News-Letter Nr. 487

Pataxó Hã-Hã-Hãe People Celebrate Victory

With a toré (ritual dance) around the tomb of Galdino Jesus dos Santos in Pau Brasil, southern Bahia, the Pataxó Hã-Hã-Hãe celebrated their victory in one of Brazil’s most controversial trials in recent years. All sessions were packed with people during the four days of the trial. Outside the courtroom of the Jury Tribunal of Brasília, dozens of people waited for an opportunity to watch the trial that condemned Max Rogério Alves, Antônio Novély Cardoso de Vilanova, Tomás Oliveira de Almeida, and Eron Chaves Oliveira to 14 years in prison. Inside the courtroom, most people watching the trial were law students who sympathized with the defendants. Of the 274 seats available in the courtroom, indigenous people occupied only 32. This majority could be clearly perceived in the boos that were heard when the Pataxó Hã-Hã-Hãe rose to applaud the jurors for their decision. It was the last humiliation they experienced during the trial. The Pataxó Hã-Hã-Hãe did not question the rules. They simply accepted the instructions to take the seats reserved for them at the back of the auditorium and moved to the first rows when they were informed that, according to the rules of the court, they had this right. They were anxious to see, face to face, those who were responsible for the crime. Minervina de Jesus, Galdino’s mother, cried when she saw the defendants and had a hard time dealing with reporters.

The Pataxó Hã-Hã-Hãe, like the Xukuru, Truká, Tupinambá, Tumbalalá, Macuxi and Tembé who were with them to express their solidarity, went through painful moments during the trial. They cried when they heard insults against the memory of Galdino and when they saw the pictures of the forensic report showing his situation after being burned alive. Galdino’s sister, Marilene de Jesus, and the Pataxó Anaiá became very nervous after these episodes. As a precaution, Mrs.Monervina and other elderly indigenous women were taken out of the courtroom before the pictures were shown.

They held their emotions even when they were informed about the result of the trial by one of the prosecutors. They calmly agreed to wait until the sentence was read aloud. After all, they waited for four years and seven months and had to face many judicial battles before the jury trial was held.

In the state of Bahia, a lot of people were eager to know the result of the trial and kept making lots of phone calls. Those who stayed there ensured the resistance in reoccupied farms. Since October 22, the Pataxó Hã-Hã-Hãe reoccupied 66 farms that encroach upon the Caramuru-Catarina-Paraguassu indigenous area. They were expelled at gunpoint from two of them. The conflict led Funai to resume the survey of the area for the purpose of compensating the occupants of the land for improvements made therein in good faith.

The end of the trial of the murderers of Galdino Jesus dos Santos brought relief to Mrs. Minervina de Jesus, who has lost two of her older sons in the battle for the land. It was also a relief to the Pataxó Hã-Hã-Hãe, who have seen 13 of their leaders die in 20 years of struggle. However, while the murderers have indeed been convicted, the occupation of the indigenous land and the end of the conflicts in southern Bahia are still goals that depend on judicial decisions. They are waiting for the justice of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), Nelson Jobim, to issue a decision on an Action to Nullify Title Deeds to farms that encroach upon their lands. A signed petition with over 18,000 signatures collected as part of an international campaign for the demarcation of the indigenous land has been delivered to the justice during the trial. It may be the end of a 19-year struggle and the beginning of their dream to live in peace in their traditional land.

Brasília, 14 November 2001.
Indianist Missionary Council - Cimi

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