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World cup 2014 : 'S.O.S AMAZÔNIA / STOP BELO MONTE!', your international support to the peoples of the Amazon

 

          
Click on each image to download the printable versions. Use for Selfies or group photos.

 

DON'T BOYCOTT IT, CHANGE THE GAME !

Deforestation, one of the greatest human plagues of our time, is silenced by the most important European and international media. Why ? Because Brazil is the world champion of deforestation. This unfortunate record is mostly due to the international demand for soya, palm oil, tropical wood, meat, leather, metal, etc., drawn from or cultivated in primary forest areas and very often in accredited indigenous land. We must not forget the great dams, which are the Trojan horses of large-scale accelerated deforestation, built with the support of multinationals.;

The large groups involved in the destruction of the Amazon, and of the other great tropical forests, provide most of the main media with publicity and call the shots in the editorial boards. Thus, the international community is kept in ignorance of the main facts, seemingly silenced. The reason for this is due to the economic interests, causing this deforestation, are global.

Calling for a boycott would only bring satisfaction to those who set up or take part in this system. Instead, we need to use the spotlight this peaceful campaign can bring, to remind everyone of the presence of the peoples of the Amazon, who are direct and immediate victims of this disaster.

For this purpose, the 'S.O.S. AMAZÔNIA - STOP BELO MONTE!' campaign has been brought about as a platform of international civil actions, aimed at saving the Amazon Rainforest and the Peoples living in it, from the industrial and energy projects (most of them receiving the support of international companies) and from law amendment plans which harm them.

The more citizens of the world, wherever they may be, who will use the green and red hands of the 'S.O.S. AMAZÔNIA - STOP BELO MONTE!' campaign, the harder it will be for the media and leaders to ignore.

 

Green hand / red hand : two calls to action, but one and the same fight

We ask everyone to think of as many ways as possible to spread the logos and slogans of the peaceful, international 'S.O.S. Amazônia - Stop Belo Monte!' campaign, which was unveiled on the 10th December 2013, Human Rights Day, in Paris.

Initiated by Planète Amazone, the operation is already supported by Brazilian and international NGOs, many leading figures and is supported by citizens around the world.

These hands which say "Stop", are hands which will stretch out in the direction of the oppressed Peoples of the Amazon, who fight to preserve the primary forest and therefore the future of all of us.

The game starts now, with you. You can chose to wear :

- the green color of the 'S.O.S. Amazônia' team which wants to win against the destruction of forests and their biodiversity,

- the red color of the 'STOP BELO MONTE!' team which wants to win against the injustices done to the indigenous Peoples and resident communities of the great rivers of the Amazon Basin, who are now facing genocide.

Of course, you can move from one team to another, for both support the same struggle.

 

Brazil : the ball which hides the … massacred forest

The Amazon forest is dying. The 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil is a pretext for the acceleration of its destruction and for the genocide of indigenous peoples.

Since FIFA designated Brazil as host country of the 2014 World Cup, it has become – with the next 2016 Rio Olympics also – an opportunity for the authorities and the agro-industrial, energy and mining sector giants of the country to accelerate the industrialization of protected forests areas, decimating indigenous peoples' rights on their own territories, as their land is highly coveted by these companies.

The 2014 World Cup will be held in an electrifying atmosphere, since numerous protests and riots have been taking place for months to denounce a huge waste of public money and unbearable human rights violations (“cleaning up” of favelas, evictions of thousands of poor families, expulsion of the Aldeia Maracana Indigenous Community...). The anti-World Cup movement 'Não vai ter copa (the World Cup will not take place)' is supported by a great number of citizens in a country where football is the number one sport.

This sports event, which will reach an international audience will therefore be used as the base of the 'S.O.S. Amazônia - Stop Belo Monte!' operation, which will reach its peak on the 13th July 2014, the day of the final.

 

 

“Our house is burning and we look elsewhere...”
- Jacques Chirac, Johannesburg Earth Summit, 2nd September 2002.

This operation is aimed at the citizens of every country who do not wish to look elsewhere whilst financial appetites are destroying the planet.

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Selfies and group photos : the citizens of the world reach out to the Peoples of the Amazon.

