In the recent world cup match USA vs Belgium, barely anybody
noticed the apparently crazed man that ran onto the field. However, this was
not an enthusiastic fan but a protester with “save favelas children” written on
his t-shirt (favelas are the name for slums). This is a glimpse of the other
side of the World Cup; an event appearing to optimize joy and global unity, has
turned into a tool used by corporations and a corrupt Brazilian government to
make massive financial gains at the cost of Brazilian’s poor population.
The article is juicy satire taken to the extreme. The author
suggests that football actually does bring people out of the favelas, not in
the sense that you can become a professional player, but that the government
will put a gun to your face and tell you to move or die. The homes in the
favela are then promptly bulldozed to build a highway that will speed up travel
for the wealthy and tourists.
The article points out the ridiculousness of the media’s attempt
to christen this the “common people’s cup” as the sight of common Brazilian is
clearly undesirable demonstrated by walls separating favelas from stadiums. The
common people don’t even get a chance to protest against any of the injustices
as there is a force of 200,000 police officers ready to step in at the sign of
any resistance.
The fact that human rights are violated is obvious. IN 1948
Brazil voted for the UN’s Universal Declaration of rights. One right is security of your standard of
living (i.e. your home). One is the right to peaceful assembly. Another is the
right not be subjected to an arbitrary displacement. All three rights have been
violated.
The source of the problem is clear. Brazil has the second
largest disparity of wealth between poor and rich (for comparison the USA is 9th
on this list) which gives a small group of people all the power. The powerful
have instated a purification campaign in the favelas lead by a task force whose
motto is “knife in the skull”. If a self-governed favela’s drug-lord does not
yield to the demands of the government the task force moves in and slaughters
scores of people to send a message.
The funny thing is that most people preferred to be governed
by the drug-lords as they enforced human rights. There are far less domestic
violence cases, rapes and robberies in gang owned areas in comparison to “purified
places”. The quality of living has decreased through government intervention.
Brazil is not the paradise your television is telling you it
is. Forced displacements, destruction of homes and abuse of police power are
the main points that this article touches upon but are truly just the tip of
the iceberg. I have included this video that I think everybody who has enjoyed
a world cup game should watch.
http://youtu.be/DlJEt2KU33I
Based on this article: http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/fifa-wasnt-going-to-let-favelas-ruin-a-wonderful-world-cup--it-just-bulldozed-them-instead-9582749.html
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