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Amazon Activist Paulo Paulino Guajajara Killed at 26

He dedicated his life to protecting his native forest from illegal logging. At 26, Paulo Paulino Guajajara was murdered by wood traffickers in the Amazon.

‘We don’t want war. We just want to resist’

Paulo Paulino devoted his life to protecting the forest that he called home — despite severe risks and death threats. He was born in the early 1990s in Brazil. A member of the Guajajara tribe, an indigenous group of 20,000 in the Amazon region, Paulino grew up aware of the importance of the environment. As an adult, he joined the Guardians of the Forest, a group founded in 2012 to fight the growing menace of illegal logging. This practice is damaging the ecosystem of the Araribóia indigenous reserve and endangering those who live there, such as the Awá, an uncontacted tribe.

He and the other guardians organized forest patrols to alert firefighters of any fires, share the GPS coordinates of deforested areas, and destroy the loggers’ illegal camps. Because of this, they often receive death threats. The loggers hire hitmen to murder certain guardians in Araribóia. On several occasions, members of Guardians of the Forest have been killed. Fearing for their lives, they contacted the government, asking for protection. “We’re very worried about these threats, some of the guardians’ homes have been shot at. We don’t want war. We just want to resist,” says Olimpio Guajajara, Coordinator of Guardians of the Forest.

In spite of the risks, Paulino kept up the fight. On November 1, 2019, he was traveling far from his village, accompanied by another member of the Guardians of the Forest, when at least 5 armed men suddenly appeared. Shots broke the silence of the forest. His friend was hit but managed to escape — but Paulino did not. After dedicating his life to protecting nature, Paulino died protecting his land. According to local media, he was 26. It is the latest incident in a wave of violence targeting Indigenous Land Protectors since the election of Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro the year before.

Brut.

11/04/2019 11:42 PM
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191 comments

  • Sasha Ç.
    01/26/2020 10:06

    💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚

  • Elivelto A.
    01/21/2020 14:27

    Lamentavelmente

  • Ruth D.
    01/17/2020 04:44

    Thank you Paulo for protecting Mother Nature as guardians of the forest. It also happens in my country Philippines(Palawan). Behind this is people who are involved illegal logging (big time businessman) with protection of politician's. That's what you call Money Talks it's the reality of life here. R.i.P. 🙏🕯️💐

  • Caroline A.
    01/17/2020 03:19

    Young people are risking their lives to protect the planet - and their future! We have all the facts we need to fully grasp the crucial situation we are in but the world is (mostly) ruled by old shortsighted male politicians that don't give a damn about the future, all they care about is staying in power and getting votes by "creating" jobs at any cost. Only we, the people, can change that. This really was a heartbraking story, and it is taking place all over the world, right now. We must demand change, that is the only way to honor this young man and secure the future for all living things. We ALL have to get involved!

  • Thomas T.
    01/17/2020 02:16

    So sad.

  • Max R.
    01/17/2020 00:36

    RIP PAULO !!!

  • Shubhankar P.
    01/16/2020 18:59

    There's no difference between Brazil, India and few countries from Africa. Corrupted from the core, dangerous politicians.

  • JuJeoo H.
    01/16/2020 16:41

    Defending nature should be parallel to destroying nature. If they kill defenders then defenders shall also kill destroyers!

  • Charlotte A.
    01/15/2020 06:09

    So sad. The Amazon cannot be destroyed it's the lungs of the planet. Help is needed from other countries to protect the Amazon.

  • Strong A.
    01/15/2020 03:43

    Guess who is behind that act?

  • Nory R.
    01/15/2020 03:21

    He was a wonderfull brave man!!!

  • Elise T.
    01/15/2020 02:31

    More bad than good, as in the days of Noah

  • Irene B.
    01/15/2020 00:56

    Hope the murderer face justice

  • Raymond G.
    01/14/2020 23:38

    Rest in peace and God bless you

  • Martin T.
    01/14/2020 22:37

    RIP,hero.

  • Denise B.
    01/14/2020 17:46

    By doing this to the Amazon , they are taking away the future of billions of young people and speeding up humans demise . For what ? ? ? ?

  • Anne-Catrin R.
    01/14/2020 17:21

    😭

  • Petra D.
    01/14/2020 17:06

    😤😤😢😢

  • Gwendolen K.
    01/14/2020 15:54

    It's so sad 😰makes me remember a saying of the Cree...when the last tree has been cut and the last fish has been cought, then you'll find out that you cannot eat money.....

  • Eleanor O.
    01/14/2020 15:43

    Oh this is disheartening, same thing happens to guardians of Palawan, in the Philippines. I hope the government would not treat these cases lightly, but would send protection instead through sending army or whatever.. 🙁