SONIA GUAJAJARA
THE REFUGEE JATOBA
THE REFUGEE JATOBA
In 1951, 145 countries rectified a Declaration during the United Nations Convention on Refugees, establishing that a REFUGEE is someone unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin due to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion. Through a joint action, 4H5H MEDIA, together with the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil – APIB, along with the Infrastructure and Social Justice Working Group, all in collaboration with Africa Agency, came to register the request of a Jatobá tree as an Amazon rainforest REFUGE. In the film, “The Refugee Jatobá”, the journey to the capital of Brazil is documented from its initial extraction out of the rainforest. Determined to draw global public attention to the ongoing and record-breaking destruction of the forest in recent years, this initiative simultaneously provides a miniscule, yet powerful representation of the many challenges faced by refugees and stateless people.
The request for asylum was registered at the Norwegian Embassy in Brasília and welcomed at the embassy after having been officially accepted by the Norwegian government and Jatobá. The spokesperson for Jatobá was the indigenous leader and executive director of APIB, Sonia Guajajara, saying that: "this action is a clamor for the lives of species threatened by a corrupted and outdated vision of coexistence with nature." Since Norway was the first country to prohibit deforestation, the decision to accept the refugee request was easy. According to Sérgio Guimarães, executive secretary of GT Infrastructure, "It is up to us, citizens, to take a stand in defense of this and millions of trees."
Title: The Refugee Jatobá (2021) Short Film
Client: Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil - APIB
Product: Institutional
Agency: Africa
Released: 21/09/21 – Arbor Day
Media, Foreign Policy, and International Strategic Advisors to Sonia Guajajara and APIB: Marcus Vinicius Ribeiro & Zachary Kuipers - 4H5H MEDIA
TIME100 MOST INFLUENTIAL
PEOPLE IN THE WORLD (2022)
TIME100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN THE WORLD (2022)
Sônia Guajajara has been recognized as one of the TIME 100 most influential people of 2022. Her remarkable impact stems from her tireless advocacy for Indigenous Peoples’ and local communities’ land rights, while simultaneously safeguarding the Brazilian Amazon rainforest. In 2018, she made history by becoming the first Indigenous woman to appear on a Brazilian presidential ticket. Her work extends from attending COP26, where a $1.7 billion fund was created for Indigenous peoples and local communities, to leading massive protests that halted anti-Indigenous legislation. She has also shed light on Indigenous rights violations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
UNPFII (2023)
UNPFII (2023)
The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) is a high-level advisory body to the Economic and Social Council. The Forum was established on 28 July 2000 by resolution 2000/22, with the mandate to deal with indigenous issues related to economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health, and human rights.
Marcus Vinicius Ribeiro and Zachary Kuipers joined Minister Sonia Guajajara as members of the Brazilian delegation as international advisors for the UNPFII 2023.
UNPFII Twenty-Second Session: 17-28 April 2023
Location: United Nations Headquarters, New York
Theme: “Indigenous Peoples, human health, planetary and territorial health, and climate change: a rights-based approach”.
United Nations YouTube page.
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SONIA GUAJAJARA
About Sonia Guajajara
Sonia was born in 1979 in the Araribóia indigenous land in Maranhão to illiterate parents. In 2023, she was appointed to the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples, recently created by the newly elected Brazilian President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Indigenous populations in Brazil have never had a representative as a cabinet member of the executive branch, even though there are more than 896.000 Indigenous people in Brazil. However, it is not just in the ministry that she is a pioneer. Sonia was also the first indigenous woman to be elected federal deputy for the state of São Paulo in Brazil in 2022. That same year, she was selected by Times magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. She graduated in Letters and Nursing and has completed a postgraduate degree in Special Education.
As an activist leader in defense of the rights of indigenous peoples and the environment, Sonia has a voice in the UN Human Rights Council. Between 2009 and 2021, she made several appearances and statements at the World Climate Conferences (COP), the European Parliament, and the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII). 4H5H MEDIA has been strategically advising and working in collaboration with Minister Guajajara since 2018 in the areas of media, international relations, and foreign policy.