common good, the power is still unequal. Thats something that makes me squirm a bit.
I really agree with your comment on being thankful about now knowing the name Chico Mendez. I feel like in school we learn a lot of important names but some for reason I don't think I'll ever forget his. I also agree about the underreporting concept. I am confident the numbers are much higher than we know. I also wonder to a point, who is counted in those figures? I think about the shorter film by Human Rights Watch we watched which mentioned 28 killings in relation to deforestation. I assume numbers like those aren't counted... but maybe they should be. People stood up against the injustices and their lives were taken as a result.
You're probably right about the nuances of making a film. In fact, I think it may have been a good thing they didn't delve into the American filmmaker more... it wasn't about him. I agree- the power concept is pretty uncomfortable. Just feels kinda weird. Nonetheless, I think its admirable to use the privileges you were born with in a positive manner.
The lack of constant record keeping, as well as the relatively 'late to the game' reports on environmental activist deaths, make this seem like less of an issue as it is in reality. I cannot help but wonder what the statistics would be if they included activists who went missing. When advocating for rights in remote places there is the possibility that your death will not be properly recorded or your body hidden. In the Glazebrook article, she points out that certain types of environmental activism-caused murders are not recognized under the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Human Rights Council’s (HRC) 2018 resolution. I think investigations into activist deaths need to be continued as well as reaching out to remote communities to hear oral narratives of people who know of disappeared activists or unrecorded deaths.
These stories are new to me. I had no idea how wide scale violence is against environmental activists, especially in Latin America. I also can't believe how little is being done about it by the authorities and how, especially in Ecuador, the government wants to criminalize the environmentalist. I think the first thing that needs to be is illegal actives like logging (such as in Rainforests Mafias) need attention from authorities. The government need to do something to stop this and punish those who are threatening farmers and locals. That would at least provide punishment that might help deter violence. In terms of situations like in "The Second Death of Chico Mendez", I think a focus on sustainable products being purchased by companies could be a solution. It seemed like the family that was still producing rubber was able to make living while working with a sustainable buyer. On the other hand the neighbor had resorted to raising cattle because they could no longer make a living in rubber. It needs to be profitable for these people to have sustainable work, otherwise they will resort to less sustainable options for survival.
These stories were not completely new to me. Within the world of activism I became pretty used to hear how many leaders were killed. From dictatorships until today, activist (and my grandparents within them)were targets of the most horrible threats, tortures and murders. Currently this is still a reality in many other countries in all aspects of activism but mostly environmentalism. Uruguay is now pretty "safe", I believe it is because we do not have really valuable natural resources, but within the region it is a huge reality and to an extent I think it is pretty well known. I still agree with some of the comments that probably what is known, recorded and said is not even half of what is actually going on and many of the realities from the inner Brazil that were shown in the movies and texts were compeltely unkown to me.
The criminalization of activists is a huge issue that makes everyone seem these activists "in te wrong side of the spectrum" by the population and invalidate their fights because of how society internalize that was says the law is the rule. It is also not a Latin American issue, since even in the US, there are many activists being criminalize for example at the border of US Mexico, or indegenous leaders in many regions. It is really hard to find a soultion out of this when the state is an ally of corporations and mafias, mostly in really corrupted countries. I believe in the unity of people, and that is something I still want to put my faith on. If people unite and through infromal media these cases are also more know, maybe something can change.
I agree that it is for sure a really good think to use your privilege in a positive manner, mostly if it is to rise someone elses voice that is fighting in the front line. Documentaries have help a lot to rise concern on issues that were unkown across the world, but I believe follow ups are very needed. I find it very tricky when someone writes a book or does a documentary tht really helps they portfolio or CV and then do nothing else on it. If you are not going to have a call for action after it, is pretty useless in my opinion. You probably can go home and forget th fear and the realities of the situation, but those people can not.
It is also really important to see what is a positive impact and what is a "feel good" project, for which working to rise the power and agency of the community itelf is a safe space to go as a privilege person. But apart from that, I honestly also do not think there should be something else about the American filmmaker, I honestly do not think it is relevant and would add much into the documentary and its goal.
I don't know how I feel about all of those points... I think different people are trained in different areas of expertise. For example, that filmmaker in the movie uses his tool set (making films) to use his privilege in a positive manner. All filmmakers aren't necessarily trained to support the people in a way besides that, except document what was happening. Maybe it's naive optimism, but I don't think someone in his position can go home and forget the fear and realities of the situations there. I think people chose to dedicate their lives to that work because they care. While they obviously are not living the fear and realities that those local people are, and while they can return to their lives back home when their work is finished, I don't think thats a reason to fault or discredit them. While it is very impactful to follow up a documentary for example and do call to actions, I don't think it is a faulty, impact-less project if they don't. At one point early in the movie, the filmmaker said he wasn't there to make a movie star, he was there to report the news. That stuck with me because it sort of made me think about his specific job/role in the situation.
