Brazil is in a very crucial time as they are currently impeaching their president and preparing to host the 2016 Olympic games in Rio. Events like this greatly increase the number of women and children trafficked in to meet the demands of tourists. Many people have been displaced from their homes in the fevelas and heavily taxed to pay for stadiums, when they do not have access to healthcare or education. Because of this, there is heightened violence. Things are so bad in Rio that the city has just declared a state of public calamity. Due to all the money being spent preparing for the games, the police have not been paid in months. The world cup was surrounded by similar crisis on a much smaller scale in cities all over Brazil just two years ago.
As I was browsing youtube videos about the the militaries attempts to pacify the fevelas in Rio before the games begin, I came across a news clip shot in our city of Recife (a world cup host city in 2014), and was quickly surprised to find that I knew the individuals being interviewed. For legal purposes, the news station blurred the faces of the children, yet I recognize many of them non-the-less. I have wrestled with this report since finding it. The distance provided through television makes it so easy to separate yourself from their struggle. You can put a filter on an image, but you can’t disguise a friend. We sit with this same homeless community every week and they are very near to my heart. Glue huffing as seen in this clip, also serves as an appetite suppressor. These are the individuals who are affected most by events like the Olympics. As we gear up for the games this August, please remember the lasting impact they will have on the poor and on Brazil’s economy.