Up to £10,000 Raised by Meitheal Uí Chadhain for Indigenous People of the Amazon in Brazil

Meitheal Uí Chadhain is a solidarity and Irish-language network made up of young activists who will travel to the Amazon in Brazil on February 13th for two weeks. Their goal is to support and learn from Indigenous communities who are living there and resisting environmental exploitation carried out in the interests of capitalist and colonial powers, particularly those of the US, Britain, and the European Union.

Language activist and Meitheal Uí Chadhain member, Eimear Nic Ionnrachtaigh, said:

“This international trip emerged from Glór na Móna’s long-established program of political education, as well as from the energy of the Irish-language revival movement, An Dream Dearg.

“Last year, the young activists involved in the political education program decided to organize an international trip to the Global South, whether to the Shack Dwellers’ movement in South Africa or the Lajee Center in Palestine—connections that the Irish-speaking community has built over the years. It is in the Global South that we see the fiercest struggles against imperialism, and there is no better political education than learning from these movements through raw experience.

“It was also around this time last year that we were lucky enough to host an Indigenous delegation from the Amazon in Brazil at Gael-Ionad Mhic Goill as part of the Upper Springfield’s grassroots festival, Féile na gCloigíní Gorma 2024. They were on an international tour exposing the environmental destruction caused by Western corporations in the Amazon and discussing Indigenous resistance efforts.

“During our discussion circle, we were thrilled to receive an invitation to visit their community in the Amazon as part of an international solidarity trip.”

Caoimhe Ní Choinn, another Meitheal member, added:

“We are delighted to have reached our ambitious goal of raising £10,000 for the Indigenous people of the Amazon. We would like to express our huge gratitude to the incredible community around us for supporting this campaign. Over the past five months, the Meitheal has organized community events—including concerts, film nights, quizzes, and much more.

“This trip is about solidarity, not charity—it is about learning from the Indigenous struggle for environmental protection. We strongly follow the words of Thomas Sankara:

“This struggle to defend the trees and forests is above all a struggle against imperialism. Because imperialism is the arsonist setting fire to our forests and savannas.”

Brian Garvey from Strathclyde University, the facilitator of the international trip, stated:

“There is a lot of talk about the Amazon rainforest these days, however, discussion about its environmental importance and its economic significant tends to take place above the forest canopy, and above the heads of those who have made the Amazon their home for decades and centuries.

It is important that young people from Ireland not only have accepted an invite to meet the indigenous and riverine communities who are resisting mining, logging and carbon credit schemes in the Amazon, but have raised funds for others in the region to meet and participate in workshops and field visits of solidarity and sharing.”

You can donate to the cause here

For more information, contact eoghan@glornamona.com