Friends and relatives gathered in a graveyard outside Rio de Janeiro were killed on Sunday in honor of theBritishjournalistDom Phillips. rice field. Amazon in Brazil while studying a book on how to save the world's largest rainforest.
"First of all, I want to express my eternal gratitude to the indigenous people who are with us as faithful guardians of life, justice, and our forest," said Phillips' wife, Alessandra. Sampaio said: The entrance to the graveyard. "Today, Dom will be cremated in his beloved country, Brazil, his chosen home. Today is a day of mourning."
Phillips, 57, and indigenous expert Bruno Pereira The 41-year-old was killed on June 5 by a boat on the Itaquai River near the entrance to the Javanese Valley indigenous territory adjacent to Peru and Colombia. Three fishermen from a nearby river community have been arrested. According to police,two of them confessed to the murder.
The area has long conflicts between indigenous peoples and poor fishermen hired to invade the Javali Valley to catch Arapima, turtles and hunting animals. Pereira, an employee of the Brazilian Indigenous Peoples Department, has fought these invasions for years and has faced multiple threats to his work.
"He was killed because he tried to tell the world what was happening to the rainforest and its inhabitants," said Cyan, Phillips' sister. "Dom understood the need for urgent change for a political and economic approach to conservation. His family and his friends promised to continue their work in this tragic era. I have to tell the story. "
Phillips wrote about Brazil for 15 years, first covering Platts' oil industry, then freelance in the Washington Post and the New York Times, and then on a regular basis. Contributed to the Guardian. He was versatile, but because it became his passion, he was drawn to the characteristics of his environment.
After living in Rio for several years, the couple moved to the northeastern city of Salvador, near Sampaio's family. So Phillips taught English to students in poor areas. They were also in the process of adopting two children.
"It's sad that he was denied the opportunity to share these qualities as the next generation father because he remembers Dom as a loving, fun and cool brother," Cyan said. I did.
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