This Thursday, August 31, the state government of Rio de Janeiro will make the call for bids for the construction work on the land known as Favela da Skol, located in Complexo do Alemão. The event will be broadcast live, at 12pm UTC time (9am RIO; 8am NY), by one of the most prominent and inspiring community leaders, Camila Moradia from Quero minha casa. The livestream will include English translation and additional local context through the support of WITNESS’ Mobil-Eyes Us project.

Since 2009, about 500 families who occupied the land – where the Skol brewery was once located – have been removed on the grounds that the homes were at ​​risk because of the presence of the abandoned brewery building.

During his time as deputy governor of Rio, Luiz Fernando Pezão (who is now governor) promised that he would deliver new homes within nine months. Seven years have gone by and the residents still remain without adequate housing. And they receive insufficient rent assistance to be able to afford the city’s high cost of housing.

This Thursday, we have a great opportunity to change the way this community has been treated in the struggle for housing rights. Your support is urgent and fundamental, as well as the support from the people around you, so that this victory does not become another empty promise in this history of resistance and fight. Now it’s more important than ever to show that we’re on their side and that there are a lot of people watching!

Show support by sharing the Facebook event, invite your friends to do the same and on August 31st, make yourself present wherever you are! We will be documenting everything, providing English translation and offering links with contextualization of all the other promises made and not fulfilled by the Brazilian State.

This livestreaming event is a continuation of our pilot Mobile-Eyes Us project during the Rio 2016 Olympics. The project brings ‘distant witnesses’ into livestreams and offers context, translation and other meaningful ways to take action. Learn more about the pilot here.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 31

WATCH (with translation & local context – no registration needed): http://mobile-eyes-us.itp.io:8000/

REGISTER (receive notifications & give feedback on our Mobil-Eyes Us project): email claramedeiros@gmail.com

SHARE: Invite others to attend via this Facebook event

The news from Brazil has been increasingly bleak with concerns about the fast-spreading Zika virus, a political crisis reaching the highest echelons of the executive branch through the recent preliminary impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff, and criticisms about the country’s preparedness to host the international games coming from many angles, including the Rio state governor and mayor themselves. Even the normally celebratory exhibiting of the Olympic torch was marred by the killing of a rare jaguar who had been drugged and trotted out as a mascot.

While the media has been quick to highlight these crises, there has been less coverage of the outrage that many Brazilians, advocates, and national and international human rights defenders have expressed about the social injustices that have worsened in the lead-up to the Olympic Games. For example, to make way for new Olympic stadiums and transportation projects, more than 77,000 people have been evicted from their homes. There has also been an alarming rise in police killings and a clampdown on freedom of expression threatens citizens’ right to free assembly and could criminalize protesters’ actions as terrorism.

WITNESS has been working with community groups, media activists, and human rights groups in Brazil over the last five years on these issues, strengthening their use of video to not only document abuses, but to use their video as a tool for sparking investigations, for accountability and justice. Our biggest focus has been working with advocates on bringing much-needed attention to systematic police violence in Rio’s favelas, where heavily armed forces operate with near complete impunity under the pretense of fighting entrenched drug trafficking gangs.

Through their tireless mobilization and advocacy, Brazilian activists are changing that equation, and video is playing a crucial role in the fight for justice.  WITNESS is committed to strengthening these efforts. Below we share highlights of our work with partners from the last five+ years to provide a grounding in the stories and issues that media and politicians have not been paying enough attention to.

Independent Olympics Coverage 
Over the next month and a half, we’ll be bringing more stories from Brazil to you via our network of partners.  And from August 5-20, we’ll be sharing stories produced by the Mutirão Media Livre– a project of independent media makers and activists from across region (some of whom are WITNESS partners) who will be reporting on human rights issues and live streaming coverage of how the Olympics affect Rio’s communities. We’ll be publishing highlights of this coverage on our Portuguese-language website, and all of the content will be available on the Mutirao Media Livre website. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook for updates.

WITNESS in Brazil

Police Violence  

Watch:
After the massive street protests that erupted across Brazil in 2013, video proved to be a vital tool for exposing widespread police violence. In 2014, WITNESS edited a video-compilation of footage shot by citizens and activists to be screened at a special hearing on police violence at the Inter-American Commission. Read the related article here.

