Cartografia das condições de trabalho e saúde de homens quilombolas

Abstract

In Brazil, the origin of rural black communities is intrinsically related to the slave past. The quilombola population has a legacy, a cultural and material heritage that gives them a feeling of being and belonging to a specific geographic and existential territory. In the interaction with the land, quilombola men structure their autonomy in the category of work for the reproduction and maintenance of life, masculinity, family support and the determination of the health-disease process. In this context, the objective of this study was to map the work and health situation of quilombola men living in the Macroregion of Health North, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. It is a qualitative research, based on the Cartography method proposed by the philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari. The data were produced in 23 communities, through 94 individual interviews, observation of the world experienced and work processes, records of the affects in a cartographic diary and photographs of the incursions in the field. Discourse Analysis enabled the definition of six thematic categories and the elaboration of two flowcharts describing the lines of work force. The intersection of markers of race, ethnicity, gender, region, class and education contributes to occupational precariousness and the maintenance of social inequities. At work, flexible lines allow experiences of pleasure and hard lines the development of mental illness. In three territories, we verified the direct influence of intersectionality for the execution of activities in the coal, quarry and banana plantation. These environments are highly unhealthy, with the presence of heat and smoke, methods that generate great physical effort and silica dust, excessive exposure to the sun and the use of pesticides. In this sense, public policies aimed at the quilombola population need articulation and strengthening by the State, in addition to efforts for the democratic participation of all actors involved, especially quilombola men. The integration between the Occupational Health Surveillance and the Public Ministry of Labor allows the construction of an intersectoral network for the articulation of Popular Education actions, technical assistance, training and qualification of workers. These measures will have a direct impact on daily work, on the health-disease process and in the quality of life of the quilombola man.