BRAZIL (AP) — At the Word of Faith Fellowship churches in the Brazilian cities of Sao Joaquim de Bicas and Franco da Rocha the signs of broken families are everywhere: parents separated from their children grandparents who wonder if they will ever know their grandchildren the U.S.-based mother church took command of both congregations in Brazil applying a strict interpretation of the Bible and enforcing it through rigorous controls and physical punishment Many of the more than three dozen former members interviewed by the AP in Brazil said they live in perpetual fear of retribution Others ask themselves how they put up with the abuse for so long Former member Juliana Oliveira remembers when life was normal in the Sao Joaquim de Bicas church Before the Brazilian traditions were stripped away you don't know you are in a cult because little by little it all becomes 'normal,'" said Oliveira The examination of Word of Faith Fellowship's spread into Latin America's largest country is part of the AP's lengthy ongoing investigation into the evangelical church Based on exclusive interviews with dozens of former members the AP reported in February that congregants in the U.S punched and choked to "purify" sinners by expelling devils The AP also has detailed how Word of Faith Fellowship funneled a steady flow of young Brazilian members to the United States on tourist and student visas and forced them to work both at the church and companies owned by sect leaders Neither Whaley nor the pastors at both Word of Faith Fellowship branches in Brazil responded to requests for comment The church has nearly 2,000 members in Brazil and Ghana and its affiliations in Sweden in addition to 750 congregants in Spindale the takeover of the two churches was a slow evolution that culminated in drastic rules dictating almost every aspect of congregants' lives Many of the edicts echoed Whaley's mandates in North Carolina such as a ban on wearing jeans and children talking to members of the opposite sex without approval former members said Whaley prohibited soccer as Brazil was getting ready to host the 2014 World Cup because she felt the church's young males were focused on the event at the expense of God "We just dealt with a major 'soccer devil' down in Brazil two weeks ago," Whaley told the Spindale congregation in a sermon transmitted to branches in Brazil and Ghana that was viewed by the AP When Oliveira was a teenager in the late 1990s the evangelical school she attended was "strict but normal," she said The Bible was the guiding principle at Ministerio Verbo Vivo (Live Word) but general subjects were taught just like at any Brazilian school By the time she returned from college to teach at the school life at Verbo Vivo was barely recognizable Schoolbooks reviewed by the AP show heavy redactions the life cycle is taught via plant reproduction "The influence of American pastors was getting stronger and stronger in the school and church," Oliveira said wiping away tears during an interview at her home in nearby Betim "They stopped emphasizing the teaching of Portuguese It turned into mostly Bible study and a lot of abuse." Students deemed as "rebellious" were isolated from others during the school day made to read the Bible or shouted at for hours to "expunge devils," according to many former students and their parents the long palm tree-lined driveway from the gate to the school provided plenty of time for school employees to pull out regular books and make things look "normal," Oliveira said former members say the Brazilian churches introduced physical assaults and "blasting" — a Word of Faith Fellowship practice where ministers and congregants surround members and scream in their faces for hours to drive out demons Flavio Correa said his oldest son was slapped so many times during a blasting session by pastors at the Franco da Rocha church that he suffered several cuts on his face who left the church last year after 23 years "But I confided in them and you start to think it is good for the person Word of Faith Fellowship's reach into Brazil began with John Martin an American missionary who arrived in the late 1970s married a local woman and served as pastor at a Baptist church near Belo Horizonte Former members say Martin met Sam Whaley on an airplane in 1986 sparking a relationship that led both Whaleys and other ministers from Spindale to begin visiting Martin's church Martin founded Verbo Vivo in Belo Horizonte in 1987 and the Americans began to gain control of the parish Martin moved his church to Sao Joaquim de Bicas dozens of church families moved to a large plot of land in Betim Though land was cheaper outside Belo Horizonte former members cite another motivation: Isolating the flock from the outside world Children attended school on church land — property ringed by an 8-foot-high fence topped with barbed wire — and returned home to a neighborhood with a manned gate and its own 8-foot-high fence Adult members had little contact with the outside world going to work and returning straight home to the community Current congregants and former ones pass each other daily without speaking Former members say evangelical pastors Solange Granieri and Juarez De Souza Oliveira met the Whaleys at a religious conference in Sao Paulo in the mid-1980s De Souza Oliveira opened Ministerio Evangelico Comunidade Rhema in the Sao Paolo suburb of Franco da Rocha congregants in the second branch were encouraged to buy land in a remote area outside the city there was an emphasis on building close-knit communities modeled after the original sect in North Carolina almost two decades after the founding of Verbo Vivo the increasingly harsh treatment and strict rules imposed by the Americans led to a revolt by dozens of congregants in Sao Joaquim de Bicas contending in television interviews that Martin and the other American ministers who periodically visited were "brainwashing" and controlling congregants at Whaley's behest Their departures created a rupture so great — and led to so many complaints — that the human rights committee in the Minas Gerais state legislature held hearings Two dozen