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Stories taked away by the mud tragedy revealed by different views

Karen Myrna Castro Mendes Teixeira [The org.]

Stories taked away by the mud Tragedy revealed by different views Karen Myrna Castro Mendes Teixeira [The org.]

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GRUPO DE ESTUDO E PESQUISA EM DIREITO AMBIENTAL E SUSTENTABILIDADE

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© 2017 The organizer © 2017 by University Center Newton Paiva 2017

office hour Chairman of the Splice Group Antônio Roberto Beldi University President João Paulo Beldi Administrative and financial director Cláudio Geraldo Amorim Sousa Academic director Celso de Oliveira Braga General secretary Denise de Lourdes Oliveira GENERAL COORDINATION OF Newton Paiva University Center Law School Emerson Luiz de Castro LAW SCHOOL coordinator - CAMPUS CCL Valéria Edith Carvalho de Oliveira LAW SCHOOL coordinator - CAMPUS Buritis III Sabrina Tôrres Laje Peixoto de Melo ORGANIZATION: Karen Myrna Castro Mendes Teixeira PHOTO COVER: Wagner Correa PHOTOS: Students of the Newton Paiva University Center Law School, visitors and Wagner Correa translation: Erica H. M. Oliveira TECHNICAL SUPPORT Center of Academic Publications of the Newton Paiva University Center EDITOR OF ART AND GRAPHIC DESIGN: Helô Costa - Professional Registry 127 / MG Layout: Ariane Lopes and Marina Pacheco (trainees of the Journalism Course)

LAW SCHOOL OF Newton Paiva University Center 220, Presidente Carlos Luz Avenue- Caiçara 3322, Barão Homem de Melo Avenue- Buritis Belo Horizonte - Minas Gerais - Brazil

Stories taked away by the mud

Introduction Environment and Citizenship The environmental issues in the contemporary world are no longer limited to the private sector or public sector. Industry, commerce and governments are no longer the only agents interacting within the environment discussion.

The current laws are not based on protection and essential attention on environmental issues and require the participation of an agent of paramount importance: the citizen. According to the dictionary, citizen is a person who is a member of a country and has rights or any performance of their duties to a state.

The environmental problems that lead every day on our street, neighborhood, city, state, country, world and finally in

our universe cannot be considered someone else’s problem.

They are problems of each of us. The climate change or the global warming, for example, does not only threaten the planet, as if it were an event far from us. It threatens our own health. It threatens our food sources and sets a tragic scenario for future generations.

Therefore, our participation as citizens are indispensable. We must be alert to everything that happens with the environment, our services and our fundamental role, as specialists of how apply the current environment legislation and the agencies who can act to assert this legislation.

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It is necessary for a consumer society to have aware citizens who require to industries and enterprises an ethical and transparent behavior regarding the environment. And if the citizen are aware of any harmful fact to the environment, that already happened or can potentially happen, so the citizen may denouce and engage in understanding and discussing that fact.

It’s not the intention of this study to make a report or a political statement, but the effective participation of citizens that seek a better world.

However, if due this complexity nothing can be done, so we may see environmental issues closer to us, such as deforestation, water pollution and aggression against fauna and flora.

Bento Rodrigues is not only a tragedy to be reported, but an alert of the fragility and even absence of responsibility in the face of the silent and everyday transformations of our environment.

Therefore the relevance of this work that seeks, through the indissociable relation between teaching, research and outreach, to give voice, color and text to this responsability.

In this way local, regional and occasional actions that bring to the debate the repercussions of events that harm the environment and that provide an articulation of the communities and those involved are a solution to most of the existing problems. These problems, generally, do not still persist due to the absence of laws, but lack of interest and lack of knowledge of the people in a general way.

If we discuss the present, it is because we had a past and we want to guarantee a future. Taking care of the environment,means participating. We have never had so many instruments and government agencies to help us in this long-lasting vigil for the environment.

Emerson Luiz de Castro Coordinator of the University Center Newton Paiva Law School.

Master of Law from the Milton Campos Law School

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Preface THE TRUE VIEW ON THE REALITY OF THE TRAGEDY OF BENTO RODRIGUES – MINAS GERAIS It was in 2011 that, in response to the call of a client, I was in the city of Nova Ponte / Minas Gerais State. Twenty years ago, due to the construction of a hydroelectric plant, the city, now called “cidade velha” (Old City), with more than 1,500 buildings was submerged.

