British journalist Dom Phillips and indigenous affairs expert Bruno Araújo have been missing since Sunday in a remote area of the Brazilian Amazon, Unijava, a local indigenous organization, reported yesterday. The jungle area where they were found belongs to the state of Amazonas, more than a thousand kilometers southwest of Manaus, the state capital. An area marked by violent conflicts between fishermen, poachers and government agents.
Phillips, a contributor to The Guardian newspaper, and Araújo, an adviser to Unijava who has collaborated with The Washington Post and The New York Times, were last seen at 7:00 a.m. on Sunday morning in the community of São Rafael, when They were returning by boat from the extensive indigenous territory of the Javarí Valley and heading for the city of Atalaia do Norte, an hour away. Araújo had been the target of threats because of his work at the Brazilian government's indigenous affairs agency, although he was currently on leave.
A Guardian spokesman said the newspaper "is very concerned and is urgently seeking information on the whereabouts and condition of Mr Phillips." "We are in contact with the British embassy in Brazil and local and national authorities to try to clarify the facts as soon as possible," he added.
The region has been the site of gunfights between hunters and fishermen and security forces, who have a base in the area, known for hosting the largest population of isolated indigenous people in the world – some twenty tribes. In September 2019, an employee of the indigenous affairs agency was shot dead in Tabatinga, the largest city in the region, and the crime remains unsolved.
The first investigations carried out by local indigenous groups "with excellent knowledge of the region" have yielded nothing, according to Univaja and the Human Rights Observatory of Isolated and Recently Contacted Indigenous Peoples (OPI).
From the direction of The Guardian they have expressed their concern: "We condemn all the attacks and violence against journalists and people who work for the media. We hope that Dom and those who were traveling with him will soon be safe and sound," they have pointed out from the London newspaper.
The foreign press association in Brazil, Acie, has already expressed its "extreme concern" and has called on the authorities to act "immediately" to try to find Phillips and Araújo.
Former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, whom Phillips interviewed in 2017, expressed concern about the missing couple. "I hope they are soon, that they are safe and sound," he wrote on Twitter. Lula is currently leading opinion polls on President Jair Bolsonaro ahead of Brazil's October elections.
