Wanze is a leader of the Saamaka people, a community of descendants of enslaved people in the middle of Suriname’s Amazon rainforest. Hugo, who also has roots in the forest, helped communities like Wanze’s to organize themselves to fight against human rights violations by logging companies. Together, they reached a historic decision in favor of indigenous and traditional peoples, guaranteeing control of resource exploitation in their territories. The victory in court was not just for the Saamaka, because the precedent was extended to all the forest peoples of Suriname.