I've thought about this a lot. The privilege and power that being an American can hold freaks me out a lot. Obviously it can be used for good, like in this situation, but it can also be used for bad. It makes me think of how American corporations can abuse this when entering other countries for mining/drilling etc. It makes me really uncomfortable that Americans can hold this power, but in situations like defending environmentalists its good that there is something that works.
I also agree about the big issue of the criminalization of activist. Josh's comments on it are really interesting... mainly how effective a tactic it is. That's one subtle piece of it I hadn't thought up. Not just criminalizing the leaders to get them out of the picture, but the actual political ramifications of that must be huge. I would imagine in the film we watched earlier where the man was arrested for the deaths of both the indigenous people and cops from that shootout, that there was some reconsideration of stances on the indigenous side. I remember myself personally thinking, well is he maybe technically speaking responsible? One also important piece you pointed out is the widespread nature of it... even in places like the United States, where the murders of environmentalist leaders probably wouldn't be able to be swept under the rug by the government, the tool of arresting leaders is definitely still used.
Also agreed on the unity of people!!
This isn't new information to me but every time I read about it I am always shocked and upset. I think the next steps are tracking down those accountable for the murders and making it way more present in the news that these are happening. This would at least lead to more people caring and trying to protect these people. The whole situation doesn't alter my worldview very much, I have very little faith in the world because of stuff like this already, it's disappointing that more people don't know about it though.
The article I found the most interesting was the Second Death of Chico Mendes. I knew that indigenous and rural people often work for extractive industries for financial reasons but I never considered the impact that these industries have on the economy. They can really change the economy of a country and force people out of certain workforces and change demand, leading to people like the family discussed in the article to completely change their livelihoods. It's sad that the Mendes Extractive Reserve is changing and that his legacy is as well.
I feel similarly - While the criminal activity is not a surprise to me, reading about criminal violence against environmental defenders is shocking. I think at the core of my surprise is just how blatant the violence is. Its shocking to read about crimes going unanswered for, even if they violence is as fragrant as it is, especially when the people targeted are defending something that is a benefit to all of humankind. What is the best way to pressure authorities into action.
I wondered that too, and after a while I think I can think of a reason. As we see from the documentary and some of the readings, the Brazilian government currently does little or nothing to combat the illegal deforestation. I imagine the same is true for a murder, it is not their priority to investigate and bring to justice these murders. I assume this is not the same for Americans/Europeans. Can you imagine the news if an American or European was killed by criminal organizations due to their involvement with environmental protection? It would be an uproar, and some sort of investigation would certainly be launched from their home country. I think this really does demonstrate the immense privilege certain people have and could possibly lead to more privileged people going to help.
Before going over the assigned material, I really was not aware that environmentalists were being killed for their actions. Certainly not by organized companies and countries. I guess my first reaction to this was that I'm thankful that (as far as I'm aware) I live somewhere where noone has to worry about their lives while being an advocate (at least not on the same level). That being said I'm sure advocates get killed here in the US as well. I suppose this did change my world view a bit in that, especially in Latin America, money really does mean power and goes so far to mean that when someone with money wants someone killed, they can make it happen. We really don't live in a free world. I suppose, in my mind, the next steps to take would be to de-corrupt country leaders in Latin America. It seems people are getting away with murder because the government does not do a good job of investigating, which I'm sure can be at least partially contributed to corruption. It is also this sort of corruption which leads to scenarios where people have to fight for their rights, land etc. in the first place. I know that is a huge step to take and I'm not really sure how to begin, but I really do think a large part of the problem lies with corruption.
I agree with both of you as to the cynicism that hearing about these injustices can produce. I think that for me, one of the saddest components of this blatant violence is the scale of it. Whole communities and families become targets, as we saw in the film on Chico Mendez. The amount of civilian casualties is heartbreaking. Not to say that the activists' being murdered are not... Another aspect that saddens me is the internal violence within these communities. The ranchers and loggers are in similar socio-economic positions as the indigenous activists, something Chico was quick to point out. It is the larger businesses that cause or intensify intercommunal rifts.
Thats a really good point, @a_hipp about the internal violence. I think that was also one of my biggest surprises in the movie actually... the cattle rancher wasn't some big hot shot who came in to the area from some otherwise more privileged situation. My understanding was he was born and raised just the same, and got some lucky break and was able to exponentially expand his ranch as a result. The ability of the government to manipulate certain people by offering them more wealth (wealth they need to survive and help their families survive), and in turn, turn their backs on their communities seems like a subtle, but common trend. It's hard because you can't really judge those people one way or another (for accepting the money). That being said you absolutely can judge them for the violence instilled- its crazy to me that of all the people to have actually ordered Chico's death, it was a local rancher. I am sure that is pretty common in these scenerios honestly.