The residents of the then “cidade velha” were transported to a “cidade nova” (New City), built on nearby land, where one can visit a replica of the old city’s Mother Church.

When I was there, and at the edge of the dam, because it was a drought, the tower of the old Mother Church appeared right in the middle of the waters. I look at the immensity of the water and the tower, until, looking away to the left, I noticed a group of people, on the other side of the margin, standing there, looking at the tower.

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I asked my client: why are those people there? Is there something I cannot see? He replied: they are the former residents of the “old city” who come to pray facing the tower of the church. Every dry season is the same thing... I’ve never forgotten this moment.

Still curious, I asked how those people were living. My client replied: “They have gained new houses, a well-designed sweet water beach, an entire city with a replicate and all of the Mother Church. But, the people began to “languish.” A lot of drinking.

They had no garden in the backyard to plant, raise chickens or even little piglets for Christmas. The crime has arrived in the city.

And the people were so sad. “ Strange feeling passed me as I cast a new look at those people at the edge of the dam. I confess that of guilt too. People who hurt people. I thought about the distribution of the social burden - a relevant issue in the administrative responsibility. I also thought that every citizen should have an equal opportunity. The opportunity of Saint Thomas, the Apostle: to see with our own eyes the importance of the environment in which we live - natural, artificial, cultural and work.

In 2012, there I was against all the mishaps, doing masters in Environmental Law and Sustainability. My research project was about “Environmental civil liability”. In the same year, I started

teaching Environmental Law. From the beginning of my teaching career, I taught Civil Responsibility. In 2014 I defended my Master’s dissertation, already conscious of not only civil responsibility, but also administrative and criminal responsibilities - the triple environmental responsibility. In May 2015, certain that we should promote the environmental issue in the academic community of Newton Paiva University Center, especially in the Law School, we created the GEMAS - Research and Study Group on Environmental Law and Sustainability working basically with five topics: Environmental Education, Environmental Justice, Resilience, Conscious Consumption and Biodiversity.

(Un) expected, in November of the same year, occurred the socalled “Mariana disaster” in Minas Gerais. When I saw the first television images I did not shy away from remembering New Bridge and its inhabitants. I had to go there. I needed to share this experience that I call “Saint Thomas” with more people. It’s so real.

The sciences must observe reality.

The opportunity came in March / 2016, through Prof. Daniel Medrado from the Law School. At this moment, we cannot fail to thank you as well as to the State Secretariat for the Environment and the State Foundation for the Environment that has given us the approximation of the research with its object.

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The study of the subject resulted in an exhibition of aerial photos provided by the State Environmental Foundation, called “Look of the skies: the tragedy that shook the world in 2015” throughout the Newton Paiva University Center, in a Seminar on “Administrative Actions In Face of the Samarco Accident “and in the Technical visit to Bento Rodrigues / Minas Gerais, in wich human experience culminated in the edition of the statements contained in this publication.

The technical visit to Bento Rodrigues counted on the Courses of Law, Environmental Engineering and Biological Sciences and of the Nucleus of Academic Publication of the Newton Paiva University Center. Students from the Masters in Environmental Law and Sustainability of the Dom Helder Câmara Law School and the Master in Environmental Sciences of the Federal University of Minas Gerais were invited. We also had the presence of the photographer and cameraman Wagner Correa who kindly made himself available to follow the field research and record such striking moments.

Karen Myrna Castro Mendes Teixeira Master in Environmental Law at the Dom Helder Câmara Law School.

Specialist in Social Rights at the Newton Paiva University Center.

Bachelor of Laws from the Newton Paiva University Center.

Leader of the Study and Research Group on Environmental Law and Sustainability - GEMAS.Teacher of the Law School of the Newton Paiva University Center.

Partner and lawyer of the Escritório Castro Advocacia.

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index 15 ………. The exhibition 23……….. The seminar 27 ………. The trip 31 ………. The visit and the statements 87 ………. Life still persists 89 ………. The Return 91 ………. Aftertaste 95 ………. Aftertaste/Field Research

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The exhibition March, 30th April, 30th, 2016 Newton Paiva University Center Campus 800 – 220 – Silva Lobo – Buritis Belo Horizonte – Minas Gerais - Brazil

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The course of the Rio Doce, The muddy water, The nature persisting.

The negative and positive gaze of life.

Here is the reflection.

Here is to cultivate a look at the essence of life!

