Dear Friend,

Quilombolas, the descendants of enslaved Africans in Brazil, are in the middle of a fight for their lives. And our solidarity can matter today.

The territory of Tanque da Rodagem/São João, sitting in the lush cerrado of Maranhão, is under attack. Armed men have stormed homes and terrorized families. Bulldozers have plowed through and flattened gardens and villages. All this is at the behest of soybean agribusiness, as they seek to expand their narrow-minded profits.

As Sebastião Ferreira, who has lived in the region for over 46 years, said, it is an absurd situation. “People arrive from the outside saying they are owners, with no respect for our history and our way of life. It is from here, for four decades, that I have earned my family's livelihood.”

But inspiringly, the community has resisted the onslaught. Nearly half of the 150 Quilombola families have remained on their lands, occupying and organizing against the violent seizure. On September 10, more armed men hired by soybean corporations entered the territory with multiple tractors with huge chains. The Quilombolas chased off the hired guns, captured three of the tractors, and kept watch so that evidence of the mercenaries’ crimes could not be covered up. The armed men temporarily vacated the area after the community pressured the military police to file an official report — four days later.

The threats are far from over. Yet the families remain encamped and ready to resist. They are calling upon the Secretary of State for the Environment (SEMA) to come carry out an inspection and punish the armed men and their agribusiness employers. They are also demanding an answer to why SEMA had granted the soybean producers certain permits, including to apply toxic agrochemicals in the area — leading to an outbreak in skin rashes and eye irritation among the community.

They are calling upon Grassroots International supporters, people like you, to join hands with their struggle and put pressure on SEMA today.

Please join me today in standing up for Quilombola lives and lands.

In solidarity, Chung-Wha Hong Executive Director