ex-members testified about abuses from forced isolation to being shaken and hit during services and at the church school Former students recounted being spanked with wooden spoons and yelled at for extended periods in front of their classmates testified he had been taken to Spindale four times as a teenager He said he was not put to work during the first trip instead spending his days praying and learning the church's doctrine everything for the sake of the sect," he testified Morais de Oliveira stood by his testimony but declined to be interviewed Parents also testified that their children were sent to the U.S and indoctrinated to the point that they turned against their families said his 19-year-old son and 22-year-old daughter had broken off contact after traveling to North Carolina don't try to speak to us anymore," Gonzaga recounted them telling him during a phone call from Spindale on Father's Day All future communication must go through church leaders in Spindale Gonzaga testified that he tried repeatedly to reach his children Many of the abuse allegations came down to the word of former members against church officials similar to the way investigations at the North Carolina parent church have stalled over the decades denied the allegations and called the disciplinary rules "guidelines and not prohibitions," according to news media reports at the time He declined to offer fresh comment to the AP The turmoil did lead to at least one change: Former members said there was a sharp drop in Martin's congregants While the Franco da Rocha branch did not suffer the same internal strife congregants who left in recent years estimate that the number of members there dropped from 700 a decade ago to 250 now a member of the Franco da Rocha church for a quarter-century said the dramatic changes in the church made her want to leave a decade ago but that she mustered the courage only last year was a conversation with Jane Whaley about her teenage son who liked a fellow congregant but was not allowed to talk to her because the sexes are strictly separated feels full of regret — from the birthdays not celebrated had doubts about the church and argued for years that they should leave citing cutting off contact with friends who are not members "Then you are like a caged animal that no longer knows how to live outside," she said Associated Press reporter Sarah DiLorenzo contributed from Sao Paulo The AP National Investigative Team can be reached at investigate@ap.org Follow Weiss on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mitchsweiss Follow Mohr on Twitter at http://twitter.com/holbrookmohr Follow Prengaman on Twitter at https://twitter.com/peterprengaman which runs through the state of Minas Gerais Along its 510-kilometer (317-mile) stretch the river still passes through 35 cities in the state Its “dead” state is visible at a glance now — once a clean water source it has been substituted by the devastating reality of a river basin contaminated by 13 million cubic meters (459 million cubic feet) of mining waste The rupture of the Córrego do Feijão tailings dam owned by Vale S.A. on Jan. 25, 2019, in Brumadinho (MG), resulted in the deaths of 272 people — one of the most expressive and visible consequences of predatory mining practices that have masqueraded as one of Minas Gerais’ main economic activities the railway cutting across the state carries trains loaded with tons of iron ore blowing their whistles day and night — reminders of the fact that little has changed since one of the worst environmental crimes in Brazil’s history was committed Analyses carried out by the cities of Brumadinho São Joaquim de Bicas and Juatuba found the waters of the Paraopeba River unsuitable for use and not recommended for any purpose The 26 municipalities in the Paraopeba River Basin are home to some 200,000 people Vale and TÜV Süd — the German company that certified the dam’s safety before it burst — still have not offered a legal response to the environmental crimes and homicides caused by the dam’s failure living throughout the entire extension of the Paraopeba’s territory The Pataxó and Pataxó Hã-hã-hãe are among the Indigenous groups affected by the disaster have been trying to gain recognition and compensation for the violations they are finding it impossible to continue their traditional ways of living some 25 families of Indigenous people from the villages of Coroa Vermelha They aimed to secure territory where they could build and sustain a better way of life able to live according to traditions and far from increasing urban violence which had become more common in their original territories They established the village of Naô Xohã in the rural zone of São Joaquim de Bicas less than 20 km (12 mi) from the Córrego do Feijão dam The space they occupied along the Paraopeba River far from urban centers and near the Atlantic Rainforest was seen by the Indigenous families as a chance to live close to nature according to their ancestral knowledge They sought to sustain themselves with farming ethno-tourism and by selling their handicrafts the proximity to the rainforest offered a connection to the Earth less than 100 meters (328 feet) from their village fished for their sustenance and held rituals at the Paraopeba River But not 24 hours after the Córrego do Feijão dam burst iron ore rejects washed into the place where the community lies “The mud arrived here at our community the next day I saw a river of mud,” recalls Célia Angohó who lived in Naô Xohã at the time and today is chief of Katurãma village The disaster rendered all water in the river’s basin unusable the Minas Gerais state government advised the population to “not use raw water from the Paraopeba River for anything until the situation is normalized.” This advisory has still not been repealed and the community’s routine has never been the same Children and adults are no longer able to use the river as they were accustomed to and the changes to their daily lives went far beyond water issues alone The dead river and dead animals composed scenes that are hard to forget “We would see homes and pieces of animals