"They will never compensate the feelings": memory weaving of riverside women affected by dams

Abstract

This article aims to address the emotional vulnerability of riverside women affected by the hydroelectric power plant of Estreito (MA/TO) with emphasis on the recording of the elderly women's life history, remnants in the island of São José in Babaçulândia (TO). The disruption of rural communities’ lifestyle made the deterritorialized women vulnerable not only regarding economic aspects, but, above all, in the emotional and symbolic aspects caused by loss of their traditional way of life. We examined the affective relationship with the river, the place of experience and the memory. We diagnosed that the affective vulnerability resulting from the displacement brought sadness and depression, besides the feeling of uncertainty about the future. Such impacts are not relevant in environmental impact studies presented by entrepreneurs from the hydroelectric sector, nor there is a mitigation procedure foreseen, although studies in the area of environmental law state the need to compensate for damages of affective value.