Jan Rocha

Pinochet's dictatorship in Chile is relatively well known in the UK, but what happened during the Argentine dictatorship, 1976-83, when thousands of men, women, and children were subjected to state terrorism, remains largely unknown. The book describes the secret detention camps, the disappearances, the kidnapping of hundreds of babies and small children. It is based largely on eyewitness accounts gathered by CLAMOR, an ecumenical group of volunteers in S o Paulo, Brazil which was backed by the Catholic church and the World Council of Churches. The group was instrumental in finding the first 'disappeared' children to be located, and contributed to the search for many others. The book also covers the situation in the other South American countries ruled by military dictators, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile and Bolivia, where CLAMOR supported local human rights organizations and sent missions. The group was one of the first organizations to denounce the collaboration between the security forces of the dictatorships, involving cross-border kidnappings, torture and murder of dissidents, which later became known as Operation Condor. Clamor's work involved careful, daring and at times dangerous work, and this book has the intensity and excitement of a crime or spy thriller. Because CLAMOR closed its doors when the region returned to democracy, its role has gone largely unreported. As a founder member of CLAMOR, with access to all the archives, Jan Rocha, Journalist and former Correspondent for the BBC and the Guardian, is in a unique position to tell its story. She concentrates on eyewitness accounts, including her own, and on the question of the children, not only those kidnapped, but those left behind when their parents disappeared. The book also fills a gap in understanding why the UK government, and Europe as a whole, reacted so differently to the human rights situation in Chile and Argentina.

Pinochet's dictatorship in Chile is relatively well known in the UK, but what happened during the Argentine dictatorship, 1976-83, when thousands of men, women, and children were subjected to state terrorism, remains largely unknown. The book describes the secret detention camps, the disappearances, the kidnapping of hundreds of babies and small children. It is based largely on eyewitness accounts gathered by CLAMOR, an ecumenical group of volunteers in S o Paulo, Brazil which was backed by the Catholic church and the World Council of Churches. The group was instrumental in finding the first 'disappeared' children to be located, and contributed to the search for many others. The book also covers the situation in the other South American countries ruled by military dictators, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile and Bolivia, where CLAMOR supported local human rights organizations and sent missions. The group was one of the first organizations to denounce the collaboration between the security forces of the dictatorships, involving cross-border kidnappings, torture and murder of dissidents, which later became known as Operation Condor. Clamor's work involved careful, daring and at times dangerous work, and this book has the intensity and excitement of a crime or spy thriller. Because CLAMOR closed its doors when the region returned to democracy, its role has gone largely unreported. As a founder member of CLAMOR, with access to all the archives, Jan Rocha, Journalist and former Correspondent for the BBC and the Guardian, is in a unique position to tell its story. She concentrates on eyewitness accounts, including her own, and on the question of the children, not only those kidnapped, but those left behind when their parents disappeared. The book also fills a gap in understanding why the UK government, and Europe as a whole, reacted so differently to the human rights situation in Chile and Argentina.

In 2002, after a long political struggle, Lula was elected Brazil's first working class President amid huge expectations that he and the Workers' Party would bring much-needed reform. A great deal was achieved, including a dramatic reduction in poverty. But, just months before the staging of the World Cup in 2014, a series of social protests swept across the country. In 2015, further demonstrations erupted, with insistent calls for the impeachment--for corruption--of Lula's re-elected successor, President Dilma Rousseff. Brazil Under the Workers' Party, the first serious look at what went right--and what went wrong--during the 12 years of Workers' Party rule, tells a fascinating story of realpolitik, as Brazil's first ethical party uses the old corrupt ways of Brazil's dysfunctional political system to achieve real change and is then devoured by the political system it has failed to reform. An enthralling tale, of great significance for Latin America and the world, told by two experienced commentators on Brazil.

This short book, based on the best-selling Brazil in Focus, provides an introduction to the country for the student and traveller alike, people who want to know more about the real Brazil than is found in an ordinary guidebook.

Summary: Access to land is one of the key issues for developing countries - and Brazil has one of the most inequitable land distributions in the world, with vast tracts of land held by often absentee landowners. Meanwhile thousands of peasants live in marginal lands in cities and rural areas. The Brazilian Landless Workers' Movement (MST) has proved a huge success with the disenfranchised rural and urban poor in Brazil - becoming one of the largest social movements in the world. Cutting the Wire is the first account in English of the origins, history and current challenges faced by Brazil's poor majority. The authors have traveled the vast expanse of the country to record the words and actions of hundreds of activists who have taken their lives into their own hands. Cutting the Wire is how the MST describes the act of occupying the land, the cornerstone of their movement. It is the baptism of fire for the militant, an essential part of their identity and it plays a key role in the mistica, the moment of collective ritual that kicks off all MST events. Cutting the Wire is the story of the MST told in their own words, in vivid first-hand accounts of a continuing struggle.

This outstanding series provides concise and lively introductions to countries and the major development issues they face. Packed full of factual information, photographs and maps, the guides also focus on ordinary people and the impact that historical, economic and environmental issues have on their lives.

In July 1993, near Haximu, a tiny hamlet in the Amazon rainforest, a fateful meeting between a group of young Yanomami Indians and Brazilian gold miners resulted in the massacre of the Yanomami. News of the tragedy shocked Brazil and the world. But mysteries remained: What exactly happened at Haximu? How many people died? Who killed the Indians and why? Using eyewitness accounts, this work tells the story behind the Haximu massacre. Set in the context of the Amazon gold rush, it describes the failings of Brazil's official indigenous policy, the tragic cultural misunderstanding between the gold miners and Yanomami, and analyzes the role of gold fever in the destruction of the Amazon rainforest and its people.

In this text in the "In Focus" series, aimed a students and independent travellers, Brazil is depicted as a land of global superlatives, boasting the best football, the largest rainforest, and the world's worst social and economic inequality. It's vibrant culture is best known for carnival and samba and attracts thousands of visitors each year. The carnival capital of Rio also showcases Brazil's contrasts, as the shanty towns of the dispossesed cling to the mountain sides overlooking the beach playgrounds of the rich.