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Prof. Daniel Guimarães Medrado de Castro From State Environmental Foundation that kindly gave the photos Group of Study and Research in Environmental Law and Sustainability - Gems, coordinated by Profa. Karen Teixeira

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REALIZATION | Center of Legal Exercise of the School of Law of the University Center Newton Paiva PHOTOS | IBAMA Collection PRODUCTION | Nucleus of Academic Publications – NPA

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of the tragedy that has shaken the world.

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of the Law School of the University Center Newton Paiva

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The Centro de Exercício Jurídico (Legal Practice Center) – CEJU

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The seminar March, 30th 2016 Nominato Auditorium 220, Carlos Luz Avenue – Caiçara Belo Horizonte – Minas Gerais Brazil

Administrative actions in the event of an accident From Samarco

Guests Nalton Sebastião Moreira da Cruz/ Assistant Secretary of State for Environment and Sustainable Development Diogo Soares de Melo Franco/ Chair of the State Environmental Foundation Germano Luiz Gomes Vieira/ Chief of Staff of the State Environmental Foundation Renato Teixeira Brandão / Director of the Waste Management of the State Environmental Foundation (responsible for the management of damns in the State)

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The Trip april, 28th 2016 first stop/ mariana – minas Gerais destination/ Bento rodrigues Sub district

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The visit and the statements april 28th , 2016 Bento rodrigues Sub district mariana City Belo horizonte – minas Gerais Brazil

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On November 5th, 2015, a major disaster occurred in the sub district of Bento Rodrigues, located in the city of Mariana, caused by the rupture of the tailings dam of the Samarco mine, Fundão dam, resulting in flooding of houses, among several deaths and people disappeared.

When I arrived in Bento Rodrigues I had a great impact, because no matter how the event was shown has shown in the media, only those who had seen closely have the proportion of the state in which the District was, the damages caused to both the families and the environment. I put myself in the situation of every person who lived those moments of despair. Today, the place is empty, and can even be compared to a “ghost town”. The visit was of extreme importance so we could see the actual situation of the District.

Karla Nayara Martins dos Santos Graduating from the Law School of the University Center Newton Paiva.

Researcher of the Study and Research Group on Environmental Law and Sustainability - GEMAS.

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The sub district of Bento Rodrigues, in the city of Mariana, was recently destroyed by a major environmental disaster caused by the rupture of the Fundão dam, the mining company Samarco. Through the mudslide, many families lost loved ones and their homes, as well as churches, shops, school and plaza that were ruined. With the visit in Bento Rodrigues I realized that the place became sad and isolated. It looked like a “ghost town” of Hollywood pictures.

What remains is only the memories of a District more than three hundred years old, carrying a rich culture with it, unlike what was reported in the media, as if it were only a small and simple place, not giving it the real value. The damage caused by the rupture of the dam also resulted in environmental impacts, such as the pollution of iron ore tailings in the Rio Doce.

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Kélita Natália Ferreira Graduating from the Law School of the University Center Newton Paiva.

Researcher of the Study and Research Group on Environmental Law and Sustainability - GEMAS.

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On April 7th , 2016, the Research Group on Environmental Law and Sustainability at the Newton Paiva University Center Law School made a technical visit to Bento Rodrigues in Minas Gerais. Were invited the course of Environmental Engineering and Biological Sciences of the Newton Paiva University Center, students of the Dom Helder Câmara Law School and the Masters in Environmental Sciences of the Federal University of Minas Gerais.

With the visit, it was possible to note, in full, all the devastation that occurred in the region after the rupture of the Fundão dam. This was a mining tailings dam controlled by the company “Samarco de Mineração S.A”, which broke on November 5th , 2015, 35 km from the city of Mariana - MG.

re, approximately 34 million m³ of ore sludge reached Rio Doce in matters of hours.

The Rio Doce comprises the largest basin in the southeast region of the country, with a total area of 82,646 Km², where it was possible to note the extent of the environmental damage caused by the disaster. With the turbidity of the water, several fish species died, as well as the interruption of the water supply of the cities supplied by the river, among others. The environmental damage caused by the mud extended beyond the Minas Gerais State, reaching, also, the Espírito Santo State where it ended offshore.

The visit made it possible to see the damage that occurred in the subdistrict, such as: houses on the floor, appliances on rooftops, sofas and pictures inside the houses, clothes still hanging from the old residents, toys, shoes, mattresses, Pavement of the city completely taken no more by mud, but by land and much dust coming from the metals coming together with the ore. Not only the houses were damaged, but also churches and monuments that were dated from the 18th century and are listed by historical patrimony.