floating by The fish were jumping out of the river,” recalls Angohó Even though the village was evacuated a day after the dam burst the people of Naô Xohã decided to stay on the land where their homes were Chief Sucupira, the current leader at Naô Xohã, claims that Vale’s relocation proposal did not consider the prior consultation protocols with the community and would have placed its people in an area much smaller than the territory they occupied They put part of our people in an area with no forest Staying at Naô Xohã was an important act of resistance for the group Even given the uncertain scenario regarding contamination and other consequences of continued exposure to heavy metals found in the mining rejects part of the community opted to remain on their land Today they depend on governmental assistance programs and the sale of handicrafts to survive “As leader of the people who stayed at Naô Xohã the gods and the spirits who tell us how to rebuild Things will never be like they were before the dam burst but we will get used to it,” says Sucupira flooding caused by Paraopeba’s rising waters also affected Naô Xohã Rainfall in January 2022 caused such intense flooding that the village had to be evacuated in order to keep people from being exposed to the high levels of heavy metals in the tailings-contaminated river: iron Contamination of the water and the soil in the river’s path means that the soil in the village may also be contaminated because the flooding covered the crops the people had planted there farming was no longer an option for the community Instead of eating what they plant and harvest the people now eat ultra processed and industrialized foods The result has been an epidemic of diabetes among most of the people in the community We weren’t used to eating anything from packages we’ve had to buy our food at the supermarket — rice We have to spend our money on it,” says Chief Sucupira the village’s people have also suffered from intoxications fevers and respiratory problems caused by the iron ore in the river Without an adequate alternative from mining giant Vale some of the families from Naô Xohã who chose not to stay in the village ended up dispersing to the Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Area where they lived under precarious conditions school gymnasiums and slum houses on the outskirts of Belo Horizonte — for many in the Pataxó and Pataxó Hã-Hã-Hãe community the slum called Jardim Vitória was one of the most complicated locations With little space and unfamiliar daily routines the Indigenous people were subject to racial discrimination Indians belong in the Amazon’ or ‘Indians belong in the forest,’” tells Chief Angohó referring to the location where the new village of Katurãma is being built There were many stories of racial discrimination All of those who stayed temporarily in Jardim Vitória were called “urban Indians” and their ethnic heritage was constantly under question “They said racist things to us — that they had never seen Indians with light-colored eyes and dark skin the security guards would follow us around the whole time.” The people from the Naô Xohã and Katurãma communities are looking for solutions and are managing to survive because of donations and humanitarian aid These are necessary because not all the groups are included in Vale’s Preliminary Emergency Compensation Agreement The most help these people have received came neither from the government nor from the mining company: The Minas Gerais Nippo-Brazilian Cultural Association negotiated a Private Reserve of Natural Heritage in São Joaquim de Bicas with the community Part of the land was donated and part was sold for part of the compensation agreement the 36-hectare (89-acre) piece of land on the outskirts of São Joaquim de Bicas and just a few kilometers from Naô Xohã was chosen as the site for Katurãma village in 2021 the community continues to face a series of other problems One is the constant presence of squatters and wildcat miners in the territory a conflict that has been intensifying since the Pataxó moved there Community leaders tell of episodes ranging from threatening anonymous phone calls to poisoning of dogs belonging to the people living in the village The people had expected to gain support and protection from agencies like the Federal Police and Funai (the National Indigenous Peoples Foundation) These have not become a reality because their land is private property and not a federally demarcated territory why do we have to have demarcated land to be considered Indigenous Is our own demarcation not worth anything?” asks the chief of Katurãma Nearly two years after moving to the Japanese Forest the families still have not managed to build their homes due to the lack of resources and are still living in precarious structures built outhouses and three bathrooms for the 25 families living in Katurãma And as they are closer to the city than they were in Naô Xohã verbal assault and racism have become a larger part of the community’s day-to-day reality “We hear people say that this isn’t our place If we want to live in this forest inside the city We aren’t going to accept being told where we can live by other people,” affirms Angohó “We just want to live where we were meant to live: in the forest We want to eat fish baked in patioba leaves drink water from a spring and plant corn on our own land We just want to be free of sickness and of racism children of this land and we just want to be respected so we can live.” “We signed a Preliminary Emergency Adjustment Agreement which allows for actions to evaluate and remediate the impacts caused to the community that lived near to the Paraopeba Basin and maintain a permanent dialogue with the impacted communities always respecting their traditions and recognizing the autonomy and protagonism assured them by the Constitution.” The communities of Naô Xohã and Katurãma deny they are receiving the help they should from the company This story was reported by Mongabay’s Brazil team and first published here on our Brazil site on June 26, 2023. 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