Dear Jack,

"We no longer hear the loggers’ trucks and screaming chainsaws. It’s great! We don’t hear their noise any more. Now we can hunt and fish again, and collect fruits in the forest."

Ten years ago, the Brazilian government finally concluded its operation to remove thousands of illegal loggers, settlers and ranchers from the Awá Indigenous territory. Our friend Pire’i Awá was overjoyed as he told me what it meant to him and his family.

Two years earlier, in April 2012, we’d launched our campaign with the Awá: their land was being completely overrun, more than 30% of their central territory had been destroyed, and satellite images showed more rainforest disappearing almost before our eyes.

Hundreds of Awá had been contacted by force on various occasions since the 1970s. They lived in semi-settled communities, and we’d been visiting them since 1992 while campaigning for their territory’s demarcation, so counted many of them as friends. But there were others still uncontacted, living a nomadic life in what little rainforest survived. They were in constant danger from the loggers, who have a long history of shooting any Awá man, woman or child unlucky enough to cross their path.

Working closely with our Awá friends, we came up with a plan, which soon evolved into one of the biggest campaigns in Survival’s history:

• Survival’s supporters sent over 57,000 messages to Brazil’s Minister of Justice asking him to take action to remove the loggers.

• We secured global media attention, making the Awá’s plight known to people around the world.

• Dozens of celebrities from renowned photographer Sebastião Salgado to actor Gillian Anderson and fashion designer Vivienne Westwood pledged their support.

• Hundreds of Awáicons – the campaign’s logo – were photographed by supporters on famous landmarks in 38 countries.

• Three ad campaigns brought the plight of the Awá to the world’s attention.

• The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (the Americas’ top human rights body) took action after receiving an urgent submission from Survival and Brazilian organization CIMI.

And much more. So much, in fact, that the pressure on Brazil’s government to act became overwhelming. Under orders from a judge, the government launched a massive operation, involving hundreds of soldiers, field workers from Brazil’s Indigenous affairs department FUNAI, Environment Ministry special agents and police officers. All the loggers and ranchers were evicted.

Shortly afterwards, with Pire’i Awá and his family, I visited parts of the territory where the forest was starting to reclaim the logging roads. Pire’i couldn’t contain his delight at the support he and his people had received: “Our friends helped us a lot. You live far away, but you’ve helped so much. It’s fantastic here now! We are happy now, we sing and we hunt, deep in the forest.”

While it has not put a permanent end to invasions of their land, the removal operation, exactly ten years ago, was a huge leap forward in the Awá’s ongoing fight for their land and survival.

Meanwhile a thousand miles to the west, the loggers and cattle barons are massing around the edges of the uncontacted Kawahiva people’s land.

Satellite photos show how the forest surrounding the Kawahiva is being cleared at a terrifying rate.

Even more worryingly, their territory is still not fully recognized by the government – and the legal process has been stalled for eight years. Powerful local politicians and ranchers are eyeing up the Kawahiva’s forest, and it’s one of the most violent areas of Brazil.

Will you help get the Kawahiva territory protected properly?

We’ve done it with the Awá – let’s do it now for the Kawahiva. When we act together, we create an unstoppable force for change.

With thanks,

Sarah Shenker
Brazil campaigner