This visit was of great value to us, researchers of Environmental Law, because we could observe how disastrous the disruption of the dam in the region of Bento Rodrigues / Mariana – Minas Gerais.

We have to be aware that this has happened and it will take years to minimize the damage done, but it will serve as an alert and learning so that companies are more cautious for environmental disasters, so in the future. Now it is hoped that the authorities will enforce the laws so that the company not only repair the environmental damages caused but also reorganize the lives of the former residents and workers of the region.

In addition to the local devastation, it is still possible to be aware of the environmental damage that this dam rupture brought. The river that passed near Bento Rodrigues was diverted to a low water level, but with the large volume that it had at the time of the ruptu-

Marcelo Nogueira Londe Graduating from the Law School of the University Center Newton Paiva.

Researcher of the Study and Research Group on Environmental Law and Sustainability - GEMAS. Agronomist.

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After this experience, I say that I saw reality, not that reality shown in the news and newspapers, I saw reality with my “own eyes”.

Stepping on that dry mud would say I could feel some of the pain of that city. Those people have lost much more than their material possessions, much more than a car, a television, a stove, they have lost something that I have no words to describe, but I know that perhaps it will never be left behind.

To be where this terrible tragedy happened was a shock, there I gained strength, those lands told me to fight more for the environment, for planet Earth and for life.

I thank Gemas, the other students present and especially the Teacher Karen Teixeira and the University Center Newton Paiva that gave me this moment so important in my professional, academic and personal life.

Jéssica Caroline Avelino de Souza Graduating from the Law School of the University Center Newton Paiva.

Researcher of the Study and Research Group on Environmental Law and Sustainability - GEMAS.

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The trip was very important to know the new demands that the license scenario to operate - concept that encompasses the environmental, social and technical licenses of an entrepreneurial activity in a certain locality - requires to occur in its effectiveness and full harmony.

It is clear the prohibition of repetitions of events like this, and for this we must be increasingly united, close and aware of everything around us, to know what we should demand and the best way to do it, in search of our rights.

Monah Moreira Hilal Graduating from the Law School of the University Center Newton Paiva.

Researcher of the Study and Research Group on Environmental Law and Sustainability - GEMAS. Environmental Engineer.

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The visit to Bento Rodrigues was a very rich experience. I knew the social, cultural and environmental impacts that marked the city and the people. People who lived there, built a story and suddenly lost everything.

I learned how this contact is important for a future operator of law. Fighting for rights is not only about knowing laws, nor about limiting oneself to the content learned in the classroom, but also knowing what is beyond and knowing that the law must serve social reality, including culture, the environment and the economy.

This opportunity has brought me more sensitivity and certainty that the course I have chosen has much to add to me (and to us) to be a better citizen. And in a very special way, GEMAS has provided us with unique experiences that we will take with us for a lifetime.

Nadia Paloma de Ă vila Graduating from the Law School of the University Center Newton Paiva.

Researcher of the Study and Research Group on Environmental Law and Sustainability - GEMAS.

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When I was in Bento Rodrigues I had the opportunity to have an impressive academic enrichment in the area of Environmental Law. I could feel some of the pain that these people carry to this day, because it is a story, a whole life that was buried by the mud.

This house represents dreams, stories of people who lived moments of simplicity and happiness. Bento Rodrigues was a district that had Municipal School model of Mariana, and a wonderful squares structure, developed trade, asphalted road, etc.

I noticed with the visit to the sub-district of Bento Rodrigues how much this catastrophe caused damages to the life of these people and to the environment.

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Tiago Henrique Santos de Oliveira Graduating from the Law School of the University Center Newton Paiva.

Researcher of the Study and Research Group on Environmental Law and Sustainability - GEMAS.

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The technical visit was very interesting and productive despite the conditions in which Bento Rodrigues is. It can even be compared to a ghost town. We saw what became a city for lack of accountability of the Government and Mining company Samarco, and every time I passed I was able to associate some scene shown by the media. I had a great emotional impact when I saw the entire city transformed into mud. Each part that I stepped on was a different thought, my view of the situation changed completely and I could see that there may be several stories behind each debris.

For many, Bento Rodrigues was nothing more than a “barnyard”, but it was not so, it was a sub-district of great importance for mining and the “Estrada Real” (Royal Road) crossed the urban center. The Fundão dam broke down destroying several historical points, as for example, Church of São Bento. Several people are working to try to reclaim important pieces from the eighteenth century of the churches.

