On Saturday, June 8, the Canudos Encampment, part of the Landless Rural Workers' Movement (known in Brazil as MST), was attacked by four hooded and armed men in the town of Riacho de Santo Antônio, in the state of Paraíba. The criminals invaded the community where 56 families live, setting fire to shacks and leaving residents in despair.
The attack took place a week after the landless families were registered by the Brazilian Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform (Incra, in Portuguese), starting the settlement process almost nine years after the beginning of the occupation of the area, on December 28, 2015.
Encampers used buckets and water from the cistern that supplies the site to put out the fire, which prevented an even more devastating tragedy. Of the seven houses set on fire, three were destroyed.
Two weeks after the crime, the families began to rebuild their shacks collectively. Brasil de Fato followed this new beginning. "Rebuild the houses and move on, right? Whoever thought they were going to destroy me did me good," says Gerlane Alves de Moura, an encamper who lost everything due to the fire.
The idea is to build houses for families that didn't live in the encampment’s central street. The aim is for all the families to remain close so that they feel even more protected as a collective.
"We get strength from the land itself, from the MST, to stay and resist. We will rebuild [the houses] as many times as we need. Once, twice, ten times. We don't give up," says Nagibe Jânio Pereira Silva, who has lived there since the first day of the occupation.
The 56 families encamped in Riacho de Santo Antônio have started to get their lives back together after the criminal attack / Pedro Stropasolas
Unproductive farm
The Canudos Farm, owned by Demosthenes Bezerra Barbosa, covers around 3,000 hectares of land and, according to the MST, was "unproductive" and "abandoned" before the occupation.
Brasil de Fato toured the property with farmers and noted the state of abandonment.
"The movement is very powerful. Now, we have to strengthen ourselves even more so that we can regularize this land and make it an agrarian reform site, giving this area a productive meaning, because it's not a small area; 13,000 hectares is a lot of land and there are a lot of people who need land to work," said Cíntia Milena Santos, from the state leadership of the MST in Paraíba.
The Canudos Farm headquarters is abandonment and being taken over by vegetation / Pedro Stropasolas
The attack on the families is under investigation by the Queimadas Civil Police and monitored by the State Commission for the Prevention of Violence in the Countryside and the Public Defender's Office. The main suspect is a farm employee named Erivandro Alves, who settled in the area at least two years ago and started making "harsh threats" against the encamped rural workers.
In the police report to which Brasil de Fato had access, the statement mentions this employee, who also works taking care of the cattle on the property. According to the MST, he leases land to farmers from the region to place their cattle in the area occupied by landless families.
The families most affected by the attack, such as that of Ivoneide Ferreira da Silva, are still sheltering in a school in the town. "What hurt me most is losing the photo of my son, who died when he was 17. That was the only one I had," adds Dona Neide.
"The attack shocked us, but also gave us strength to rebuild the houses", says Ivoneide, who lost everything in the fire / Pedro Stropasolas
"Everything we had here we bought through work. I had just paid off the last installment of that fridge," said the farmer.
The Superintendent of the Ministry of Agrarian Development in Paraíba, Cícero Legal, visited the community on the same day as the Brasil de Fato and promised to speed up the resolution of the conflict and the settlement of the families.
"We're going to meet in Brasilia to see what we can do for you. This situation can no longer continue. A man comes here, burns down houses and detains people. We're already in the 21st century," he told the residents.
Familes that lost everything in the fire are receiving donations / Pedro Stropasolas
Solidarity and harvest
While the investigation is ongoing, the settlers are concentrating on rebuilding Canudos. The solidarity campaign launched by the MST days after the crime has paid off.
Non-perishable food, personal hygiene items, cleaning products, mattresses and clothes arrive daily. The movement emphasizes the urgent need for household utensils and appliances. "We want to thank everyone who is helping us," says Gerlane.
Paulo Romário, also from the MST state leadership, explains that solidarity is not only coming from other MST settlements and encampments in the region but also from civil society.
Beans harvested by the families of the Canudos Landless Encampment after the attack / Pedro Stropasolas
"I do not doubt this is fundamental to the MST's existence over the last 40 years. Solidarity with landless workers and also between landless workers" he said.
The families have also resumed growing corn, palm, beans and pumpkin and rasing their cattle and goat. After a moment of fear, the animals are free and running around the community.
"We will stand still until we say 'the land belongs to you'. Because we make our living from here, from this land," concludes farmer Nagibe Jânio Pereira Silva.
The other side
Brasil de Fato tried to contact Demosthenes Bezerra Barbosa and Erivandro Alves, but did not hear back. If they comment on the issue, this news story will be update.
Edited by: Thalita Pires