The principle of the civil photo session (a group photo, followed by individual portraits with the slogans and logos of the campaign) was initiated on the 12/10/2013 in front of the head office of the French company, Alstom, (involved in the construction of the Belo Monte dam), then in front of the Embassy of Brazil, where a distorted logo of the FIFA World Cup was unveiled in front of each building.

Since this time, many people have taken up this initiative as their own, reproducing it individually, or collectively, across the planet. For its part, the French NGO, Planète Amazone, who are behind the operation, are organizing a collective photo shoot every two weeks, until the start of the World Cup, targeting symbolic locations such as, the François Mitterand Library, the Stade de France and Alstom's headquarters.

The civil photo sessions are preludes of other actions which will be carried out globally.

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Do your own 'S.O.S. Amazônia - Stop Belo Monte!' SELFIE

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CALL TO MOBILIZATION : HOW TO ORGANIZE A GROUP PHOTO :

We invite you to participate in the 'S.O.S. Amazônia - Stop Belo Monte!' international operation – you can organize a group photo shoot in the provinces, overseas territories or whichever country you are in. It is very simple : use prints (A4 format – color) of our visuals (green hand / red hand).

 

Visuels à imprimer :
http://raoni.com/mao-verde.jpg
http://raoni.com/mao-vermelha.jpg

 

INSTRUCTIONS :

1) Wherever you are on the planet, unite with one or more friends in order to form an even number (2, 4, 6, 8...) and bring safety pins.

2) Print out as many hands as there are participants, making sure there is the same number of red and green hands so that the two colors are equally represented on the photo.

3) Everyone takes a printed hand and hangs it on their clothing with a safety pin.

4) Put your right hand up, as shown in the logos, at the level of your face and take a photo. On the final photo, the green hands should be gathered on the left, and the red hands on the right. Do not make a photo with only one of the hands or the message will be incomplete.

5) Send your photos to the following address : info(at)planeteamazone.org 

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Once they arrive in our inbox, your photos will be published on www.raoni.com and on the Facebook page of Planète Amazone.

They will also be transmitted to Brazilian partner organizations involved in the protection of the Amazon forest (Instituto Raoni, Xingu Vivo Para Sempre, APIB...).

 

Advice :

- Make sure you chose a symbolic place as the background of your group photo. For example : football fields, branches of companies implied in the construction of great dams (ex : Alstom, GDF Suez, Siemens, EDF), public buildings (ex : city halls, departmental councils...), companies which import tropical wood (ex : Guillemette & Cie. - Le Havre, Bois Tropicaux du Midi – Sête...), etc.

- Create a Facebook event (instructions :  https://www.facebook.com/help/www/210413455658361) to invite people to join you at the time and place you will have chosen for your group photo. Please do not use the logo of Planète Amazone in the images you choose to promote your event, so that it is clear that this is a personal initiative. You are free, however, to use the green hand and the red hand in your personal compositions.

- Once your Facebook event is created, send its link to info(at)planeteamazone.org, so we can pass it on (provided that it meets the methods of the 'S.O.S Amazônia - Stop Belo Monte' operation, as they are defined above).

- Don't forget to take make-up markers (or face paint) for children, cotton wool pads and make-up remover for those who wish to be made up and to reproduce the operation's indian painting. Red is enough for the basic version (two lines from the base of the nose to the lower part of the cheek, on each side of the face). Red and black are necessary for the complete “indian mask” (red band around the eyes and black feline lines).

Example 1: https://www.facebook.com/raoni.com.fr/photos/a.546570365456241.1073741837.120264434753505/546570685456209/

Example 2: https://www.facebook.com/raoni.com.fr/photos/a.546570365456241.1073741837.120264434753505/546570532122891/

You need approximately five minutes to draw a full mask, to be multiplied by the number of participants. Take this into account when you propose a time and ask for help on the Facebook page of your event or on the spot. People will be happy to become makeup artists for the occasion.

HAVE A GOOD PHOTO SESSION - VIVA AMAZÔNIA !

Example of a group photo organized by Planète Amazone
on the 9^th March 2014 in front of the Stade de France, Paris.