The Truth Behind This Photo
Over 40,000 people have shared this photo on different social media outlets and in turn, made this a viral image with a remarkable story. Chief Raoni of the Kayapó people, it claims, is crying because he’s helpless “before the advance of capitalist progress, modern predatory civilization,” according to the caption on the FaceBook posting.
The Belo Monte dam, on a tributary of the Amazon river, has only been under construction since last year, though it’s been proposed since the late 1970s. It will displace between than 20,000 and 40,000 people, according to various sources.
Along with the image is a link to petition the construction of the dam. Luckily, due to this image, they have nearly reached their goal of 750,000 signatures. Unfortunately, many people signed that petition as a reaction to this image, even thought he story itself has been fabricated.
Although Chief Raoini does protest the construction of the dam, he told AmazonWatch.org that this photo is actually a moment in which he was reunited with a family member.
All in all, it’s great that this photo raised awareness, but unfortunate that someone falsified information to do so.
Related articles
- URGENT: Chief Raoni and the Kayapo under attack! (2012indyinfo.com)
- Belo Monte Dam Controversy Rages On (energyrefuge.com)
- Over A Million People Sign Petition Against Brazil’s ‘Pandora Dam’ (forbes.com)
- Hundreds Occupy Belo Monte Dam Site in Brazilian Amazon (yubanet.com)
- Stop the Madness! (heartwhispers.co.uk)
The World Bank estimates that forcible “development-induced displacement and resettlement” now affects 10 million people per year. According to the World Bank an estimated 33 million people have been displaced by development projects such as dams, urban development and irrigation canals in India alone.
India is well ahead in this respect. A country with as many as over 3600 large dams within its belt can never be the exceptional case regarding displacement. The number of development induced displacement is higher than the conflict induced displacement in India. According to Bogumil Terminski an estimated more than 10 million people have been displaced by development each year.
Athough the exact number of development-induced displaced people (DIDPs) is difficult to know, estimates are that in the last decade 90–100 million people have been displaced by urban, irrigation and power projects alone, with the number of people displaced by urban development becoming greater than those displaced by large infrastructure projects (such as dams). DIDPs outnumber refugees, with the added problem that their plight is often more concealed.
This is what experts have termed “development-induced displacement.” According to Michael Cernea, a World Bank analyst, the causes of development-induced displacement include water supply (dams, reservoirs, irrigation); urban infrastructure; transportation (roads, highways, canals); energy (mining, power plants, oil exploration and extraction, pipelines); agricultural expansion; parks and forest reserves; and population redistribution schemes.