Urban Mining Empties Brazil Neighborhood
2022-03-28
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1In northeastern Brazil, the capital of Alagoas state used to be filled with the sounds of busy city life:
2cars and buses going to places of business, people enjoying daily life, and children playing.
3But now, the capital Maceio is quiet.
4Most residents have been evacuated.
5They have left because their now empty houses are falling apart and face destruction.
6Beneath their floors, the ground is filled with empty spaces from four decades of rock salt mining in urban neighborhoods.
7That caused the soil above to settle and the structures atop the soil to start coming apart.
8Since 2020, tens of thousands of residents accepted payments to leave the area from petrochemical company Braskem.
9But some residents remain in Maceio.
10Some told the Associated Press they imagine the ground under their feet to look like "Swiss cheese," meaning full of holes.
11Still, Paulo Sergio Doe said he will never leave his home in the Pinheiro neighborhood.
12It is where he grew up.
13"The company cannot (can't) impose what it wants overnight to do away with the lives and histories of so many families," the 51-year-old resident said in an interview outside his home.
14Braskem is one of the biggest petrochemical companies in the Americas.
15It is owned mostly by Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras and construction giant Novonor.
16The company is not forcibly evicting anyone. But those remaining in Maceio said it feels that way.
17Braskem reached an agreement with prosecutors and public defenders to compensate families.
18This money was to help them relocate and start their lives over elsewhere.
19By the company's count, 97.4 percent of affected homes - more than 14,000 - are now empty.
20The 55,000 evacuees left behind not just neighbors and friends, but also jobs.
21Last year the Federal University of Alagoas published a study.
22It found that 4,500 mostly small- and medium-sized businesses were closed.
23These businesses employed an estimated 30,000 people.
24Among those businesses were local food markets and a ballet school that had operated for 38 years, said to Adriana Capretz.
25She is part of the university's work group that keeps details on the neighborhoods.
26The emptiness of the city is clear from above.
27The residents who left sold everything they could for extra money.
28This included the roofing material of their homes.
29Without the roof tiles, from above you can see clearly inside the once-lived-in houses.
30The amount of money Braskem offered to compensate 77-year-old retired teacher Natalícia Gonçalves is not enough.
31She said she was too old to start over somewhere else.
32So, she watched as everyone in Pinheiro left her.
33Now she lives inside a homemade shelter behind boards and plants.
34These are aimed at preventing would-be thieves.
35Braskem security guards patrol the city on motorcycles at night.
36This briefly breaks the city's strange silence.
37"They've already done everything to force me to go, but I have my rights,"
38she said from behind her home's protected outside barrier.
39She said she is especially afraid at night when no one is around and there is not much light.
40"I protect myself with my plants," she said, "but I'm alone, with God."
41As of yet, no house has been swallowed by the earth, nor has anyone been killed by a collapse.
42However, Capretz, a professor in the university's architecture and urbanism school, said that does not mean this is not a tragedy.
43She explained that many people have become sick with depression.
44Some residents have killed themselves.
45Many have "... lost their social lives, family ties, friends and neighbors,"
46Capretz said as she walked through the Bebedouro neighborhood.
47"None of that is being considered by Braskem."
48Sitting at a table beneath the light of the street's only working lamppost, 64-year-old Quitéria Maria da Silva and her grandson wait for the rest of their family to play a game of dominos.
49Even as da Silva said she would move were Braskem to pay her requested amount, she is left with a big question:
50"I always lived in my house and now, if I have to leave here, where will I go?"
51The company's press office said in a lengthy response to AP questions that it provides free mental health services to any resident in the compensation and relocation program.
52It said the program was created based on law and legal rulings in similar cases.
53The company added that compensation offers are always presented to individuals alongside their lawyer or a public defender.
54But these offers can be made more complex by intense feelings.
55The price of a house is not the same as the value of a home.
56I'm Jonathan Evans. And I'm Anna Matteo.
