On the edge of a diminishing rainforest world, hundreds of impassioned Amazonian tribesmen have stormed a hydroelectric power plant in Brazil.
Adorned in full war paint and armed with bows and arrows, 300 Indigenous protesters from six different tribes seized the Dardanelos power plant, along with 100 of its workers.
The facility is being held for $US 5.6 million ransom after sacred burial and hunting grounds were destroyed during its construction.
Further demands from the emphatic tribesman include talks with the National Indian Foundation (Funai), and Brazil’s Environmental Institute, after negotiations with plant builder Aguas de Pedra broke down.
Tribal leader, Aldeci Arara, says the plant “has caused great cultural and social impact in our community, not to mention environmental damage.”
Plant owner, Paulo Rogerio Novaes, who is frustratingly flustered over the incident, says the company is waiting for Funai’s advice on which lily to leap to before the company slips irredeemably into the pond of despair.
Meanwhile, roughly 80% of Brazil’s energy is coming from hydroelectric plants, while the government is pushing their expansion on areas bordering vast tracts of Amazonian jungle.
However, Dr Hank Nightingale, from the Nightingale Anthropological Fusion Foundation (NAFF), believes there is a solution. He says by designing Amazonian friendly hydroelectric dams that are aesthetically splendid, traditional customs and rituals can be practiced within the facility.
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