Stolen Childhood

Stolen Childhood, originally uploaded by carf.

"A changemaker in the making...

This thought-provoking PowerPoint presentation, “Stolen Childhood”, was brought to my attention by one of our members, Ahmad Kavousian. It confirms much of what we already know; that there is still yet much work to be done.

The original Portuguese version, “Infância Roubada”, made by Mateus from Brasília in Brazil, has now been translated to English thanks to positive supporters and admirers of his noble efforts.

......

As part of the Reaching for a Star Campaign, mobilized by Flickr member, Mylens (Marília) and now in its second edition, we at CARF would like to offer members of the Flickr Community the possibility of making their Christmas gift double its face value for those on the receiving end. “Hit two birds with one stone” as the old saying goes... Firstly by giving a gift that motivates towards social consciousness in your family circle and among your friends, and secondly, by providing support to the many children attended by the Children At Risk Foundation – CARF.

This are words from Gregory J. Smith, who leads CARF - Children at Risk Foundation, and a great friend. Some of you alredy know many pictures (slide-show here) I've been doing about this social project, during a year of work, at my Flickr's photostream and here. Please, click at the image above to follow the link and download directions if you would like the PowerPoint presentation.

And if you aren't at Flickr community and want to help us to develop this so important project, you can directly go here:

hold your son

hold your son, originally uploaded by Tatiana Cardeal.

Words from the letter I received,
about the next brasilian presidencial elections:

"As son of the First Nations of Brazil, we know that our potential is not in the amount of votes that other social sectors are possessing as the afro brothers, the women or the young among others, that of some form they had obtained to keep its representation in the National Congress and the Federal Government.

The aboriginal questions had passed without any mention of the part of the two candidates. Nothing it was said nor for an elegance question, which would be the status of relationship in the future Government. Perhaps our lands are not priorities for the National Sovereignty, or drinking waters, the mineral biodiversity, resources, and mainly, the partner-economic sustentabilidade of our villages and communities."

Marcos Terena
President of the Intertribal Committee - ITC

> Indigenous Meeting at Betioga city.
This are Manoki (Irantxe) People hands.
They live in Western Mato Grosso State from Brazil.

kayapo women

kayapó women, originally uploaded by Tatiana Cardeal.

When I saw them, they were preparing to dance
the ritual before the begining of the meeting.
I felt looking to spirits, gods in earth.

Kayapó means “those who look like monkeys”, probably because of their ritual where Kayapó men, using monkey masks, execute short dances. But the Kayapó refer to themselves as Mebêngôkre, “the men from the water hole/place.”

united

united..., originally uploaded by Tatiana Cardeal.

Kayapó women dancing at their ritual, before the beginning of the meeting.

a different war

a different war, originally uploaded by Tatiana Cardeal.

For the Kayapó people

"... human modifications of the nature world are accompanied by rituals. For example, the opening of new swiddens is preceded by a dance presenting many structural similarities to the war ritual. Opening up new swiddens is indeed a symbolic war against a natural rather than human enemy.

Returning from the hunt, men must sing to the spirits of the game they themselves have killed in order for the spirits to remain in the forest. Each animal species designates a song that always begins with the cry of the dead animal."

by Gustaaf Verswijver
anthropologist

Kayapó cosmology and ritual
(nice link to read more details and info about this)
...................................................................
> Kayapó people dancing in the end of the meeting.
The Kayapó People live on South Pará State and Mato Grosso State, in Brazil. They were about 7.096 (in 2003).

IMAGINING OURSELVES

I'm encouraging people to visit this great project,
Imagining Ourselves.

They invite you to answer the question, “What Defines Your Generation of Women?”. They are looking for submissions from young women in every corner of the globe. If you have a story to tell, images to share, or a voice that wants to be heard, they welcome your submission. They accept film, audio, images and text

Some of the themes they will explore are:
War & Dialogue, Young Men, Motherhood,
Image & Identity, Online Film Festival.

Click here to read about the Call For Submissions

photo © International Museum of Women

hold

hold, originally uploaded by Tatiana Cardeal.

"The mind, like the dyer's hand,
is colored by what it holds."
— unknown source

introspective

introspective, originally uploaded by Tatiana Cardeal.

This are Xerente People, who lives to the east of Tocantins river, in Brazil.

your name, my rights

your name, my rights, originally uploaded by Tatiana Cardeal.

This petition on the UN draft declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has now a bit more than 5700 names.