Daniele Paola Martins de Oliveira Graduating from the Law School of the University Center Newton Paiva.

Researcher of the Study and Research Group on Environmental Law and Sustainability - GEMAS.

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When we entered the Bento Rodrigues District, I was impressed with the visual similarity with the city of the Roman Empire of Pompeii located in Italy. Pompeii was completely covered by ash and mud expelled by the eruption of the volcano Vesuvius. Today, like Pompeii, Bento Rodrigues is a “ghost town”. I dare say that there was not an accident and, rather, a crime resulting from the neglect of the mining company Samarco and the Government that has the duty of supervision.

Bento Rodrigues served as an efficient urban center: it had a model school, health center and policing, asphalted and properly signposted streets, commerce, good houses, churches and even a historical

wall listed as a historical cultural patrimony of humanity, being, Estrada Real component of the route called the Diamond Road. The mud devastated and buried the entire length of the District.

I realized from the visit to Bento Rodrigues that the true extent of the damage is immeasurable both for the victims who were there at the moment of the dam’s rupture and for the Environment.

Camila Cristina Azevedo Castro Teixeira Specialist in Tax Law from AVM Integrated School. Graduated by the School of Law of Newton Paiva University Center. Researcher of the Study and Research Group on Environmental Law and Sustainability - GEMAS. Graduating in Pedagogy in the Federal University of Minas Gerais. Partner and lawyer of the Escritório Castro Advocacia.

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On Thursday 04/07, I had the opportunity to go, together with the study group that I am part of - GEMAS, to the district of Bento Rodrigues, which was known throughout the world for the disaster that occurred in November last year (2015) , With the mud leak due to the rupture of one of the Samarco dams.

What has remained of this experience is not what has been passed through the media, and I will not be questioning what everyone has questioned, nor who is guilty, if there is guilty, if it was an accident and why, the most important and unanswered is the “And now?”, “And the lives of people who have lost everything?”

No, it’s not just a ceiling, some pieces of clothing, furniture ... The truth is that there the identity and history of all ended. You know that special outfit that you hold with care? Or that glass set you see at your grandmother’s house and feel the warmth? That embroidered quilt from your mother’s trousseau more than 40 years old? Or the pictures, the pictures on the wall? The physical memories ... none of this will come back!

No money or compensation will be able to repair. It is a void. It’s an empty place.

And within so many losses, it has the relief of those who survived the body’s clothing (and some even without it). It’s too sad.

Bento Rodrigues was not a farm (as it was passed to those who did not know, diminishing the relevance of the place). There were good houses (which were already totally abandoned and plundered - from tiles to fiber pool), there were a polyclinic and big schools, churches, a sports court, small square, paved streets, and the inner city way.

They were more than 300 years of history and even recognized historical patrimony. Now it’s nothing more. It’s dust and mud.

Let’s see what will happen in the future, if there is any future for that place.

Lais Jardim Graduating from the Law School of the University Center Newton Paiva.

Researcher of the Study and Research Group on Environmental Law and Sustainability - GEMAS.

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When I stepped on the ground of Bento Rodrigues and approached the one that was his environment, today devastated, emptied of its meaning first, that is, the life moved by its inhabitants with the involvement of its history, demarcating the daily peculiarity, I realized something Beyond my expectation.

At the moment, only emptiness, silence, not being, yesterday, mourning, loss of memory of the place. Memory is registered in the buildings made in time, perhaps erected with sacrifice, the church, the houses, the school, the commerce, the square, the streets, and the FundĂŁo dam, above, belonging to Samarco.

Its inhabitants, now trapped in a situation that is far from being supplanted, live the nightmare of banishment and, likewise, feel displaced anywhere else improvised.

It is the biggest environmental disaster of all time reaching cities, wildlife, flora, rivers and ocean.

What happened in Bento Rodrigues, is the result of the an operation of the authorities for decades, of the corruption, the economic power and the unconsciousness of the people. We only have one thought: it is necessary to change the model of exploitation of the ore deposits in our country, as well as the storage of tailings. The region has been plagued since the golden age.

It is imperative to live with nature without degrading it!

Eliana Bedeschi da Siveira e Silva Graduating from the Law School of the University Center Newton Paiva.

Researcher of the Study and Research Group on Environmental Law and Sustainability - GEMAS.

