Dorothy Stang: defender of the Amazon's peasant families

Catholic New Times, March 8, 2005 by Christl Dabu

Deep inside the timber-rich forest of the Amazon, David Stang recently walked in the footsteps of his murdered sister, Dorothy, not minding the rain and heat--and the aching reminders of someone he regards as a martyr.

To Stang and thousands of supporters in Brazil, the soft-spoken Sr. Dorothy Stang, 73, a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur, is similar to celebrated Amazon activist Chico Mendes. Knowing she was on a death list, she nonetheless peacefully confronted illegal loggers, ranchers and corrupt authorities who have allowed the violence and inequities against the poor in the region. The absence of land titles, forging of land deeds and routine neglect of the law has long characterized the rural Para state.

Men with money and guns have been running the region as their own fiefdom--invading lots, burning homes, pillaging the land, using slave labour and intimidating and killing those who get in their way.

On February 12, Stang was travelling to one of the burned-out rural villages to have a meeting with the small farmers and offer her support. She had, as usual, carried her Bible with her. Eyewitnesses say she read the Beatitudes to the two pistoleiros (hired gunmen) who stopped her. She tried to tell them that the land belonged to the town's peasants before they shot her several times. She died instantly. She was buried Feb. 15 on land near the Anapu River.

In addition to the arrests of four people, the BBC reported that the influential rancher who allegedly ordered her murder has since surrendered to police, but now maintains his innocence.

"She was a woman, a nun, who was fearless because she believed in God immensely," said her brother David, 67, on the phone from Palmer Lake, Colorado, a few days after he returned from Brazil. News of a murder in Para is not extraordinary. In the past 20 years, more than 1,000 rural workers have been killed over land disputes in Brazil, according to the Catholic Church's Pastoral Land Commission (CPT). Few perpetrators have been forced to pay for their crimes, much less been brought to trial. But it has taken the killing of a high profile, elderly American nun to inspire a groundswell of media attention spotlighting the problems plaguing the Amazon, particularly the escalation of violence and the accompanying impunity for crimes connected with the region's massive deforestation and illegal occupation of lands.

According to news reports, the worldwide outcry over Stang's death also prompted Brazil's government to create two large forest reserves, and install a six-month ban on logging licenses in some of the disputed territory. The government also announced it will open 19 bases where the IBAMA environmental agency, army and police units will operate to protect peasants. It unleashed a massive manhunt and 2,000 troops to contain the anarchy in the vast, dense rainforest. Many of Stang's colleagues, family and friends are hopeful that the tragedy will finally lead to significant human rights and land reforms.

"Sister Dorothy's death was a way to get rid of somebody, one more voice," said St. Joanne Depweg, from the Patti capital. Belem. "But the opposite happened. Her murder drew lots of attention, and the federal government came in."

Promoting education and sustainable farming for peasants

David Stang learned how his sister's voice was so potent that her adversaries wanted her permanently silenced. She was inspired by liberation theology, which encouraged working for economic and social improvement. When the government offered people land along the Trans-Amazon Highway in the 1970s. influx and development brought conflict over territory and exploitation of the environment People such as Dorothy Stang tried to get the bullied peasants to stand up for their rights to the land. She also encouraged replanting mahogany trees and taught farmers how to do sustainable farming so they could make a living without destroying the forest. She helped them start little factories, selling fruit and flour, for instance, and tried to get them land deeds and access to clean water.

The people are very poor, living in wooden huts, with no electricity, running water, schools or paved roads. The sisters trained teachers, church leaders and the Christian community, and educated the destitute in women's rights, health, and land reform in schools they opened.

Last month, David Stang met the peasants, who greeted him with tears and hugs. "It was a little hard for me. It showed that she truly lived with the people and that the people loved her," he said.

Sr. Joan Krimm had reminded her best friend to be careful in their final phone conversation. Stang had called Krimm, whom she had known since their high school days in Dayton, Ohio, feeling down. She told Krimm that she had unsuccessfully gone to the local police and mayor to get help for peasants whose crops and houses had been destroyed. Even when Stang started losing her eyesight last year, Krimm said that she was still determined to stay in Brazil with the people.