WITNESS teamed up with media collective Coletivo Papo Reto for the first time in late 2014 to support their efforts to use video to document, deter, and combat police violence in the Alemão Favela Complex in Rio.  WITNESS & Coletivo Papo Reto

The Fusion network featured Coletivo Papo Reto’s work in a report by Tim Pool

Read:
“The Media Doesn’t Care What Happens Here” a feature article in The New York Times Magazine on the work of Coletivo Papo Reto and WITNESS

Dispatch from Brazil: If killed by police, guilty by default… unless there is video?

Video as Evidence in Brazil – a report by Article 19 and WITNESS highlights the potential of video to secure justice but notes that the full potential has yet to be realized.

Forced evictions

Rio’s residents have been threatened with and seen forced evictions carried out over the last five+ years leading up to the World Cup (2014) and the Summer Olympics (2016). The evictions are due to construction and infrastructure projects for the major sporting events. As one Rio resident put it, “I was excited when Brazil won the bid, now feel like a fool because I’m paying for it. Is this the World Cup and Olympic spirit?”

Watch:
WITNESS in Rio: Training Activists to Use Video to Fight Forced Evictions:

Evict Them! In Five Easy Steps – and our Forced Evictions Toolkit Advocacy (available in Portuguese)

Voices of the Mission – Restinga from a 3-day fact-finding mission to many communities threatened by eviction in Rio, including the Restinga community.  The mission was led by Plataforma Dhesca’s Rapporteur on the Human Right to the City, Orlando Silva Jr, and with the participation of 12 additional organizations, including WITNESS.

Read:
Support for People’s Cup in 2013 Looking at activism gaining momentum one year before the 2014 World Cup held across Brazil.

Can 114 Videos Tell One Story About Forced Evictions? An innovative, collaborative project that successfully refuted Rio’s mayor’s assertion that forced evictions were isolated incidents by using video to prove the systematic nature of these patterns across the city.

Keep up with coverage of Olympics from grassroots communities by following these voices:

Rio on Watch http://www.rioonwatch.org/ @rioonwatch

Coletivo Papo Reto https://www.facebook.com/ColetivoPapoReto/ @CPapo_Reto

Maré Vive: https://www.facebook.com/Marevive/?fref=ts

Fórum de Juventudes do Rio de Janeiro: https://www.facebook.com/forumdejuventuderj/?fref=ts

Anistia Brasil https://anistia.org.br/ @AnistiaBrasil

Artigo 19 http://artigo19.org/ @Artigo19

Mutirão Mídia Livre: https://www.facebook.com/MutiraoRio2016/?fref=ts

Mídia Coletiva: https://www.facebook.com/midiacoletiva/?fref=ts

Justiça Global: http://www.global.org.br/ @justicaglobal

Rio 2016 – Os Jogos da Exclusão: https://www.facebook.com/jogosdaexclusao/?fref=ts @jogosdaexclusao

Featured image is from Sebastián Liste/Noor Images for the New York Times piece,“The Media Doesn’t Care What Happens Here”.

WITNESS joins the international condemnation of the murder of Honduran human rights defender Berta Cáceres on March 3, 2016 and demands an expeditious and thorough investigation so that these acts do not go unpunished. We also call for the protection of Gustavo Castro Soto, a Mexican human rights defender who was injured during the events, as well as all human rights defenders in Honduras and across Mesoamerica.

Berta dedicated her life to defending the land, territory and natural resources of indigenous peoples and served as the founder and coordinator of the National Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH). In 2015, she won the Goldman Prize for her tireless work as an environmental advocate. In recent weeks, harassment against Berta, COPINH and supporting communities had escalated. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH) had granted precautionary measures for Berta following threats she received after supporting indigenous Lenca communities in Rio Blanco who are defending their land against the construction of the Agua Zarca Hydroelectric Project. On February 25, another Lenca community supported by COPINH was violently evicted and destroyed.

Gustavo Castro Soto is a Mexican activist and member of the organization Otros Mundos Chiapas/Friends of the Earth Mexico, the Mexican Network of People Affected by Mining (REMA) and the Mesoamerican Movement against the Extractive Mining Model (M4). Gustavo has also dedicated his life to supporting communities in Central America and organizing peaceful resistance to the imposition of neoliberal projects. WITNESS has had the opportunity to see his committed work on forced evictions and environmental rights. Gustavo was staying at Berta’s home and was wounded during the early morning attack on March 3rd, becoming a key figure for the investigation. Therefore, urgent action is needed to push Honduras and Mexico to protect his life and physical integrity.

