Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.
Sheikh Qassem: The US efforts we are seeing are aimed at sabotaging Lebanon and constitute a call for sedition.
Sheikh Qassem: If you truly want to establish sovereignty and work for Lebanon’s interests, then stop the aggression.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States, which is meddling in Lebanon, is not trustworthy but rather poses a danger to it.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States is preventing the weapons that protect the homeland.
Sheikh Qassem: The government’s latest decision [on the disarmament of the Resistance] is non-charter-based, and if the government continues down this path, it is not faithful to Lebanon’s sovereignty.

Fears around UK journalist, indigenous expert missing in Amazon

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 8 Jun 2022 08:38
4 Min Read

The British journalist and Brazilian indigenous expert went missing in the amazon after receiving threats.

  • x
  • Fears around UK journalist, indigenous expert missing in Amazon
    Dom Philips and Bruno Pereira

The family and rights groups of a British journalist and a Brazilian Indigenous specialist who went missing deep in the Amazon after receiving threats urged Tuesday authorities to expedite the search.

Dom Phillips, 57, a veteran freelance writer, and Bruno Pereira, 41, a known Indigenous specialist, went missing early Sunday while sailing in Brazil's Javari Valley, bordering Peru, when Phillips was investigating a book.

As the 48-hour mark approached, questions arose over whether they were victims of an accident or foul play.

Authorities had no information on their whereabouts as of Tuesday night, but Amazonas state civil police stated they were interviewing a "suspect" and that four other persons had testified as "witnesses", though no arrests had been made.

According to local Indigenous activists, the couple received threats last week as a result of their work in the isolated region, which has experienced an increase in illicit logging, gold mining, poaching, and drug trafficking.

Read more: 'Blue River' turns brown, Illegal gold mining in Amazon raises concern

"I want to make an appeal to the government to intensify the search," Phillips's Brazilian wife, Alessandra Sampaio, expressed in a video statement.

"We still have some small hope of finding them. Even if I don't find the love of my life alive, please find them," she said. 

Authorities were accused of not responding quickly enough, while the Brazilian government voiced "grave concern", and police stated they were taking "all possible measures to find (the men) as quickly as possible."

According to the Ministry of Defense, the army has dispatched 150 soldiers who are "specialists in jungle environment operations, who know the terrain where the searches are being carried out," since Monday.

However, three Indigenous rights groups in the region previously disclosed that just six state police personnel were actively engaged in the operation, and they encouraged the government to deploy helicopters and a task force.

"The Brazilian government was very slow to act, in a situation where acting quickly is absolutely essential," the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Brazil office stated.

Related News

Britons overwhelmingly reject Starmer's asylum hotel policy

Irish band silenced at UK festival for holding Palestinian flag

According to Brazil's federal police, a second helicopter was deployed to help the search efforts.

Bolsonaro's comment under fire

President Jair Bolsonaro has come under fire for appearing to blame the missing men, both of whom have vast expertise in the Amazon jungle region.

Bolsonaro stated that "two people in a boat in a region like that, completely wild -- it's an unadvisable adventure. Anything can happen."

"Maybe there was an accident, maybe they were executed."

Bolsonaro has faced criticism for fueling pro-mining policies in Indigenous lands in the Amazon and Pereira, an expert currently on leave from Brazil's Indigenous affairs agency FUNAI, has campaigned against such policies, often being threatened as a result.

Painful waiting

According to Pereira's family statement, if either of the men is injured, time is of essence to the search and rescue operation.

They added that they were in anguish, while Philip's sister Sian posted a video statement on the edge of tears.

Sian stated that "every minute counts," urging the Brazilian authorities to act quickly.

In a letter published in the Brazilian daily O Globo, a group of approximately 40 reporters and friends of Phillips urged Brazilian authorities to widen the search.

In addition, 11 news organizations asked for an emergency meeting with the justice minister and other high-level authorities to obtain an update on the hunt.

Phillips, who lives in Salvador, previously followed Pereira to the Javari Valley in 2018 for a piece in Britain's Guardian newspaper, where he was a frequent writer.

Around 6,300 Indigenous people from 26 tribes live on the 85,000-square-kilometer (33,000-square-mile) reservation, which has little contact with the outside world.

FUNAI's outpost there, which was established to safeguard Indigenous populations, has been attacked multiple times in recent years, including the death of an officer in 2019.

According to Fiona Watson, research director at Indigenous rights group Survival International, the region has experienced an increase in illicit mining, logging, and poaching in recent years, and its remoteness makes it a sanctuary for drug traffickers.

She told AFP that "you're talking about dense tropical forest," describing the locating of Bruno and Dom as "immensely challenging".

Read more: 2021 Roundup: The Amazon's ongoing corporate colonization is still relevant

  • Britain
  • Indigenous
  • Brazil
  • United Kingdom

Most Read

Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, executive director of the defense division of the Israeli National Cyber Directorate, undated (Social media)

Israeli-born US prosecutor drops Israeli officer child sex crime

  • Politics
  • 19 Aug 2025
Almost instantly after the Helsinki Accords were signed, organisations sprouted to document purported violations, whose findings were fed to overseas embassies for international amplification. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

How ‘Human Rights’ became a Western weapon

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025
Israeli soldiers stand on the top of armoured vehicles parked on an area near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 (AP)

Palestinian fighters target Israeli soldiers, vehicles in Gaza

  • Politics
  • 21 Aug 2025
Launch of a ballistic missile from Yemen toward the occupied Palestinian territories. (YAF military media)

Yemeni Forces announce firing hypersonic missile at Al-Lydd Airport

  • Politics
  • 22 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Prime minister's office in al-Quds, Occupied Palestine, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu deliberately derailing truce with Gaza occupation: Hamas

Irish President Michael Higgins arrives to deliver his speech during a 42nd World Food Day celebration at FAO headquarters in Rome, on Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Politics

Irish president renews call for UN military intervention in Gaza

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the US Embassy in Aukar, northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, July 21, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US envoy, Netanyahu discuss restraining attacks on Lebanon, withdrawal

Smoke billows following Israeli airstrikes in multiple areas in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ansar Allah vow sustained Gaza support despite Israeli strikes

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS