Manaus – The group of Saudi students on an exchange trip in Brazil visited São Tomé Community on Thursday (30), in the city of Iranduba, 50 kilometres away from Manaus, the capital of the state of Amazonas. This was the first time that the village received visitors from an Arab country.
“I have no clue where Saudi Arabia is,” said tradesman Pedro da Silva regarding the country of origin of the visitors. According to the river dweller, most of the tourists visiting the community, a two-hour boat ride away from the state capital, are from the United States and France.
São Tomé community houses 50 peoples, whose income comes mainly from fishing and tourism. “They are very nice, despite our not understanding a word they say,” said Vânia Mendes, who sells local handicraft, after being given a 30 real (US$ 20) tip from one of the students, who bought a baseball cap from her.
“The families who live in the Amazon need support,” said Abdulrahman Abdulraihm, aged 23, the buyer of the cap. “It is important for them to have means to survive in their own region, with no need to travel to great cities,” he pointed out.
Salesman Paulo Moraes spoke about the importance of tourists for the community. “Income here is very little. When they come and buy water, an ice cream, it already helps,” he said.
On Thursday, the students also saw the meeting of the waters of the Negro and Solimões rivers, which come together to form the Amazon River. The group also visited the Ariaú River region, where they walked through the Amazon Forest.
“I felt euphoric. You can only see this in books and in the cinema, especially in Saudi Arabia, where there is not much green,” said Sara Almaeena, aged 23. “I loved seeing the trees, the water, the people.”
“This is real life, not what media shows,” said the young Waad Aldossary, aged 17, who played a game of football with the residents of São Tomé and the colleagues in his group. “If I had to choose a place for my holidays, I would come here. It is a great place and there is no difference between men and women,” he said.
On the boat ride, the students attended a talk about environmental preservation promoted by the Sustainable Amazon Foundation and also by the State Conservation Unit (CEUC), under the Environmental and Sustainable Development Secretariat of the State of Amazonas.
*Translated by Mark Ament