This unfortunate crime adds to the escalating violence against human rights defenders in Mesoamerica and will have a profound impact on organizations and communities in Honduras and the region. WITNESS stands with the families, organizations, and communities close to Berta and Gustavo. We reiterate our strong condemnation and call for Honduras to immediately conduct a thorough investigation into the case and protect Gustavo and the human rights of COPINH members and affected communities.

We urge you to take action and add your voice to the call for the safety and protection of Gustavo Castro.

Update – March 8th press release from Otros Mundos.

By Laura Salas, Translated by Jackie Zammuto
Image: 2015 Goldman Environmental Award

The activists who took part in the training work on the most pressing human rights issues plaguing Cambodia today including land grabbing, forced evictions, workers’ rights, and restrictions on freedom of assembly and expression. Many come from communities that have experienced devastating human rights violations first-hand, such as workshop co-organizer Cheng Srey Vann, whose family and community were evicted from Dey Krahorm in 2009. Undefeated by her loss, she is now a human rights monitor and a strong advocate for other communities facing similar struggles.

Activists in Cambodia are using video extensively to monitor human rights abuses, inform and mobilize communities to action, and bring international attention to abuses in their country. Human rights continue to deteriorate in Cambodia, but because of growing awareness and solidarity, ordinary citizens are rising up more than ever to make their voices heard. Unfortunately these voices are being met with political violence, rigged trials that silence dissent, and draconian laws that control and suppress civil society, such as the Law on Associations and Non-Government Organizations. Still, many brave individuals are not deterred.

Video has become key advocacy tool in Cambodia, and activists are seeking ways to get their stories out to the world faster, manage ever-growing media collections, use video to train others, and to protect themselves and their communities while doing so.  At the 2015 training participants developed their skills in producing, archiving, and distributing video safely and effectively to support their goals. Since the training, they have created and released new videos, including ones that highlight opposition to restrictions on civil society organizations, associations and unions; and on issues such as informal economy workers’ rights, and disability rights.

Venerable Luon Sovath and Venerable Prim Houn recording video testimonies at Boeung Kak Lake community during training.

The activists have also been sharing video advocacy skills and knowledge they have acquired with an even greater network of local non-governmental organizations, unions, grassroots groups and individual monk activists. Our long-time ally and internationally respected “Multimedia Monk” Venerable Luon Sovath, for example, took the Venerable Prim Houn on as an apprentice and brought him to the WITNESS training, his very first. In less than a year, the Venerable Prim Houn has emerged as a prominent and prolific video activist. His videos, posted on Facebook, have been shared tens of thousands of times, and have attracted hundreds of thousands of views. 

Meanwhile, the Venerable Luon Sovath continues to visit and support people affected by land disputes, listening to and recording their experiences. He uses his videos “like a story in a book” to help people understand their rights, build solidarity, and envision a path to justice.

Since the training, LICADHO Canada has also developed a set of new training videos, adapted from WITNESS materials, on how to film effectively with mobile phones in a Khmer context. They have also translated other WITNESS training materials in Khmer.

WITNESS is proud to have partnered with LICADHO and LICADHO Canada over the past many years. As result of their work during this period, we have witnessed a transformation in the video advocacy landscape in Cambodian civil society. Today, it is a common sight to see people armed with cameras in every community and at every protest demanding justice, democracy, and accountability. With their videos, activists are revealing ongoing human rights violations and mobilizing citizens to stand up for their rights. Despite attempts to suppress their activity, activists continue to monitor, document, and spread the word about what is happening in their country. Now more than ever, the voices of Cambodian citizens calling for change are being heard.

In our effort to incorporate video advocacy into local and global campaigns for housing and land rights, WITNESS and Amnesty International released the Forced Evictions Advocacy Toolkit, a multimedia resource for activists, social movements and communities fighting evictions.

A core component of the Toolkit is this satirical animation: How to Evict them in Five Easy Steps.

A key goal of this video, of course, is issue awareness. With that in mind, we couldn’t be happier that is was featured on Upworthy, the curatorial juggernaut that reaches almost 40 million people each month.

For more on our Forced Evictions work and the stories of those fighting against them, visit the WITNESS Blog or visit our Forced Evictions site.

Meantime, here’s People Before Profit, another video from the Toolkit.