In an open letter to Brazilian society, agents of the Fishermen’s Pastoral Council (PPC ) who met in a National Assembly along with representatives of the Brazilian Movement of Fishermen and Fisherwomen (MPP ) as well as other organizations working to defend the rights of traditional peoples and populations, from 10 to 14 March 2014, in Olinda, Pernambuco, evaluated the Pastoral Council’s activities with artisanal fishermen, and forged collective strategies to strengthen the role of fishermen and fisherwomen in the struggle to guarantee their rights.
In assessing the current conjuncture, we found that the situation had worsened in terms of the denial of rights being experienced by Brazilian artisanal fishermen and fisherwomen at the hands of the developmentalist policy adopted by the state . The government’s actions ignore the way of life of these communities in order to open up space for the advancement of large projects, predatory tourism, mining, privatization of water, real estate speculation, and the aquaculture business, among other investments encouraged in such a disorderly way that they threaten the lives of these traditional populations. As we discussed these issues, our indignation swelled against the despicable way that the state and private companies treat the families and communities of artisanal fishermen and fisherwomen. These communities are among the most discriminated against by government and society, the letter adds.
Outraged by this reality of oppression and exclusion, and committed to the People’s God and to God’s People, we reaffirm our commitment to the traditional fishing communities in the struggle to guarantee their rights, as well as to the struggle for them to regain and remain in their territories. We likewise denounce:
The privatization of bodies of water which are public and commonly used by the Brazilian people, as well as by numerous communities that traditionally use these areas, through various strategies which include the issuing of tenders to pass control to companies and individuals, thereby preventing access to traditional fishing communities, and impeding their culture and work.
The difficulty experienced especially by women in accessing adequate quality health care, as well as the Social Welfare agency’s failure to recognize specific occupational diseases suffered by those who work as artisanal fishers.
The government’s maneuver to ally with bureaucratic organizations which hinder and even deny access to rights already won.
The cooperation agreement signed between the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture (MPA) and the National Confederation of Fisheries and Aquaculture (CNPA), which harms constitutional and trade union rights such as freedom of association and union autonomy, in order to keep the fishermen and women tied to a system of organization which holds them hostage; as well as the bureaucratization of the Ministry which makes the General Registry for Fisheries ( RGP) difficult to access and maintain. Many men and women of the waters cannot manage to get registered; those who do are required to re-register annually, and still do not have their registration recognized by the government’s own agencies when they try to access their rights.
The outsourcing to third parties of services which are the Ministry’s responsibility to fishermen and women, which then creates a vicious circle of political and economic domination, and electoral misuse.
The constant threats suffered by traditional fishing communities which struggle for the right to stay in their territories. Several attempts to expel them have led to situations of human rights violations. A prime example is the case of the community of Cumbria/ Aracaty in the state of Ceará, which is suffering from violent action to remove the community from its place, for the benefit of a group of shrimp farming businessmen.
What is happening to the traditional fishing communities is a true cultural genocide encouraged by the state. We urge Brazilian society to learn about and support the struggle of fishing communities so that their culture, tradition and way of life are preserved. These communities play a key role in preserving the environment and ensuring the supply of a healthy diet for the Brazilian people.
We ask the same society to make a concrete gesture towards this cause: to get involved with all its strength in the National Campaign for Regularization of Traditional Fishing Communities’ Territories. This campaign proposes a bill of popular initiative to recognize, protect and ensure artisanal fishermen and fisherwomen the right to their territory. The peoples of the waters are worthy of representing the fight for a country with less inequality, one where the preservation of the rights of every human being is respected. We are engaged in a struggle to preserve a way of life, a culture, and the environment, and against a rapacious model of capitalist growth. We are proposing to the entire Brazilian society the construction of a new societal model: the culture of Living Well.
As for traditional fishing communities in this struggle, we can only urge them to resist! As
the biblical prophecy puts it so well:
“Look! These people arrive fast and light. In their midst, no one tires, no one stumbles, no one is sleeping, no one is napping, no one is loosening his belt … Their arrows are sharp, and all their bows taut; the hooves of their horses are like stone and the wheels of their chariots are like a hurricane. Their roar is like that of the lioness, they roar like a young lion.” – Isaiah 5, 26 -30
Fishing for life and dignity in the waters of the organization!, the letter concludes.