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All of us, lawyers, lawyers, law students, from an early age are taught and encouraged to express opinions, positioning us legally in accordance with our laws, jurisprudence and doctrines. We learn to observe events and fit them into the types provided for in our Ordinance laws.

The visit to Bento Rodrigues made us see beyond our class: to see with one’s own eyes, to feel the effects of destruction and to take the place of those affected by the disaster. Here we are called not as lawyers, not as law students, but as human beings. It is sad to see a city and its history being carried by the mud river and tailings.

A unique opportunity to get in touch with our human side. Thinking about what we want for the world, and also reflecting on what contribution we legal practitioners can give to society in an attempt to prevent more and more people from having their rights, their lives and their histories struck and marked in a way So tragic.

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JoĂŁo Pedro Cita Graduating from the Law School of the University Center Newton Paiva.

Researcher of the Study and Research Group on Environmental Law and Sustainability - GEMAS.

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On November 5th , 2015, a sub-district of Mariana / Minas Gerais, called Bento Rodrigues, was annihilated by millions of cubic meters of ore tailings. Deaths and devastation have characterized the catastrophe that has plagued a community and mobilized and sensitized an entire country.

A little over five months after the disaster, the Group of Studies and Research in Environmental Law and Sustainability (GEMAS) of Newton Paiva University Law School, coordinated by Teacher Karen Castro, organized a multidisciplinary on-site visit to observe the environmental impacts , Social and economic within a regional context.

It was possible to observe that, in addition to the affected people and of a whole economy involved, the flora, the fauna, as well as the water resources suffered devastation impossible to calculate, or rather, to estimate.

Such devastation has indicated our limitation in overseeing and managing such ventures which, while reflecting an economic advantage, require more care and rigor in management and especially in planning. An ill-done calculation, poorly prepared report, ignored failure or neglected monitoring detail can cause habitat loss and victimization, unacceptable issues for an ecologically rich country and a population that seeks sustainability.

As a professional and researcher, this visit evidenced a saying he always heard from a teacher in the classroom, at graduation, and he would say: “When a doctor misses the earth, he hides, when an engineer misses the earth reveals.” However, one can not blame a professional, a company or a managing body. What we have to do as conscious and willing human beings is to offer as much support as possible to those affected and to devote ourselves to seeking solutions to accelerate the return of the original form of the ecosystem and prevent the tragedy from recurring.

Nature, unfortunately, has already had to prove its ability to “recreate” in past disasters and this time will be no different, it will come back on top. But it will take a whole dedication of responsible people not to repeat what happened to Bento Rodrigues and several other cities affected by the waters of Rio Doce that became turbid.

For the full recovery of the Rio Doce and the areas directly affected, work must be done to improve environmental quality throughout the basin, which is vulnerable and degraded. Therefore, it is worth a suggestion: the implementation of a project for mapping and conservation of the sources of the Basin in order to produce more water to dissolve all the mud of the river beds.

Hugo Henrique Cardoso de Salis Master course degree in Analysis and Modeling of Environmental Systems by the Federal. University of Minas Gerais. Forestry Engineer.

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We continue by bus to the sub-district of Bento Rodrigues - Mariana / MG. The place was not so close to the town of Mariana - 22km approx. When we arrived at the site of the disaster, we soon visualized a huge amount of dry mud that covered the entire sub-district.

In this context, we are accompanied by a civil defense official.

From the high part of the town it was possible to see the situation in which was the town after the disaster. From there one could see the destruction of the buildings that, by the way, were still looted.

The upper part of the village was not hit by the mud, they had good two-story houses and even a multi-sport court. The place looked like a ghost town, a war scene. It had paved streets. Far below the village was a large, two-story polyclinic, which was also covered by the mud.

The proportion of the damage caused by the rupture of the FundĂŁo dam went far beyond what the media had reported. The mud was buried and solidified over the whole of the village of Bento Rodrigues. The sub district had more than three hundred years and, in the past, was a route of tropeiros being part of the Real Road. The place was rich and exuberant in its biodiversity.

Walking through the streets, we met four villagers who passed by.

Two of the four men talked to us and reported their anguish, saying that residents said that one day the dam could break and destroy the village, but no agency did anything to solve the problem or create an emergency plan for the families of the village.

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There were signs in some localities alerting residents to evacuate if they heard the siren, but there was no siren and no emergency plan in the village at the time the dam was broken.

