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cr4zy-cat-lady on July 30th, 2019 at 13:03 UTC »
I’m too late and this will probably get buried...
I’ve actually been studying these murders for the past two years. I’ve been co-leading a research internship to compile any and all information we can find on these people. Through this research we have learned that a majority of these people are indigenous peoples who have died protecting their land. There are men, women, and children who have been massacred.
While there are a good amount of them who are more conventional environmentalists, the harsh reality is that these people didn’t go out looking for a cause. It was happening on their front doorsteps and they took action - and died for it. There isn’t always a lot of information on these people. A lot of our information is just about their deaths, but sometimes there isn’t even a news report.
It’s great to see this on the front page. The intent behind our research was to spread awareness, so to see this on the reddit front page is fucking amazing. If you guys want more information about my research, I can give a more in depth explanation of our findings later.
edit: more in depth explanation
We have researched the lives of nearly 2000 people dating back to 2002. They come from all across the globe, though south america and africa make up the majority of the deaths. Yet, we're pretty sure there are many, many more that go unreported. It is suspicious the lack of names from some countries such as the United States, Saudi Arabia, China, and Russia. I cannot definitively say if there are more than reported from these countries, but it is worth noting that countries with such large populations and connections to oil do not have more names on these lists.
The largest number of deaths per capita comes from Brazil - the sheer number there is terrifying and things are going to get much worse in the next few years with the reversal of anti-deforestation policies implemented by the new president.
Some of the most devastating deaths to me are the ones who had no intention of being environmentalists. As I said previously, many of these people ended up dying for the environment not because they had some higher calling to protect the planet, but because it was their land. Imagine if a hydroelectric, or oil company came on to your land and told you that they want to destroy your crops, your house, and displace your family without any payout. You'd probably tell them to go fuck themselves. But instead of going through an appeals process, they just come to your house at night and shoot you and your family while you sleep. Or show up to your family members funeral and shoot everyone there. Or put a bomb in your car. Or rape your wife, your children, make you watch, before killing all of you. This is the reality these people lived, and died, in.
But this also touches on a criticism I have with the definition of "environmentalist" they're using. To them, its anyone who died protecting the environment but does not include the intent. I don't think a lot of these people would have considered themselves environmentalists, and it makes me wonder whether or not it means we're glossing over more important parts of their lives. Yet, most of these people did not have social media, blogs, or their families did not give in-depth reports of their lives to journalists. We're making broad assumptions about people's lives without actually knowing who they were and why they stood up for what they did.
I really wish I had the funding to go to these countries and interview the survivors. Get to know whats really happening rather than trying to put together a puzzle with missing pieces from continents away.
ThinkerPlus on July 30th, 2019 at 05:35 UTC »
According to the article 6 nations are responsible for 127 out of the 164 deaths. The rest of the world counts for 37.
Those 6 nations are Brazil Philippines Columbia India Guatemala Mexico.
Aviternus on July 30th, 2019 at 05:22 UTC »
Excuse me what the fuck?