Province of Brazil - Climate tragedy in the South

ANNOUNCED CLIMATE TRAGEDY CAUSES DEATH AND DESTRUCTION IN RIO GRANDE DO SUL (RS)

173 people lost their lives, 41 are missing and thousands were left homeless in the biggest flood faced by Rio Grande do Sul. A tragedy announced by the insane attack on nature*

The world watched in shock as the climate tragedy occurred in Rio Grande do Sul in May. This occurrence is the subsequent step to global warming, which is the result of the economic factor of exploitation of natural resources. It is already part of the manifestations in the new historical-environmental cycle: climate changes caused by overheating. Although Brazil produces just 4% of greenhouse gases, the global effect is relentless. Even though the United States, China, and part of Europe are the major producers of gases that heat the atmosphere, Brazil cannot go unnoticed because agribusiness produces immeasurable impacts in the destruction of large portions of the Vegetation of the Brazilian interior and the Amazon biome, which substantially alters the climate.

History records that Napoleon and Hitler lost the war because they went to fight against a general called Winter. They intended to defeat the Russians, but they entered a war they could not win. Nothing can indeed resist against nature. The devastation of Rio Grande do Sul is a human drama with hundreds of human deaths and thousands of other deaths as families' dreams and the construction of life, but it is necessary to consider that this catastrophe is the result of climate change.

Polar currents are unable to overcome the concentrations of heat waves in the center of the country and cause a blockage in the normal circuit of climate modulations. This shield generates excessive rain, which results in the tragedy that the world has witnessed.

What is certain is that the event in southern Brazil is not an isolated event. In the same period, previously unseen rains occurred in the desert in Dubai, which caused alarming flooding. Floods hit the states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, in southern Germany. Several cities had to be evacuated and declared a state of emergency with a month's worth of rain recorded in just one day.

As journalist Moisés Mendes wrote, during the tragedy, “There is sabotage against the environment around cities, rural areas, rivers, hillsides. Sabotage through the occupation of urban land, real estate speculation, and anything that goes in the name of economic power. Everything is a destructive action authorized by political power in the service of urban business power and agribusiness. Even mice know this. It is a plan, a preparation, an articulation to make money” and ensure financial human action.

The result of this is that this plan ends up conspiring against its creators and executors. Because many of them continue to think that they will always have control of the situation, they can control the rivers and their degraded banks and the destruction and flooding of cities. It’s a huge mistake to think so.

The figures for the tragedy demonstrate the result of this amoral stance of conspiring against nature, from the occupation of river spaces to the suppression of forest cover in the mountains, which worsens the consequences of floods.

The “world” of economic power knows that climate tragedies will become increasingly frequent and recurrent. In a debate on global warming at the Davos/Switzerland Economic Forum last year, a panel of 12 debaters, 10 were the world's largest insurance companies. They presented more frightening data than Greenpeace and know how to evaluate the catastrophic losses that will occur with every tenth of global warming. The world knows the consequences of the insane exploitation of the environment. Rio Grande do Sul becomes a global case, as it absorbs large and small destructions from all spheres. It is a model of destruction shown to the entire Earth, which not even the cruelest conception of tyranny could have imagined. In Rio Grande do Sul, nature spared no one. The poor lost much of the little they had and the rich lost much of the much they had.

Numbers

The State Civil Defense indicators demonstrate the extent of the tragedy, 476 of the 497 municipalities in the State were affected. 572.7 thousand people were displaced, affecting 2.3 million people. 806 were injured and 41 remain missing. The greatest tragedy is the loss of human life. 173 people lost their lives. The number of deaths was not higher because 27 thousand of public security agents from the State, the national force, and other provinces joined thousands of volunteers who rescued 77 thousand people using boats, speedboats, jet skis, and other equipment.

Governments try to count losses. There is talk of billions of Reals. However, there is an irresponsible ineffectiveness and planning for crisis management, basic information for the population, and emergency procedures to save lives. The only concern of recent governments is the relaxation of compliance with environmental standards for urban and rural occupation, even contradicting parameters, studies, and technical guidance from experts. The state and municipal parliaments of Rio Grande do Sul irresponsibly approve the non-observance of environmental rules under the deplorable argument of economic development. The result didn't take long to appear.

Solidarity

Once again, civil society organizations were a major force in helping those affected. Solidarity appeared in all societies, in all places, in all communities. Only Archdiocesan Caritas de Porto Alegre mobilized an army of collaborators and volunteers in a network with 131 entities connected and acting cooperatively.

According to an article published by Vatican News, during the month of May alone, the entity distributed a significant volume of supplies. By May 31st, 1,846 basic food baskets had already been delivered. In addition to this, the transfer of 54.6 tons of non-perishable food was sent to shelter kitchens, lunchbox preparation areas, host families, and direct delivery to affected families, in addition to several boxes of food kits and ready-made cookies for consumption.

Another important item for the composition of the diet is the use of powdered milk. Through a partnership with CONAB, Messenger of Charity took over the logistics of transporting and delivering 67 tons of the product. Campos highlights the importance of powdered milk because it is “an easy-to-prepare and essential product, especially for the diet of children and the elderly”.