The environmental disaster in Bento Rodrigues shows the inefficiency of the Public Organs and the greed of the mining companies to extract the natural resources of our “Minas Gerais� with voracity and without moderation. At the end of the visitation, I left the place wondering what the suffering of the people was like, having to leave everything behind, their stories builded in that place. It was a unique life experience and field research, despite having seen one of the worst crimes against human dignity and against all non-human life.

The greatest good is life, and there is no price to pay or to repair everything that has happened to that population. In any case, disas-

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ter must be recorded in history for renewal through learning from everything that has happened. We have to be aware of our attitudes and seek to be resilient people, surpassing, renewing and learning from our mistakes, so that we can achieve a sustainable way of producing that leads to a healthy quality of life. Moderation is a basic measure to have a sustainable relationship between man and the environment. Care must be taken so that the rationality of a mode of production at any cost, common in capitalism, ends up generating tragic consequences that can never be repaired.

Gianno Lopes Nepomuceno Graduating from the Dom Helder Câmara Law School. Researcher of the group on Animal Rights, Economy, Culture, Sustainability and International Protection challenges, linked to the Master of Environmental Law. Research Leader Professor Dr. Kiwonghi Bizawu.

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Life still persists

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the comeback

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Aftertaste On November 5th , 2015, in the City of Mariana, the Fundão dam da Minning Company Samarco, controlled by Vale do Rio Doce and BHP Billiton, broke leaving 62 million cubic meters of ore tailings resulting in the largest environmental disaster in Brazilian history and in the (Ore rejects) in the world. The two largest events of this kind in the world until then occurred in the Philippines in 1982 (28 million m3) and in 1992 (32.2 million m3).

The mud released by the rupture of the dam reached the Rio Doce whose watershed covers 230 cities of the States of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo. On November 22, the mud reached the sea.

Sabrina Nagib by Sales Borges Graduated by the Law School of the University Center Newton Paiva (2015). Graduated in Telecommunications Technology from Presidente Antônio Carlos University (2004). Master course degree in Economics and Political Sciences with emphasis in Mediation, Negotiation and Appropriate Methods of Conflict Resolu tion by the ESEADE University Institute, in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires - Capital Federal - Argentina. Judicial mediator of conflicts in formation by the TJMG. Researcher of the Group of Studies in Environment and Sustainability - GEMAS.

Bento Rodrigues, a sub-district of Mariana / MG, located 2.5 kilometers from the dam, was almost completely hit by tailings mud.

Several villages were also hit by the leak. The environmental liability generated by the rupture of the dam is immeasurable.

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Aftertaste | Field research The work that the reader has in hand is the result of the research carried out within the scope of the Law School of Newton University Center Paiva and the consequent intellectual production developed by the Group of Study and Research in Environmental Law and Sustainability (Gems), led with mastery by the Professor Karen Myrna Castro Mendes Teixeira.

With outstanding performance, the Research Group develops numerous actions aimed at the implementation of research in the field of Environmental Law. In this context, the present field research carried out in Bento Rodrigues, Mariana sub-district, in the State of Minas Gerais, is of particular importance. The importance of this can be seen in the narratives and impressive photographs that allow the reader to have a small notion of innumerable and profound Environmental impact caused by the rupture of the Fundão dam, a tragedy that devastated the Mariana region at the end of 2015.

Field research assumes a prominent role in this scenario, mainly because it allows researchers to adequately analyze environmental degradation in loco, with a view to a more accurate analysis of the data on the extent of offenses perpetrated to the environment and society.

It is also imperative to point out that the environmental damages caused by the Bento Rodrigues tragedy far exceeded the territorial limits of the Mariana region, in order to achieve, by means of pollution of the toxic mud dumped in the Doce River, other cities, States, in an escalation of destruction and irresponsibility caused by the mining activity in Minas Gerais, whose damages to future generations, water, flora and fauna, cannot be properly estimated, thus requiring a joint and effective Society and the various environmental protection agencies.

The present work proposes to present a critical view of the tragedy that occurred in Bento Rodrigues, in order to contribute, through reflections and debates, to the indispensable development of the protection of the sustainable environment in our country.

Michael César Silva Doctor and Master in Private Law by the Graduate Program in Law of the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais.

Coordinator of the Research Program of the Law School of the University Center Newton Paiva.

Teacher at the Newton Paiva University Center Law School.

Professor at the Dom Helder Câmara Law School.

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