"I hope that this image travels the world . . ."
That is the image and message I saw today on Facebook. A message promoting awareness of a real tragedy on this day of that ironically sweeps the country up in commercial love when this day really began as a day to celebrate authenticity.
Now, I'm all about spreading love, but today, I want to focus on spreading love through our positive action and change. Lets step back for a second from the fancy dinner dates, expensive Hallmark cards, and displaying of rose bouquets and take a second to learn about a profound issue that has been going on in a country not too far away...
Belo Monte Dam
The new president of Brazil, has just been given approval by the Brazil government, despite years of international protests, to build a huge hydroelectric plant (the third largest in the world). This particular dam is part of a series of mega dams being planned as a central part of Brazil’s Accelerated Growth Programme, which aims to stimulate the country’s economic growth by building a huge infrastructure of roads and dams, mainly in the Amazon region. The size of these projects threatens to harm or destroy vast areas of land, upon which numerous tribal peoples, including several groups of highly vulnerable uncontacted Indians, depend for their survival. 
The livelihoods of thousands of tribal people who depend on the forest and river for food and water would be destroyed. The influx of immigrants to the area during the construction of the dam threatens to introduce violence to the area and bring diseases to these Indians, putting their lives at risk. The Indians say that they will oppose the dam at all costs, and that if construction proceeds, the Xingu river will become a river of blood. Brazil’s Public Prosecutor’s Office, alongside numerous local and international organizations, have called for the license to be suspended, stating that the environmental impact studies were incomplete, and that the Indians and other people who will be affected were not properly consulted.‘
The world must know what is happening here, they must perceive how destroying forests and indigenous people destroys the entire world.
Kayapó indigenous leaders
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If the construction of this dam goes ahead, thousands of people will lose their homes, their livelihoods, and their lives. Indigenous peoples need their land in order to survive and, having lived there for centuries, they have a deep, spiritual link to it.
No amount of compensation or mitigation measures can replace their ancestral land.
A YouTube video was created by Brazil celebrities to urge the local and international community to protest the dam. To view it, click below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVUYV4YuKjc
So, as the title of today's post suggests, to spread real love today, start with action. I urge you to sign the AVAAZ Petition to stop the dam.
xoxo, Kerry
Sigourney Weaver demonstrates with indigenous people from around the world against Brazil's Belo Monte Dam. Brazilian Permanent Mission to the UN, New York, US.
© Amazon Watch
