Features

From plastic to paradise

June 7, 2006

Elspeth Davey, Church Relations Officer of the Scottish Episcopal Church, reports from Brazil. This article appeared in the Summer 2006 issue of the ACTS News-sheet.

Prior to attending the WCC Assembly I was fortunate to be able to visit Movemento dos Trabalhadores Rurais sem Terra (MST) or Landless Movement in Brazil – a partner organisation of Christian Aid (CA).

MST was officially founded in 1985 and became a CA partner the following year. Born out of church-based communities and the rural trade union movement in Brazil it has become the largest social movement in Latin America. Nationally it works on land reform, food security, health, culture, education and organisational work with landless rural workers across most of the country.

MST organises camps of landless farmers on vacant land and campaigns for the land to be given to the occupiers so they can set up farming settlements and cooperatives. CA also supports a specific programme of cultural and artistic activities within its settlements and camps.

Amazingly, it can take up to seven years to happen. In the meantime the settlers live in tents made from black plastic sheeting and bits of broken tree branches or bamboo. Beds, chairs, tables, etc are also made from rough pieces of wood and bamboo. There’s no running water or electricity. We spent one night living in one of these tents by a motorway with lorries thundering past. It was 34º outside rising rapidly inside the big plastic sheet.

Most of the food is cooked communally as lighted fires such as stoves or candles are dangerous. One woman we met had knocked a lighted candle over and lost her tent and all her possessions in the fire it cruelly caused.

We were met with incredible generosity and concern for our well-being, and the camp was patrolled and guarded against possible attackers. The people had to learn how to live together and how to share meagre resources, as government aid for 60 families had to be shared amongst 150. They had to learn how to keep the camp clean, well maintained and have some sort of structure to their days as they had no idea how long they would be there, or where they would end up eventually. But, there was a school for the children, a small meagrely supplied shop and a herbalist who treated minor ailments.

However, 5 years of no electricity or running water and living in plastic does have its reward as MST finds unused land which can be allocated to the landless farmers. As one person told us: “Life in a favella is hopeless; here there is hope and a chance of life.”

Each final settlement must have enough land so that each family can get 20 hectares each so for 150 families that would be something the size of Edinburgh (6,000 hectares) which can then be worked collectively or individually. The two we visited were beautiful, fertile, with small neat houses, orchards, flowers, animals and crops and truly a paradise after the black tents.

There are ten commandments, of which the settlers agree these five are the most important:

• love your land
• share your love of the land with your children
• plant an orchard
• only grow what you can eat
• never sell your land

So, as I gave my donation this May to Christian Aid my thoughts were with all those we met who, as I write, are still in their plastic tent villages and may be for many years to come. But I remembered their hope, optimism and friendliness – and their chat - as we whiled away many an hour sharing some tea.

And for the future I will continue to despair as I remember that the Brazilian Government is considering passing a law which would designate living in a settlement of black plastic tents as a terrorist activity.