Heart-Breaking Video Shows Pataxó Woman Crying As Amazon Rainforest Burns

A heart-wrenching video that shows an indigenous Pataxó woman crying as the Amazon rainforest burns behind her has gone viral.

The woman turns to the camera and says: "For two years we've fought to preserve [our reservation] and these a**holes came in and burned it down.

"They are killing our rivers, our sources of life, and now they have set our reserve on fire. Tomorrow we are closing the roads and I want all the media here to see this."

Locals have claimed the fires have been started deliberately to make room for cattle ranches.

Conservationists and local residents have blamed Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for encouraging farmers and loggers to speed up the deforestation of the Amazon.

PA

The fires have hit headlines around the world, with thousands signing petitions and asking how they can help stop the unprecedented situation. The video showing the Pataxó woman's anguish has racked up more than nine million views on Twitter.

President Bolsonaro has told reporters the government doesn't have the resources to tackles the blazes and said he believes they were caused by non-governmental organisations (NGOs), but said he had no proof for this claim.

When asked by a journalist who he thought was responsible, Bolsonaro said: "The Indians, do you want me to blame the Indians? Do you want me to blame the Martians?... Everyone is a suspect, but the biggest suspects are NGOs."

When asked if he had proof, he added: "Did I accuse NGOs directly? I just said I suspect them."

Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE) has shared data which shows that fires in the across Brazil have increased by a massive 85 percent this year, with most of them happening in the Amazon area.

Speaking to Reuters, INPE researcher Alberto Setzer said: "The dry season creates the favourable conditions for the use and spread of fire, but starting a fire is the work of humans, either deliberately or by accident."

PA

The Amazon is the world's biggest rainforest, covering around 40 percent of South America. It has the nickname 'the planet's lungs' as the millions of trees within it create about 20 percent of the world's oxygen.

Christian Poirier, from non-profit organisation Amazon Watch has stressed the importance of the rainforest for the planet.

He told CNN: "The Amazon is incredibly important for our future, for our ability to stave off the worst of climate change."

Topics: Environment, World News

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]

@ClaireReid19