Reporting“In the Amazon rainforest” (2/2). Evangelical emissaries, resulting from often richly endowed associations, disembark in remote indigenous villages to convert the “last pagans” with formidable and harmful methods.
At nightfall, in the streets of Atalaia do Norte, stroll strange ghosts. They walk very fast and straight, usually floating in shapeless hiking clothing. They are dark-haired, blond, often pale or sunburnt in complexion, with a tight smile, and a slight foreign accent – Italian, Spanish, Asian or American. Above all, they always carry a bible in the pocket or on hand. Their destination? The evangelical churches of this city of 20,000 inhabitants. In these all similar brick buildings, tiled, lit with neon, a majority of natives throng. Women and men, often young and shy, holding horny copies of the Old Testament in their clenched hands. Friendly, the pastors offer them sweet soda, chocolate candies, pieces of corn cakes. And a sermon for the road.
“You have a strong identity, you say to yourself: ‘I am Matis, I am Marubo…” But everyone here has the right to choose their existence. Believing in God is good for your people, it is good for you! “, launches a Brazilian officiant in the Baptist Church of Atalaia to the assembly. A tanned-skinned pastor, Peruvian, takes over: “Some say God is only for white people, but that’s not true. God is also there for the natives, God is with you! ” The faithful nod and pray fervently, eyes closed.
The same scene is repeated in other churches in the neighborhood. At the Presbyterian temple, two streets away, Pastor Davi, Korean by nationality, sings gospel in English and talks in Portuguese. “Many of you have come from afar, some have arrived by canoe from your village. But, for all, Jesus is life! “, he says. At the back of the room, a group of wives of a thirty years, probably from the United States, applauds.
Filthy hat and long beard
So what do all these visitors come to do in this lost city on the borders of the Western Amazon, on the triple Brazilian-Colombian-Peruvian border? On the surface, Atalaia do Norte is not an international hub. Most of the city is only accessible by boat. It is also, and above all, the last urban stopover before the immense indigenous land of Vale do Javari. In Brazil, this is first of all synonymous with isolation. As large as Austria, this reserve is the second most vast area and occupies a special place: the Vale do Javari shelters under its canopy the largest concentration of “uncontacted” peoples on the planet. About fifteen groups, that is to say from 300 to 500 human beings, recluse somewhere deep in the jungle, without any contact with the outside world.
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