I wish we would make thousands.
Please, send this link to a friend,
let's make it grow.
Thank you.

GLOBAL PETITION
(click above to sign it)

“Indigenous peoples the world over continue to be among the most marginalized and dispossessed sectors of society, the victims of perennial prejudice and discrimination.”

Louise Arbour, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

"An estimated 370 million Indigenous women, men and children worldwide face racism, discriminatory laws and eviction from lands central to their cultures and livelihoods.

After more than two decades of negotiation and debate, the United Nations is moving forward with global human rights standards to protect the rights of Indigenous peoples."

More details about this campaign at
Amnesty International (english)
Amnesty International (espanhol)
Amnesty International (français)
Amnesty International (Arabic)

> This is a Gavião boy. Gavião People lives at the Maranhão state, in Brazil.
They were about 250 (in 1998) .

æptokrda

æptokrda, originally uploaded by Tatiana Cardeal.

This is the word they use to call the ancients.
The old people are very respected by the Xerente People,
because they means the "cultural guardians".

>The Xerente People live in Tocantins State from Brazil.
Population about 1.814 (in 2000).

touch

touch, originally uploaded by Tatiana Cardeal.

This is a Xerente People touch.
They live at the east of Tocantins river, in Brazil.
They were about 1.814, in 2000.

Indigenous Meeting at Bertioga city.
good info: Instituto Sócio Ambiental
(english/português)

lucid dreams

lucid dreams, originally uploaded by Tatiana Cardeal.

Her name is Nhikwyry Kayapó,
The Kayapó People live on South Pará State and Mato Grosso
State, in Brazil. They were about 7.096 (in 2003).

when?

when?, originally uploaded by Tatiana Cardeal.

Indigenous peoples have the right to the full enjoyment, as a collective or as individuals, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms as recognized in the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international human rights law.

This image is dedicated to the activist bishop Dom Luciano Mendes de Almeida, who passed away this week, and who fighted so much for the Indigenous Rights, respecting their own religion and traditions.

This Kayapo child picture was taken on the VI Indigenous National Party,
realized by the Intertribal Committee (ITC)
with the town hall's Bertioga City support.

A state of mind

Tatiana Cardeal © All photographs

Thank you, all of you that joined the Ceasefire Campaign.
This were words at Mundo Uno group, about how the Campaign developed. Click at this link to read.

The picture above were Mothers who had lost their children by violence of gun fire, doing a symbolic ritual during the opening
of the Urban Outcries II. A project from Chidren At Risk Foundation, CARF.

............................................................................................................

Children and young of the Sao Paulo periphery
send letters for Lebanon and Israel
16/08/2006 São Paulo -

Two thousand children between 12 to 18 years cared by the Social Center Ours Lady of the Good Childbirth ( Centro Social Nossa Senhora do Bom Parto), on to the Pastoral of the Minor, had produced correspondences for inhabitants of the same age of Lebanon and Israel. The Brazilians live in the periphery at the zone east of the São Paulo capital. In this thursday (august, 17), a group of adolescents and young - the majority of which already had assassinated next relatives and already was violence victim - will make the symbolic delivery of the correspondences in the office of UNESCO in São Paulo. The letters are part of an activity developed in the 54 centers of attendance from the project. The objective is to work the subject of solidarity daily enters the peoples from the violence, problem faced for the majority of the children and young of the Social Center Ours Lady of the Good Childbirth. The temporary representative of UNESCO in Brazil, Vincent Defourny, will direct the correspondences to the ambassadors of the Lebanon and Israel next to the headquarters of the Organization, in Paris.

World Ceasefire Vigil

Please, sign the petition:
ceasefire campaign


originally uploaded by Tatiana Cardeal. All photographs © 2003-2006.

Those are mothers who had lost their children by violence of gun fire, doing a symbolic ritual during the opening of the Urban Outcries II, a project from Chidren At Risk Foundation, CARF.

We also are needing to work for the ceasefire in my country too.

Ceasefire: No more war crimes

Join the black ribbon MUNDO UNO campaign,
wearing it as your icon.
Why the black ribbon? Here are some words.
* MUNDO UNO it's a call for peace.
* MUNDO UNO means ONE WORLD.
* MUNDO UNO is a virtual protest against
the madness of the all the wars.
* MUNDO UNO is a way for us to say:
stop the killing of civilians, in both sides.

Shall we be ONE, one world, one face,
one people to change this.