1In northeastern Brazil, the capital of Alagoas state used to be filled with the sounds of busy city life: cars and buses going to places of business, people enjoying daily life, and children playing. 2But now, the capital Maceio is quiet. 3Most residents have been evacuated. They have left because their now empty houses are falling apart and face destruction. 4Beneath their floors, the ground is filled with empty spaces from four decades of rock salt mining in urban neighborhoods. That caused the soil above to settle and the structures atop the soil to start coming apart. 5Since 2020, tens of thousands of residents accepted payments to leave the area from petrochemical company Braskem. 6But some residents remain in Maceio. Some told the Associated Press they imagine the ground under their feet to look like "Swiss cheese," meaning full of holes. 7Still, Paulo Sergio Doe said he will never leave his home in the Pinheiro neighborhood. It is where he grew up. 8"The company cannot (can't) impose what it wants overnight to do away with the lives and histories of so many families," the 51-year-old resident said in an interview outside his home. 9Braskem is one of the biggest petrochemical companies in the Americas. It is owned mostly by Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras and construction giant Novonor. 10The company is not forcibly evicting anyone. But those remaining in Maceio said it feels that way. Braskem reached an agreement with prosecutors and public defenders to compensate families. This money was to help them relocate and start their lives over elsewhere. By the company's count, 97.4 percent of affected homes - more than 14,000 - are now empty. 11The 55,000 evacuees left behind not just neighbors and friends, but also jobs. Last year the Federal University of Alagoas published a study. It found that 4,500 mostly small- and medium-sized businesses were closed. These businesses employed an estimated 30,000 people. 12Among those businesses were local food markets and a ballet school that had operated for 38 years, said to Adriana Capretz. She is part of the university's work group that keeps details on the neighborhoods. 13The emptiness of the city is clear from above. The residents who left sold everything they could for extra money. This included the roofing material of their homes. Without the roof tiles, from above you can see clearly inside the once-lived-in houses. 14The amount of money Braskem offered to compensate 77-year-old retired teacher Natalícia Gonçalves is not enough. She said she was too old to start over somewhere else. So, she watched as everyone in Pinheiro left her. 15Now she lives inside a homemade shelter behind boards and plants. These are aimed at preventing would-be thieves. Braskem security guards patrol the city on motorcycles at night. This briefly breaks the city's strange silence. 16"They've already done everything to force me to go, but I have my rights," she said from behind her home's protected outside barrier. She said she is especially afraid at night when no one is around and there is not much light. "I protect myself with my plants," she said, "but I'm alone, with God." 17As of yet, no house has been swallowed by the earth, nor has anyone been killed by a collapse. However, Capretz, a professor in the university's architecture and urbanism school, said that does not mean this is not a tragedy. 18She explained that many people have become sick with depression. Some residents have killed themselves. Many have "... lost their social lives, family ties, friends and neighbors," Capretz said as she walked through the Bebedouro neighborhood. "None of that is being considered by Braskem." 19Sitting at a table beneath the light of the street's only working lamppost, 64-year-old Quitéria Maria da Silva and her grandson wait for the rest of their family to play a game of dominos. 20Even as da Silva said she would move were Braskem to pay her requested amount, she is left with a big question: "I always lived in my house and now, if I have to leave here, where will I go?" 21The company's press office said in a lengthy response to AP questions that it provides free mental health services to any resident in the compensation and relocation program. It said the program was created based on law and legal rulings in similar cases. The company added that compensation offers are always presented to individuals alongside their lawyer or a public defender. 22But these offers can be made more complex by intense feelings. The price of a house is not the same as the value of a home. 23I'm Jonathan Evans. And I'm Anna Matteo. 24Eraldo Peres and David Biller reported this story for the Associated Press. Anna Matteo adapted it for VOA Learning English. 25__________________________________________________________________ 26Words in This Story 27evacuate - v. to leave or cause to leave a place of danger 28resident - n. living in a place for some length of time 29impose - v. to establish or apply by authority 30evict - v. to recover (property) from a person by legal process 31compensate - v. to give money to make up for something 32relocate - v. establish in a new place 33thief - n. one that steals especially stealthily or secretly 34patrol - v. the action of going around an area to make sure that it is safe