For those who had to leave their homes in a hurry for shelters or for those who are returning to their homes, cleaning and personal hygiene supplies are essential items. When mobilizing donations, the Charity Messenger suggested donating these items. The answer was positive. The entity provided 758 boxes with hygiene and cleaning products and hundreds of bottles with products that help to sanitize homes. To strengthen this action, the entity's carpentry workshop, which was flooded by the flood, began producing materials to help clean homes and workplaces. The team made wooden squeegees to help remove the mud that invaded the homes.

The entity worked with a network made up of more than 130 parishes, civil society entities, NGOs, CTGs, indigenous communities, schools, sub-prefectures, CRAS, POP Centers, shelters, and social centers, which welcome victims or serve families in situations of social vulnerability affected by the flood. The Executive Director of Messenger of Charity, Luís Carlos Campos, stated that this organization was a cooperative way of speeding up service. “We organized this logistics with transport from the entity itself, partner organizations, and volunteers to get the supplies where they were needed. Even in places where circulation is difficult due to the flooding that isolated communities, supplies arrived.” In the spaces of the Catholic Church, at least 35 shelters were organized to welcome the homeless. Some of them with exemplary humanized care, such as those that welcomed autistic mothers and children and cancer patients, who needed specialized services given the demand of the user public.

Saint Joseph Family

The Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Chambery worked on several fronts. One of the most significant actions was organized by PROJARI, in Guaíba. The social project headquarters served as the base for a large mobilization that received and distributed different types of aid. Socio-educational activities were interrupted by the declaration of public calamity and the team directed its efforts to take care of the lives of those affected.

The Social Center organized three major actions, covering the needs of different situations, depending on the team's skills and the countless demands that arose due to the scale of the tragedy.

One of the immediate needs that arose was the shelter of the homeless. The structures were used to shelter families whose homes were flooded. Families living in the COHAB Santa Rita neighborhood were welcomed. PROJARI also welcomed a team of health professionals from Minas Gerais and São Paulo who traveled to Rio Grande do Sul to assist in caring for those affected. The team of professionals was made up of general clinics, psychology, neuropsychotherapy, and veterinary professionals.

Another important action was held in places where victims were sheltered. These spaces become environments of great diversity. Therefore, practicing good coexistence is a challenge. To contribute to the harmonization of this coexistence, the team of monitors and instructors developed recreational activities in the shelters, supporting coexistence, recreational, and sporting activities with different audiences. The institution also promoted active listening actions. According to PROJARI Project Coordinator, Cristina Araújo, this activity was important because the sheltered families were emotionally affected. “Bringing a word, an attitude of comfort, and consoling those who were suffering was a loving action of caring for emotionally fragile people. Brightening the space consisted of an important action to alleviate the suffering and reduce the impact, to reinforce the resumption and reconstruction of their lives”

Flooding, destroyed houses, accumulation of waste, and loss of goods and household items. The desperate scenario required a relief intervention with basic items for victims, host families, and those returning home. PROJARI's third major action required the mobilization of solidarity. Support came from many places. Mato Grosso do Sul, São Paulo, institutions and companies in Rio Grande do Sul provided essential supplies. The team coordinated by Sr. Griselda Martinez Morales carried out the home delivery to promote direct contact and deliver a message of comfort and a large dose of renewed hope. In addition to non-perishable food, the affected families received clothes and coats, shoes, hygiene products, and cleaning materials.

In Montenegro, the “Human Promotion” project developed a series of actions to serve the victims of Vale do Caí. The team worked on the daily production of bread and lunch boxes. The volunteers and Religious Sisters made blankets and coats. The sisters' house was transformed into a workshop to take care of life.

Another institution of the congregation that mobilized to help the victims was St. Joseph School, Pelotas. The educational community carried out a major campaign in the city to help those affected. The school received warm cloths, hygiene materials, cleaning products, blankets, and non-perishable food. The items were received at the school entrance, during school opening hours. All the material collected was sent to the municipality's Civil Defense, which organized care for victims of the flood in the South Zone of the State.

The school also housed members of the Fire Department from several states who worked to rescue the victims. The soldiers came from Ceará, Maranhão, Amazonas, as well as from other regions of Rio Grande do Sul.

Climate migrations

The tragedy inaugurated a new phenomenon in Brazil. International news always reported that large populations from Africa and the Middle East migrated to other regions of the world due to a lack of water or basic conditions for survival. “Saharan Africa” is here. The people of Rio Grande do Sul started to live with this reality.

The Permanent Forum on Human Mobility of RS received information last week that many Haitian and Venezuelan migrants have already left the state of Rio Grande do Sul towards Santa Catarina and Paraná. Some cities are already organizing to receive it. The municipality of Pinhalzinho and companies in the municipality are offering 500 job vacancies, lots, and housing for people who lost their homes.

Within the state itself, internal migration begins to take place. In the second week of June alone, 50 families living in Vale do Taquari sought employment in the cities of Farroupilha and Caxias do Sul. This movement is expected to intensify in the coming weeks. This is a prediction of commerce and industry associations in the Mountain Region. The allegation is the lack of job prospects with the destruction of local industries and the hopelessness in rebuilding and resuming family businesses.

The tragedy didn’t just change the local scene. Its consequences are unpredictable and will pose new challenges for the State and the world. As the writer Vitor Hugo said, “The future has several names: for the weak, it is unattainable; to the fearful it is unknown; and for the brave, it is the opportunity.” The tragedy offers an opportunity for new attitudes to care for life and the planet. Urgent action!

*Journalist Elton Bozzetto – RP 10,417

Photos: Projari archives