Sea of mud

By Neudicléia de Oliveira, from Linhares

Photos: Leandro Taques

The toxic mud that invaded the Rio Doce with the rupture of the Samarco (Vale/BHP Billiton) dam on November the 5^th, currently surrounds a lengthy coastline in Espírito Santo and has caused a wave of indignation among the people from Espírito Santo.

The district of Regência, in the municipality of Linhares, was a place that basically depended on the tourism of its beautiful landscapes. Today, after the arrival of the mud, the population is permanently outraged with the community´s situation. The mining waste continues devastating the seaside and interdicting the beaches.

Municipal public servant, Bruna Cordeiro dos Santos, 29 years old, was born and raised at the estuary of Rio Doce. However, she describes the current situation of the region with much sadness. “Today the Doce River and this sea represent death and despair. When this mud started arriving soon came the feeling of grief and a lot of angst, because we never imagined that one day this would happen. It´s very hard to tell my six-year-old son that he can´t bathe in the sea anymore, because this was our routine”, grieves Bruna.

She says this tragedy was a social irresponsibility that could have been avoided. Besides, the lack of information from the mining company has caused even more insecurity amongst the population. “We don´t get any answers because Samarco thinks that what it does is its work and nobody gets to know anything. They are analyzing our water, but they  don´t tell us if it´s good or not. Each day that passes it seems that we are more being forgotten”, says Bruna.