Photo courtesy from : www.flickr.com/photos/28488531@N08/3535380017Violence is present in daily lives no matter where one resides. The Amazon is no exception. According to an article on mongabay.com, violence has been present in the rain forest since the arrival of European explorers. Today there is just as much violence due to slavery and competition over land. Most of the conflicts are between large landowners, poor colonists, and indigenous groups.
Land battles in Brazil's countryside reached the highest level this year than in the last 20 years. According to the annual report by The Pastoral Land Commission, a nongovernmental group, documented conflicts over land among peasants, farmers, and land speculators rose to 1,801 in 2004 from 1,690 in 2003 and 925 recorded in 2002. In the latest high-profile trial with the slaying of Dorthy Stang, an American nun who worked with the rural poor, by a gunman associated with plantation owners. The Brazilian government responded to this murder by sending in an army to put a halt to violence in the region and promised to step up environmental monitoring efforts.
The government has been actively trying to reduce violence by increasing efforts to end slavery. Brazil abolished slavery in 1888, but the government still acknowledges that at least 25,000 Brazilians work under slavery-like conditions, they clear land and perform intensive work for cattle ranches, soy farms, and other labor-intensive industries. Thankfully in 2005, Brazilian style SWAT teams freed 4,133 slaves after raiding over 183 farms.
Land battles in Brazil's countryside reached the highest level this year than in the last 20 years. According to the annual report by The Pastoral Land Commission, a nongovernmental group, documented conflicts over land among peasants, farmers, and land speculators rose to 1,801 in 2004 from 1,690 in 2003 and 925 recorded in 2002. In the latest high-profile trial with the slaying of Dorthy Stang, an American nun who worked with the rural poor, by a gunman associated with plantation owners. The Brazilian government responded to this murder by sending in an army to put a halt to violence in the region and promised to step up environmental monitoring efforts.
The government has been actively trying to reduce violence by increasing efforts to end slavery. Brazil abolished slavery in 1888, but the government still acknowledges that at least 25,000 Brazilians work under slavery-like conditions, they clear land and perform intensive work for cattle ranches, soy farms, and other labor-intensive industries. Thankfully in 2005, Brazilian style SWAT teams freed 4,133 slaves after raiding over 183 farms.
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