In order to fully understand the importance of the centre
where I work, I think it is necessary to know more about the reality of the
situation here in Parada de Lucas.
Ahhh Rio de Janeiro, a
cidade marhavilhosa, a place that most people associate with beautiful
beaches, caipirinhas and carnaval. Whilst this side of Rio clearly exists,
there also exists another side to this city, a more gritty, dark side which I
have had the opportunity to experience – life in a non-pacified favela.
In Rio de Janeiro there are an estimated 1,000 favelas. Whilst
there is a pacification programme in place by the government, as of today only about 18 are
actually pacified. Parada de Lucas is situated in the north of
the city (Copacabana is South zone) and
for many years now it has been run by armed gangs. Whilst currently Lucas has a ´sister favela ‘
relationship with Vigario Geral, the favela next door, in the past these two neighbourhoods were at war, with devastating consequences for the community.
I have been to the dividing line (which happens to be where
there is a school) and I just can´t get over the fact that they were at
war. There is no line, no wall, no
border and therefore no protection to hide behind. If you lived on one side then it was
forbidden to cross over to the other side, for residents of Lucas this meant that
access to a health centre was impossible as it was in the neighbouring
favela. Whilst drugs are still being dealt here which
is what gives the bandidos their jobs and status here, 15 years ago you
couldn´t move for the amount of people in the favela buying, selling and consuming. Violence was also even more open than it is today and Neuza
told me that it wasn´t uncommon to see a bandido with a wheel barrow carting a
dead body to where I usually take the rubbish to. Or, sometimes even someone alive with their
head covered pleading to know what exactly they had done. She told me a story of her son having
nightmares when he was kid as although he hadn´t seen the bandido kill it´s
victim (as everyone had been ordered inside their houses), her son had still
heard the way they had killed him. Unimaginable.
The war with Vigario Geral ended when Tercero Comando beat
Comando Vermelho and managed to take over.
Whilst things are more or less stable here, people know that there is
always a risk that the losing fraction will try to win back it´s territory
(which then has repercussions for Parada de Lucas). In fact, this happened a few weeks ago when I
couldn´t come home one night as I was in the city and something was occurring
in Vigario. My friend called me and told
me it was best not to run the risk of arriving in Lucas at night. The next day many kids didn’t come to class
as their mum´s were still nervous about the situation in the street. This is the reality that many families live
in. Furthermore, just on the other side
of the motorway where I get the bus from lies Cidade Alta. They continue to be enemies and again going
over to the other side is a risk.
The bandidos control the favela and the machine guns they carry demand our respect. To enter into the community by car it is
necessary to move the tree trunks that are placed in the middle of the road to
stop just anybody driving in. You also most drive with the window down or
without a helmet if you are on a motorbike.
If you are not someone they
recognize or aren´t with someone from inside the favela, you will most likely be
stopped at gun point. They have their
rules which must be obeyed. One example
is if you are caught fighting then you will be made an example of – in the case
of girls this involves probably being hit by the bandidos and then having their
hair shaved off. Another rule is that you don´t steal from your own. Nobody
robs within the community – the consequences could be anything from losing a
hand to being shot dead. Don´t be fooled
into thinking that this is due to a ´sense of community´ alone, no, the
bandidos don´t want any problems with people calling the police to report
things like that.
Describing Parada de Lucas in general terms most children
tend to go to school, well, those that are lucky enough to have parents that
encourage them to go. The other day I
went to an internet café to find two of my students hadn´t gone to school, but
instead were spending the day playing computer games. Teenage pregnancy is very common here as well. It is also common for kids to have bread and
fizzy drinks for breakfast as some families cannot afford to feed their
children three whole meals a day. The
fizzy pop provides sugar for energy and the gas fills a space in the stomach
that parents cannot afford with food.
“Living in a favela is an art, nobody robs, nobody hears, nothing is
lost, those who are wise obey those who give orders.”
No comments:
Post a Comment