Luciana. With people. Against contempt.: Misereor

When it comes to the river, Luciana O. (49) becomes a fighter: since the mining disaster on the Rio Doce in Brazil, the teacher has campaigned tirelessly for the rights of thousands of survivors and for the revitalisation of nature.

"When I close my eyes, I see myself in the river," says Luciana, tears rolling down her cheeks. She is sitting at the harbour in Regência, a small town at the mouth of the Rio Doce into the Atlantic. An idyll, you might think, until Luciana continues: "When the mud got here, we all ran to the river to say goodbye." The "sweet river" died on 5 November 2015 when two dams of an iron ore mine around 700 kilometres upstream burst. 50 million cubic metres of toxic sewage sludge rolled over trees, fields and houses along the entire Rio Doce and into the Atlantic.

Luciana O*, 49, sits on the harbour pier in Regência.

The tap water in Regência has a pungent metallic odour. Since the dam disaster, the town has been dependent on drinking water supplies.

Even five years after the dam disaster on the Rio Doce, flotsam and jetsam still wash up here, covered in a rust-red film.

Luciana O. from Brazil.

Five years on. The mine is allowed to resume production, but thousands of people continue to suffer from the consequences of the disaster. Every rainy season, toxic mud washes over the banks again. Although the mine operator was ordered to pay high compensation, it is allowed to negotiate the distribution of compensation with the victims itself and coordinate the clean-up work.

This brings Luciana to the barricades. Together with other people, for example, she demonstrates against the mining company's latest threat to cancel aid for fishermen - the river is clean again, the fish are edible.

A bold claim. The catastrophe has destroyed fishing, agriculture, tourism and trade - and forced the people along the Rio Doce from self-determination into dependence on the mining company's discretion. The mining company has also divided the community, explains Luciana:

Some have been compensated, others have not.

This is another reason why Luciana O. is now thinking about going into politics to continue the fight: against the irresponsibility of the powerful mining company - but above all for the community of people living along the Rio Doce.

We support organisations that campaign for the rights of the survivors of the dam collapse along the Rio Doce: with technical advice, legal advice, information and as a mouthpiece for the victims, so that the disaster is not forgotten.

We owe everything we have here to the river. What would I be if I stopped fighting?

Luciana O.

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