My name is Silmara. I am 26 years old and I live in Monge Belo quilombo.
The quilombo (maroon community), located in the interior of the State of Maranhão, has 120 families, and with eight associated communities owns 7,228 hectares. With a good part of the territory flooded, we catch fish for community consumption and also to sell.
With the arrival of a transmission line company, the community has been badly affected.
The damage caused by the construction of towers in the territory has greatly reduced the number of fish. In the unflooded areas, we plant our foodstuffs, such as, cassava, corn, rice, and watermelon, among others.
Recently, our quilombo was invaded by people who claimed to be the owners of the land. They entered our quilombo setting down markers, saying they were outlining the part that supposedly belonged to them.
The only documentation we have is the decree of the Palmares Foundation. We still don't have the title deed to the land, which is the document that gives us total security and prevents any intrusion
What comforts us is that we are already in the expropriation phase, hoping to expropriate so that we can live with the certainty that nothing and no one can take away what is rightfully ours.
Edited: Andru Shively (VUB)