so this is a report i started the day before the eviction to give you some background -- this is an independant autonomous urban landless group that came together spontaneously and reclaimed abandoned land hey everyone i cant tell you how good it feels to be alive -- these last few days have been incredible -- really inspiring working in solidarity with a huge land occupation in the interior of brazil in the city of Goiania -- it has been horrifying as well -- two nights ago while i was in a bus on my way here police began terrorizing the community with random gunfire -- just before a judge had ordered their eviction after 9 months buildinga new life in an abandoned industrial park lost in speculation for years -- at least 12,000 people in the country with the deepest division between rich and poor in the world -- after the week of carnaval there were police mobilzed from all over into the interior and now was an obvious time to strike -- 2500 police were said to be mobilized to evict the encampment -- the day i arrived me and companeros of the local indymedia went to the encampment, named A Dream Made Real, to watch and report on further police harassment -- the community had been building huge barricades of tires and steel pieces of cars and debris, they had dug moats across roadways, there was barbed wire strung across, 24 hour security post at 8 such barricades encircling the new villiage at the edge of the city -- there were weapons of poverty, molotovs, fireworks, clubs with nails, homemade shields, slingshots, crudely constructed bazookas, much talk of bombs waiting for the invasion -- and that is what the press kept calling the community, invaders -- the militancy was palpable -- we arrived after dark and it was pretty disorienting but were welcomed due to a lot of work making certain the community knew we were covering them differently than the local media -- i didnt even have time to get my barings and suddenly while stumbling in the dark fireworks started going off in 3 or 4 different parts of the camp, a siren sounded like an air raid, chaos -- this was it -- the police were making their move -- as we entered the dirt avenue which was the main entrance the air turned sour and dark with tear gas letting loss on all sides of us -- none had even time to get their bandanas on or even be sure what was happening and all of us were blinded and coughing and running in the opposite direction of the barricade into another cloud of gas -- minutes later we were set up with vinegar and back out with a flurry of fireworks and scores of resisters slinging rocks at their attackers -- there were percussion grenades from the police and the gas dropped from the sky in front and behind -- a woman clutching her baby ran past me screaming for help -- soon several people were dousing the infant with water and were certain it was breathing -- suddenly the barricade erupted into flame -- it was huge burst into a dark night -- a cheer rang through the resistance -- it seemed to go on for an hour, the community charging, disbursing the gas, hurling stones, screaming and cursing -- i was more than a little disoriented and having a hard time with the gas -- and suddenly an alarm from another barricade shot up and exploded like the fourth of july and we realized the police had left after only about 10 minutes -- they were moving from barricade to barricade with gas and rubber bullets -- we regrouped and had a quick meeting and suddenly the sirens calmed and we realized the police had moved on -- everyone assumed this was temporary -- a loudspeaker appeared and announcements begging for calm and voices from different perspectives in the community were heard -- a community meeting commenced -- we headed for another barricade and we greeted warmly as the police had moved on and the tension started to float away -- really wonderful people -- it was inspiring after an attack like that they were busy offering us coffee and making sure we were alright -- the night stretched on and we lowered our guard more and more and started to drift off to sleep next to a fire of tires and debris -- with the morning came a new sense of security -- if they didnt come at daybreak everyone assumed they had at least another day -- word was that if they could make it another 24 hours the police mobilization would return to their local posts and the judicial decision shoulkd expire -- we left the camp with thanks from people, i guess in reality we were being human rights observers while the corporate media would hide behind the police and would only venture into the camp to do interviews after the fighting -- we slept some -- i returned the next night around midnight and assumed since the police hadnt attacked yet we were in the clear until dawn -- at around 2 am 9 military police cars drove up to main entrance -- a pattern of nightly harrasment had turned into nightly attacks -- immediately the sky was ablaze with fireworks and then from the police tear gas and flares and concussion grenades -- the police attack was fierce and the community had less time to mobilize -- a battle ensued like i have never seen -- a lot of people were talking about civil war and i thought this was an exageration but that night i started to believe -- the police used every kind of weapon and the sound of explosions was everywhere -- the barricades started burning again and twice explosions rumbled through the barricade sending tires flying -- the fighting was firce and i was much closer this time shooting video -- a group of police were using a friends car as a safe place to send all kinds of chemical and exploding agents into the resistance -- suddenly shots rang out and i realized the police were using pistols and semi-automatics -- i heard screaming as i ran for cover -- a young man had been shot on the other side of the barricade later i saw imc video of a bullet hole clean through his bicept -- suddenly it was over -- they just left -- it was senseless -- it was not an eviction it was terrorism -- a military policeman was also taken away in an ambulance -- quickly members of the community pulled me over to wall where you could clearly see the bullet holes riddled all over the metal sheeting -- right behind my back a huge explosion nearly knocked me to the wall -- i didnt even have time to duck -- it had come from the burning barricade and people assumed the police hasd thrown un detonated cannisters into the blaze hoping they would explode -- they took me to a house where as a bullet had passed through a brick wall then through the bed curtains and through the next brick wall -- on the other side i exrtacted the bullet -- these were military grade semi automatic rifles -- later i interviewed a woman who was in bed and showed the bullet holes that fly over her head as she was hiding from the fighting -- she didnt even realize the bullet was lying on her bed after it had struck the inner wall of her bedroom -- we assumed the worst and slept inside the encampment -- when morning came i thought it was a vicroty -- the 24 hour limit had passed -- then i heard word that a different person had claimed ownership to the land and there was a new judicial process and the huge police mobilization was not being called home -- so in this same time the mst (landmess peasants movement) had been evicted twice from differnt new rural land occupations in the countryside of goiais -- they sent word that they knew it would help the urban squatters and sent them their solidarity -- all the next day reports of the eviction were flying around -- one from undisclosed police informant said they were coming in the evening not with 2500 but with 8000 police -- a force of 30 mounted military police slowly made their way around the camp -- by the time i arrived at dusk they were wound up and paranoid -- false alarms kept punctuating the night with fireworks going off and no one knowing what to expect -- there was a uhge rally near the main barricade with a sound system and mostly the evangelical christian sector of the camp represented -- definitely a different take on jesus than the george bush voting crowd -- also there were some local politicians and a representative from Dereches Humanos (human rights) -- ti was beautiful with singing and prayer and a display of the majority of the camps residents who were young families and elderly grandparents who were not going to fight -- it was a long night and twice small groups of police snuck up on barricades and opened fire with pistols and fled -- there were also hired goons or undercover police with gas thrown at the barricades -- no one was sleeping and everyone was keyed up and nervous -- word came they were definitely coming in the morning -- i went to sleep for an hour or so near the main barricade there is a protest right now and i need to go i will write more this afternoon http://www.midiaindependente.org/