Saturday, January 26, 2008
The favelas
On Thursday morning I woke up early to make my way down to the Copacabana Palace (the seat of luxury) to board a van that would take me on a tour through two favelas (the seat of poverty). My tour guide was Martha, who showed me and the girls from New York around Santa Teresa on Tuesday. Martha was so informative and had much to say about the history of Rio and the context in which the favelas evolved. I´ll let you read wikipedia if you want to know all about it. Martha does not live in a favela, but her father lived in one. She knows many people in the two favelas that we visited and is very well respected. The tour company donates money to the favelas, and in one case funds 80% of an elementary school there.
Somewhere between 20-25% of Cariocas (the residents of Rio) live in a slum. That is one out of every four or five people here. There is basically no minimum wage, and people with the lowest paying jobs would have to commute for hours to live in an affordable apartment - which is just not feasible. As a result, these people have constructed shacks in the hills, one on top of the other on top of the other. They have managed to connect to jerryrig the electric grid and use electricity from the city. They use only small, portable gas tanks because running gas lines in these constructions would be far too dangerous. They also connect themselves to the city´s water and sewage lines, but conditions are not completely hygienic as you may imagine. The vast majority of the alleys are not streets that are recognized by the city, and therefore most residents do not have street addresses. Imagine - how do you apply for a job or get a phone number without an address? There are schools, but only enough money for the children to attend for half of the day. They are on their own for the rest of the day when their parents are hard at work. 98% of residents of favelas are hard workers - they just can´t afford to live in a real apartment, on the street.
In Rocinha, Rio´s largest favela, I was surprised to find a main shopping street with places to buy food, clothing shops, a bank, etc. They have moped taxis, which are the easiest way to get around because you can´t fit cars into the vast majority of spaces. They have satellite dishes and can watch television. This kind of moderate modernization is not the case in other, smaller favelas. Make no mistake - all of these people are very poor, and there is basically no police presence. Order is kept by the leaders of criminal drug factions. They say that a favela is the one place where you will never be mugged into Rio because the drug lords (and their AK47s) won´t allow any unauthorized misbehavior. There are three main organizations that control the distribution of drugs in Rio, and fighting occurs between gangs in neighboring favelas, and also with the police. There are places in Rio where you cannot go at night because you can get caught in the cross fire. Martha controlled our photography very explicitly on the tour - there were places we could take pictures, and there were places where we could not. That is all I will say about drugs - you can read more if you choose - because my experience (and the experience on any tour) did not involve any sight of them.
When we first arrived at Rocinha, we were greeted by local artists displaying their work - paintings, jewelry, bags, and even one man who had raised money to record his samba music on CDs. Most of the artwork was done by children in the favela. This stuff was irresistible to me - how do you turn down a beautiful, colorful painting of Rocinha with Rio in the background from a nine year old artist, Alessandro, standing in front of you? Later, I met Nicholas, who was maybe seven years old. He had learned a little bit of English so that he could better pitch his work: "This is me, and this is my sister. This one, 30. For you, 25. This one, 25. For you, 20." These children are so talented, so hard-working, and so proud. They are bringing home money for their families. What seven year old do you know who has to worry about that stuff? The comparisons to Sophie and Thomas Joseph and Vada, the oldest of my little cousins, are hard to resist and totally heart-breaking.
Here is the thing - I saw many many people who were so happy and so full of joy. They play soccer and capoeira too. They dance samba in the streets. They have Carnaval. One man wanted to pose for a picture with a mannequin and a goofy smile. Everyone I bought something from gave me a smile, a hug and two kisses. It was a truly special experience. I am completely overwhelmed by the absurd distribution of the world´s resources that have put me in a position to even be taking this trip. I don´t even know what to say about it. I am trying to figure out how I justify all that I have to God. At this stage I am feeling almost embarrassed to admit my own privilege. There is much to grapple with but I know it is a process and I know it has begun.
Rio is definitely a place of juxtaposition, everywhere. Mountains and sea. Rich and poor. I had the wonderful opportunity to go hang gliding yesterday morning over all of Rio. Chico was my instructor - we ran off the edge of a mountain together and soared for fifteen minutes over the forest and ocean before landing on the beach. Just beyond the forest is Rocinha...to the left, Christ the Redeemer...mansions with swimming pools are just below us...it was so surreal. This was one of the most enjoyable 15 minutes of my life. Everywhere, I´m just soaking it all in. Next time I´ll tell you about some of the fantastic Brazilian friends I have made.
