Rio Doce, lugar de memória: trajetórias dos pescadores de Itapina e rejeitos de mineração da Samarco

Abstract

This dissertation presents the trajectory of fishermen in the community of Itapina, located in the municipality of Colatina (ES), on the banks of Doce River. The fishermen experience a process of discontinuity of their traditions, resulting from the spillage of mining waste, caused by the rupture of the Fundão Dam (owned by Samarco / VALE / BHP Billiton) on November 15, 2015, which caused the interruption of activities on the Doce River, including fishing. As a result, habits that have been preserved through strong affective, economic, cultural and social ties may be extinguished. Aiming to contribute to the record of the trajectory of these fishermen, which until the present date had not been documented, this work had as a fundamental goal the collection of narratives about the memories lived in the fishing space of Itapina. We sought in these reports how the formation of this space happened, who are the characters involved, how they remained active on the spot, the agreements made between the fishermen, the links between them and their community, the relationship of the fishermen with the cultural and environmental heritage of Itapina and, finally, the situation of the community and the Doce River after the Fundão Dam failure. The researches for collecting these testimonies were carried out through field research, between the years of 2015 and 2017 and, later, between 2018 and 2020. In order to collect them, we used the methodology of oral history, associated with the analysis of the context in which the fishermen and their traditions are inserted in Itapina, understanding the place as a “place of memory”. From the analysis of these narratives, it was possible to notice that they bring relevant and revealing points about the place, such as the demarcation of the fishing area for each family of fishermen, established through oral agreements throughout generations.