Brazil is one of the most dangerous places for environmental defenders, with 342 people killed in the last decade. Our work in Brazil builds upon a foundation of research and collaboration with our network of Brazilian partners, especially IZM and the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT). Together we coordinate the Amazon Defenders Collective and the Casa de Respiro, both of which focus on the holistic security and wellbeing of defenders.
The Amazon Defenders Collective seeks to strengthen support for and protection of environmental and land defenders in the Brazilian Amazon. Funded by the Open Society Foundation, the two year project has three main phases: 1) strengthen the capacity of IZM and CPT, organisations in the Amazon that directly support frontline defenders, 2) provide support to defenders who face threats, 3) create long-term strategies for support.
Phase 1 focused on strengthening the operational capacity of the Zé Claudio and Maria Institute (IZM), and provided additional support to the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT) offices in Itaituba and Marabá in the systematisation of data on attacks against defenders in the region.
Phase 2 had three main components:
Defender-Defender networks of support. At the 2019 Forest Defenders Conference, we brought together several Brazilian defenders who faced extensive and continued threats. After the conference, we worked with a group of the attendees to provide continued support. The Defender-Defender network created mechanisms to continue that support and expand it to reach more people.
Training and support. In addition to continued work liaising with international emergency funding for at-risk defenders, this component included training in use of the app TELLA, a safer way for collecting data and evidence of attacks and threats. It also included training in international legal mechanisms and fund-raising strategies.
Holistic care and therapies. Most emergency support to defenders does not adequately provide for holistic care and therapies to address the impacts of traumas, both emotional and physical. We are developing methods to provide holistic care to defenders who are forced to flee their homes. This holistic care work is directly linked to the Casa de Respiro, which arose from the Amazon Defenders Collective project.
Phase 3. Keeping the collective alive. As the project wraps up, we are seeking mechanisms to maintain and expand the collective. This includes building upon the trainings carried out in Phase 2, which led to successful funding proposals including: a) support for the Casa de Respiro, b) research into the strengths and weaknesses of the Brazilian government's Protection Programme for Human Rights Defenders. We continue to seek novel ways to continue to build upon the successes of the group.
The Casa de Respiro, or Forest Respite House, is a safe place for at-risk defenders in Brazil, created by Not1More and the Zé Claudio and Maria Institute. Inspired by Casa La Serena in Mexico – where women human rights defenders are able to gather, rest and reflect – we are using the knowledge of local defenders to create a space that reflects the needs and character of the Amazon.
For defenders who must flee their homes after assassination attempts or serious death threats, a safe house is essential. However, leaving one’s community and peers after surviving such terrifying events can risk feelings of isolation or guilt, in the midst of post-traumatic recovery. For this reason, defenders need more than just a physical safe space, they need a place where they can seek refuge during crises and take care of their mental health and wellbeing: a place they can rest and breathe.
In 2021, with the support of over 200 donors, we purchased a house in a safe place, nearby to allies and within reach of defenders living in the most dangerous Brazilian states. The house aims to build concrete support mechanisms for those most at risk, as part of our ongoing campaign for accessible and holistic emergency support that is integrated within a robust network. Our regional partners include the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), Coletivo Maparajuba (a young lawyers collective), the Movement of People Affected by Dams (MAB), the Landless Workers Movement (MST) and Fundo Casa. Masterminded by the Amazonian environmental activist and founder of IZM, Claudelice Santos, and with broad support from major funders in the area, the Casa is both defender-led and part of an interlocking programme of defender support that includes psychosocial care, legal initiatives and education.
The house is an ongoing project that develops in response to the needs of those it houses. We are focused on developing practices of collective care and therapies embedded in Amazonian practices and cultures, led by grassroots organisations collaborating together in a spirit of building trust and unity. We are currently working to extend the house, to improve its physical security, accessibility and homeliness. Led by Claudelice, together with a local architect and a psychologist, we are following a process of ‘Architectura Therapeutica’ – an architecture of care – to accommodate a diverse range of people who have suffered trauma.
