Tandy Firmino
Jorge Alexandre (Tandy) Firmino is a photojournalist and human rights defender. As a community leader in the Santa Marta favela, Tandy has been advocating for years for the social rights of Marginalised neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro.
Tandy is one of the founders of the community radio in the region and of Alerta Santa Marta, a group of instant messaging between residents to denounce police violence in the area.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Tandy organized, in partnership with his brother Thiago Firmino, a volunteer for sanitation actions in the Santa Marta favela to contain the spread of the virus.
The challenges and threats faced by human rights defenders in Brazil remain very high, particularly for those working on issues of land, environment, indigenous peoples, LGBTi rights, corruption and impunity. Many HRDs have experienced death threats, physical attacks, arbitrary arrests and lawsuits. The high number of killings is of particular concern and takes place against a background of widespread impunity.