....................................



"Civilians have been targeted in Lebanon by the Israeli
Defence Forces and in northern Israel by Hizbullah
leaving hundreds dead.

After weeks of fighting, bombs and rockets continue to fall indiscriminately on women, children, ambulances, rescue workers and other innocent victims of this escalating conflict. These deliberate attacks violate international humanitarian law and constitute war crimes.

Only an immediate, full and effective ceasefire will protect civilians on both sides, but calls for the warring parties to obey the laws of war and protect civilians have fallen
on deaf ears.

Meanwhile, governments that could exert their influence to end the crisis have chosen instead to prioritize their own political and military interests over innocent lives of civilians.

We, the international community, are not powerless in the face of this crisis. We must stand up together to protect the lives of civilians and to ensure no more war crimes are commited."

What can you do? Take action now!

1. Join Amnesty International in our Ceasefire vigil on Monday 7th August, around sunset

* We call for a ceasefire;
* We demand that all governments stop the supply of arms to the conflict; and
* We stand in solidarity with the victims and survivors on both sides of the Israel/Lebanon conflict.

Read more details at the banner link, from Amnesty International.

return

originally uploaded by Tatiana Cardeal © 2006. All rights reserved .

my eyes opened
I was there again
my feet were burning
my soul dived the soil,
seeking ancestors
thirsty for sap
old roots

my eyes closed
I am here,
I am here,
I am still here.

..........................................................................

I went to this great meeting again,
the VI Indigenous National Party.
A meeting to celebrate life, culture and traditions.
I'll be publishing all of them soon,
but you will see more pictures if you click
at the image above.

All pictures were taken on the VI Indigenous National Party,
realized by the Intertribal Committee (ITC)
with the town hall's Bertioga City support.

silence

originally uploaded by Tatiana Cardeal. All photographs © 2006.

when my eyes open, the world will be fine

The Best of Photojournalism 2006

I send three sets with my pictures to the
Best of Photojournalism 2006 Awards,
from the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA).
Two of them are the 2nd place in two categories, of web site - Photo Blogs. There are the Web Site Winners.

My sets were the Indigenous National Party (Festival and Event category), and the Portraits set. You can click pic by pic, or click on the "view as a slideshow" of these links.
Thank you!

Prestes Maia, the fight for rights

originally uploaded by Tatiana Cardeal
All photographs © 2006.

Prestes Maia, is a colossal abandoned clothes factory that towers over central Sao Paulo, and the biggest occupation of Latin America, with 22 storeys in total, is home to 468 families; around 2,000 people from the MSTC - Movimento dos Sem Teto do Centro (Downtown Homeless People's Movement).

The community is meticulously organised and removed 200 lorry loads of rubbish and 1.500 cubic meters of sewerage from the building’s ground floor, together with all the rest, bestowing upon it the social function of a domicile as determined by the Federal Constitution.
They had organized the cleanning maintenance, the security, they had banned all the traffic of drugs and crimes from the building, making it a familiar place full of activities. The created a library, recycling program, and cultural activities with artists and partners.

The owners of the building, Jorge Hamuche and Eduardo Amorim, who do not possess the title deed, abandoned the building for twenty years and owe close to BRL$5 million (EUR$1.8 million) in taxes.
But, an injunction has been issued for the repossession of the building.
The judge of the 25th Civil Jurisdiction of Sao Paulo granted an injunction for the repossession of the property, ignoring the residential rights of the occupants and even a UN report that declares; "the municipal government of Sao Paulo, through the Secretary of Habitation and Urban Development and COHAB, should promote the renovation of the Prestes Maia building for housing and social interests, to meet the objective of the dispossession of the building by the municipality."

The authorities didn't plan a project to remove everybody, and we know that they will return to live at the streets. We are trying to stop this, and to pressure the state governor Geraldo Alckmin and the mayor from the city José Serra, to make first a project, and then remove the families.

I've created a new set to publish the pictures of the development of this story, called "Where do we go?", and a Flickr's community to support them, "The Prestes Maia Hope", with an online petition to be signed (there is a translation of the text for english and french), and much more details about this story.
Please join us.

IV World Social Forum

originally uploaded by Tatiana Cardeal copyrights © 2006.

I've started to publish the photographs of the WSF at my Flickr's page first, and day by day I'll be uploading new images from the Social Forum. Just follow this link.

> Marching for the women rights and against violence, at the opening march at Caracas, Venezuela.