The Javari Valley, the second largest indigenous land in Brazil, is located in the municipalities of Atalaia do Norte and Guajará, in Amazonas. The region is home to the largest concentration of isolated peoples in the world, with 64 villages of 26 peoples and around 6,3 people, but faces problems such as illegal fishing, logging and drug trafficking.
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The death of Dom and Bruno happened in this nebulous context. The legal attorney for the Union of Indigenous Peoples of the Javari Valley (Univaja), Eliesio Marubo, argues that the investigation should be more comprehensive and not only focus on the perpetrators of the crime, but on the agents who support predatory activities in the Javari Valley.
“The issue of investigating the group that gives political support to that set of illegal activities that operate in the region. Another point that also needs to be investigated is the path of crime in the region. It is necessary for this investigation analyzing these two points to happen precisely so that we can guarantee the security of the region, not only for indigenous land but also for the surrounding population”, says Marubo.
The Univaja representative also calls for more coordination between State policies to permanently provide security for the native populations of Vale do Javari. He complains that measures suggested during the transition to the current government have not yet come to fruition.
“The overt policing in the form that we proposed to the government, to the current government, in the transition commission, the priority that we indicated within the 100 days of government also did not happen and this makes the region more vulnerable”, he declares.
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Arrangements
For the president of the National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples (Funai), Joenia Wapichana, it is necessary to reinforce structures and guarantee a more permanent policy in the region. To achieve this, the body establishes a cooperation agreement between indigenous organizations and counts on the help of the entire government.
“It is necessary to invest so that priority is given to strengthening these phases, in which other bodies within the ministries can also share the responsibility for a more permanent protection policy. And that these rights can also be respected by the State itself in indigenous lands”, says Wapichana.
The Ministry of Indigenous Peoples created a working group to combat crime in the region, formed by ten ministries, Funai, the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) and representatives of the Federal Public Ministry, the Federal Public Defender's Office, the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil and the Univaja.
Commandant released and fights for justice
It was exactly Dom and Bruno's search for evidence against criminals in Vale do Javari that motivated the murder. Suspected of being the mastermind of the crime, businessman Rubens Villar Pereira was released on provisional release in October last year on bail of R$15.
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Currently, three people accused of participating in the deaths are in prison, awaiting trial. Last month, the 4th Panel of the Federal Regional Court of the 1st Region (TRF1) decided to collect new statements from defendants Amarildo da Costa Oliveira, Oseney da Costa Oliveira and Jefferson da Silva Lima, who had their first statement annulled. Police authorities placed at least eight people under suspicion for possible participation in the homicides and hiding the bodies.
Three weeks ago, former Funai president Marcelo Xavier was indicted for failure to act in the case. Former vice president Alcir Amaral Teixeira was also indicted. The Federal Police considers that the agency did not take action after learning of the risk that the indigenous person was running.
Legacies
As a souvenir, friends and relatives keep the last photos of the two alive. The images were recovered from Bruno's cell phone, found by indigenous people from Vale do Javari four months after the murder.
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Bruno Pereira and Dom Phillips were killed on June 5 last year, when they were traveling to interview indigenous and riverside leaders in communities close to Vale do Javari. The journalist was preparing a book about the Amazon. A Funai graduate since 2020, the experienced indigenous person worked as a technical consultant for Univaja and accompanied Dom Phillips on the mission.
Since discovering the Amazon in 1998, Dom has been enchanted by the place. “I think everyone who goes to the Amazon is a little impacted because it’s a great life there, right? Dom realized this as much as he talked about it, right? He said he saw God in nature”, recalls the British journalist’s widow, Alessandra Sampaio.
In relation to Bruno Pereira, Eliesio Marubo recalls that the Funai licensed employee had a complete role, which was not restricted to the study of indigenous communities. “Bruno is considered a big name in Brazilian indigenism, because his work was not just based on the work itself. There is concern not only with indigenous peoples, but also with communities surrounding indigenous lands,” he highlights.
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According to Dom Phillips' widow, respect for indigenous and Amazonian peoples is one of the legacies that the journalist and indigenist left for the world.
“I think Dom and Bruno saw that clearly. They lived with these people, with the riches that these people brought, how to learn from nature. I think we lost our connection with nature and stopped learning from it. The legacy is for us to look at nature again and understand that we are nature too”, concludes Alessandra.
(Source: Agência Brasil/TV Brasil)
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