Til then, beijos, xoxo, Katarina
Somewhere between 20-25% of Cariocas (the residents of Rio) live in a slum. That is one out of every four or five people here. There is basically no minimum wage, and people with the lowest paying jobs would have to commute for hours to live in an affordable apartment - which is just not feasible. As a result, these people have constructed shacks in the hills, one on top of the other on top of the other. They have managed to connect to jerryrig the electric grid and use electricity from the city. They use only small, portable gas tanks because running gas lines in these constructions would be far too dangerous. They also connect themselves to the city´s water and sewage lines, but conditions are not completely hygienic as you may imagine. The vast majority of the alleys are not streets that are recognized by the city, and therefore most residents do not have street addresses. Imagine - how do you apply for a job or get a phone number without an address? There are schools, but only enough money for the children to attend for half of the day. They are on their own for the rest of the day when their parents are hard at work. 98% of residents of favelas are hard workers - they just can´t afford to live in a real apartment, on the street.
In Rocinha, Rio´s largest favela, I was surprised to find a main shopping street with places to buy food, clothing shops, a bank, etc. They have moped taxis, which are the easiest way to get around because you can´t fit cars into the vast majority of spaces. They have satellite dishes and can watch television. This kind of moderate modernization is not the case in other, smaller favelas. Make no mistake - all of these people are very poor, and there is basically no police presence. Order is kept by the leaders of criminal drug factions. They say that a favela is the one place where you will never be mugged into Rio because the drug lords (and their AK47s) won´t allow any unauthorized misbehavior. There are three main organizations that control the distribution of drugs in Rio, and fighting occurs between gangs in neighboring favelas, and also with the police. There are places in Rio where you cannot go at night because you can get caught in the cross fire. Martha controlled our photography very explicitly on the tour - there were places we could take pictures, and there were places where we could not. That is all I will say about drugs - you can read more if you choose - because my experience (and the experience on any tour) did not involve any sight of them.
When we first arrived at Rocinha, we were greeted by local artists displaying their work - paintings, jewelry, bags, and even one man who had raised money to record his samba music on CDs. Most of the artwork was done by children in the favela. This stuff was irresistible to me - how do you turn down a beautiful, colorful painting of Rocinha with Rio in the background from a nine year old artist, Alessandro, standing in front of you? Later, I met Nicholas, who was maybe seven years old. He had learned a little bit of English so that he could better pitch his work: "This is me, and this is my sister. This one, 30. For you, 25. This one, 25. For you, 20." These children are so talented, so hard-working, and so proud. They are bringing home money for their families. What seven year old do you know who has to worry about that stuff? The comparisons to Sophie and Thomas Joseph and Vada, the oldest of my little cousins, are hard to resist and totally heart-breaking.
Here is the thing - I saw many many people who were so happy and so full of joy. They play soccer and capoeira too. They dance samba in the streets. They have Carnaval. One man wanted to pose for a picture with a mannequin and a goofy smile. Everyone I bought something from gave me a smile, a hug and two kisses. It was a truly special experience. I am completely overwhelmed by the absurd distribution of the world´s resources that have put me in a position to even be taking this trip. I don´t even know what to say about it. I am trying to figure out how I justify all that I have to God. At this stage I am feeling almost embarrassed to admit my own privilege. There is much to grapple with but I know it is a process and I know it has begun.
Rio is definitely a place of juxtaposition, everywhere. Mountains and sea. Rich and poor. I had the wonderful opportunity to go hang gliding yesterday morning over all of Rio. Chico was my instructor - we ran off the edge of a mountain together and soared for fifteen minutes over the forest and ocean before landing on the beach. Just beyond the forest is Rocinha...to the left, Christ the Redeemer...mansions with swimming pools are just below us...it was so surreal. This was one of the most enjoyable 15 minutes of my life. Everywhere, I´m just soaking it all in. Next time I´ll tell you about some of the fantastic Brazilian friends I have made.
Til then, beijos, xoxo, Katarina
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