when brazil ran concentration camps during droughts
Last Updated : GMT 09:03:51
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today
Last Updated : GMT 09:03:51
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today

forcing mass internment of peasants

When Brazil ran 'concentration camps' during droughts

Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today

Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today When Brazil ran 'concentration camps' during droughts

Carmela Gomez Pinheiro, 96, a survivor of the 1932 drought "concentration camps"
Senador Pompeu - AFP

Even as northeastern Brazil suffers a devastating drought, few remember a grim chapter of a past drought when the government forced mass internment of peasants trying to flee dying farms.

The first was in 1915 and the last time was between 1932 and 1933 when the authorities set up what they called concentration camps -- a fairly common term in several countries at the time and yet to be associated with the horrors of Nazi Germany.

The people they forced in were not an enemy, or prisoners of war, or even a targeted ethnic group but rather rural inhabitants desperate for help.

Fearing the peasants would descend in huge numbers from their parched lands into the city of Fortaleza, the government ordered thousands of families incarcerated in camps with little food, unhealthy living conditions and under guard.

Seven such "concentration camps" were established along the rail line that the farming population was trying to use to reach Fortaleza, capital of the state of Ceara, which today is again suffering severe lack of rain.

The authorities promised food and medical help but the unwilling population of the camps dubbed these centers "government corrals," because they felt they were being treated just like the animals they'd left behind.

The government's worry was that there'd be a repeat of a flood of 100,000 peasants in 1877 into Fortaleza, which by the 1930s was enjoying an era of modernization and wealth.

"The concentration camps functioned as a prison," wrote historian Kenia Sousa Rios in the book "Isolation and power: Fortaleza and the concentration camps in the drought of 1932."

"Those who were put in could not get out. They were only given permission to leave in order to work on construction of streets or reservoirs or urban projects for Fortaleza, or to be transferred to another camp," he wrote.

- Invisible history -

Only a few clues remain to testify to the episode. In Senador Pompeu, a small town about 186 miles (300 km) from the state capital, there are still the abandoned buildings where guards worked and where food was kept.

The last known survivor of the camps is Carmela Gomez Pinheiro. Although she is 96, the painful memories remain fresh for her.

"Every day four or five people died, including children. They all died of ill treatment or hunger," she told AFP.

"The hunger was unbearable," she said. "The food was disgusting and people started getting bloated."

The tragedy isn't entirely forgotten. Every year a march is staged in honor of the victims of the drought, a living memorial created in 1982 by an activist Italian priest Father Albino.

The walk ends in what they call "the cemetery of the dam," where locals say more than 1,000 people from the camps were buried in mass graves. Marking the place today is a cross -- and dozens of bottles of water.

almaghribtoday
almaghribtoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

when brazil ran concentration camps during droughts when brazil ran concentration camps during droughts

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

when brazil ran concentration camps during droughts when brazil ran concentration camps during droughts

 



Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today Skincare PR Performance Full Year 2017

GMT 09:22 2018 Monday ,22 January

Skincare PR Performance Full Year 2017
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today New hunt for flight MH370 gets under way

GMT 11:03 2018 Wednesday ,24 January

New hunt for flight MH370 gets under way
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today Modern colorful bedroom renovation

GMT 10:57 2017 Thursday ,21 December

Modern colorful bedroom renovation
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today Puigdemont candidate for Catalan president

GMT 13:56 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

Puigdemont candidate for Catalan president
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today Turkey detains dozens more

GMT 10:47 2018 Wednesday ,24 January

Turkey detains dozens more
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today The Rake announces editorial updates

GMT 10:46 2018 Tuesday ,16 January

The Rake announces editorial updates
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today Europe brings on charm and blue skies

GMT 11:51 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

Europe brings on charm and blue skies
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today For the Variety of Interior Design Styles

GMT 10:46 2017 Tuesday ,19 December

For the Variety of Interior Design Styles
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today US Christian tourists see deep meaning

GMT 13:44 2018 Monday ,22 January

US Christian tourists see deep meaning
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today Amazon to open first cashierless shop

GMT 10:03 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

Amazon to open first cashierless shop

GMT 15:09 2014 Thursday ,10 July

Architecture tale of old and new

GMT 18:44 2017 Thursday ,21 December

South Sudan warring parties agree ceasefire: AU chair

GMT 18:38 2012 Sunday ,05 February

Deadline hours away for Greek

GMT 13:07 2014 Tuesday ,25 March

Alfa Romeo returns to US

GMT 17:47 2014 Tuesday ,19 August

How children's brains memorise math facts

GMT 18:37 2015 Thursday ,02 July

As nations dither, cities pick up climate slack

GMT 06:54 2013 Sunday ,21 July

Bombs strike favoured Ramadan hangouts in Iraq

GMT 16:03 2016 Friday ,04 November

Arsenal-Spurs feud divides families in north London

GMT 05:15 2012 Tuesday ,27 November

DNA sleuth hunts wine roots in Anatolia

GMT 09:54 2011 Thursday ,21 July

Gold prices near $1602 in Asia

GMT 02:47 2016 Sunday ,18 December

Bahrain condemns central Turkey blast

GMT 07:16 2015 Thursday ,16 July

Teenage births at lowest level in 70 years

GMT 06:31 2012 Tuesday ,21 February

Frozen plants back to life

GMT 11:10 2017 Saturday ,28 January

IMF concerned over Afghanistan refugee influx

GMT 07:41 2017 Monday ,23 January

Iraq forces take two more areas in east Mosul

GMT 10:18 2012 Wednesday ,26 September

ICC rules out bottle water behind players

GMT 11:25 2012 Monday ,26 November

Hajar agree Konan loan deal

GMT 02:27 2012 Tuesday ,14 February

Victoria Beckham debuts Fall 2012 collection

GMT 22:26 2012 Monday ,27 February

HTC One X competes with photo features

GMT 12:06 2012 Thursday ,16 February

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 coming at MWC

GMT 20:00 2012 Thursday ,05 April

Ice shelf in Antarctica has shrunk by 85%

GMT 14:44 2012 Friday ,12 October

Sudan bans my books: Novelist Sakin charges

GMT 10:42 2017 Friday ,17 March

CBB raises key interest rate
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today
 
 Almaghrib Today Facebook,almaghrib today facebook  Almaghrib Today Twitter,almaghrib today twitter Almaghrib Today Rss,almaghrib today rss  Almaghrib Today Youtube,almaghrib today youtube  Almaghrib Today Youtube,almaghrib today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

.almaghribtoday .almaghribtoday .almaghribtoday .almaghribtoday
almaghribtoday almaghribtoday almaghribtoday
almaghribtoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
almaghribtoday, Almaghribtoday, Almaghribtoday