Families of farmers from Anapu in the south of Pará (Brazil), on Sunday
February 12th., gathered to commemorate the death of Sister Dorothy Stang
which happened 12 years ago. The nun was killed because of her fight for the poor of the region.
The communities where Dorothy worked asked for a fair agrarian reform and to stop the increasing deforestation of the area.
Sister Dorothy Stang, 73, born in the United States of America, of the Congregation of Notre Dame, was killed on the morning of February 12, 2005 with six shots fired in a location 40 km from the town of Anapu, in the western region of the state of Parà.
Today the number of murders resulting from rural conflicts in 2015 has exceeded the number in the last 12 years in Brazil, with 49 deaths recorded, mostly in the northern region, according to the note of Brazil's PMS.
However, these data are still partial and may even increase. "Last year the number of deaths due to conflicts in the country was the highest since 2003: 73 murders. The north of the country is the most affected area", said the head for the compilation of data for the Pastoral Commission of Lands (CPT).
The increased tensions in the country in 2015 is linked to greater competition for resources such as wood and water, activities for energy extraction.