I just read the Enemies of the State article and it had a link to a short video in it (Enemies of the state? | Stand with Defenders of land and our environment_). It really makes me think back to earlier discussions we had about environmentalism in the United States and all the criticisms of it. It really is insane how exclusive it is- it is not encompassing of nearly enough perspectives. The clip depicts "environmental defenders" of what appears to be many local activists (mostly POC) standing up for their land. If environmental defenders and environmentalists united forces, the power it could have would be unstoppable... world wide! I think I finally really understand what we were meaning earlier in the course by saying the environmental movement has failed because it is not representative enough.
I also found this the most interesting article. I found it interesting to see the contrast between the two families. Even the family that was still selling rubber admitted that they had just enough to get by and they were only successful because they had a reliable buyer. And the family that was raising cattle saw it as a more lucrative option. As you said it's also really sad that this is happening on the Chico Mendes Reserve.
I think it's important to mention the ranchers and loggers as well. It's easy to think of them as the ones driving these industries forward and the reason for the violence. It's important to remember that they are also just trying to make a living. It's the big industry that is driving the violence and the environmental destruction.
The Burning Season was an American movie made outside of Brazil and had ONE brazilian actress in the whole cast. I do not think we can even get close to think he was fearing whatever those poeple in the ground were fearing. And honestly yeah, I think we need to be really critical of white and class privilege, even if it means to fault or discredit them. People in the front line were harmed in a countless number of ways by people from the outside "trying to help", so I think that is now the only way in which we can protect that from happening again.
That said, the movie was a good insight into something that might be close to what the realities were. No idea if they did something after that, tried to research and was not able to find much. But within the Brazilian population there were a lot of mixed feelings regarding the movie, and that is important to hear. I think a call to action is a way of making sure that at least you are doing something to give back to those communities, not sure if it validate things more or not, I believe it is also not as easy s to do whatever and the hava a call to action. But as an fast answer on what could be done to be better, I think to question yourself on "what am i giving back" at its minimum, is a way to go.
Something I wanted to revisit, which we have touched upon in other threads, is the role of women in activism. The article by Glazebrook did a great job of outlining how women activists are still not getting the recognition they deserve. They are seen as passive and 'adaptable' to environmental change instead of agents of change that mitigate deforestation and extraction harms. Chico's wife and the older woman who lost her son/grandson in the confrontation with the ranchers over the road were powerful figures. I respect these women so much because of the additional risks of sexual assault that accompanies threats of deaths or injury. I would love to read a report that focuses on the female victims and investigates their murders as well as sexual assaults. I am almost positive that for all the underreporting of activist deaths, the statistics on female activists are even more unreported.
I was shocked reading about the violence against environmental defenders. I haven't taken a class like this before and know more of what is portrayed in mainstream American news. I think this proves your point about making it more present in the media. If we all knew about these activists and the violence they face maybe the governments would be forced to do more about it and not let the crimes go unanswered and criminalize the defenders.
I am glad you bring up the problem of criminalizing the defenders. To me, this is a further insult to the legacies, the families, and the activists themselves. The justice system does not validate the motivations or even the actions of the activists. Instead, they place criminal charges of 'terrorism,' 'inciting violence,' or 'spying' on the activists to mute their cries for change. While the violence against activists has been mentioned in this thread and the articles as shockingly blatant, I would say that reading the accounts of the court cases; they were more so. This reminds me of our earlier class discussions about ELF as an ecoterrorist group or not. However, these activists often do not have the media base or large numbers supporting their cause that ELF does. It frustrates me to think that activists are stuck in jail from human-rights violating actions on behalf of the judicial system of their country. As we read, many times, there is no evidence!
I was talking more about the filmmaker portrayed in The Burning Season (assuming he was based off a real person). I just think theres a difference between fault or discrediting someone based off their class/privilege and fault or discrediting someone based off their actions and use of that privilege. I agree with basically all of your points, to me I just think I agree, on a scale, less than you do. Less extremely. The point about the Brazilian population being mixed about the film is really important. I had not heard anything about that.
Something this discussion makes me think about is who are the activists that are fighting for each cause. General environmental protests are really popular. The activists in Latin America that we read about seem to way more frequently be fighting for the land they live on being taken or destroyed, for resources they depend on, and sometimes for their lives. If environmental issues impacted people around the world as much as they do indigenous people the culture surrounding environmentalism and development would change drastically I think.