The secret side of the Brazilian favelas

The famous distinctive feature of Rio de Janeiro is favelas (slums), which are located on the outskirts of the city. There are about a thousand of favelas in Rio and each has its own name.

The favelas like a coin have two sides.

On the one hand (namely, this side is known in all over the world) it is unfavorable areas of the city, an abode of crime of all kinds. The paupers build their houses from what they have – from plywood, old wooden planks, cans, bamboo and canvas bags. The city authorities are unable to stop the rapid increase of these independent settlements. The police are even afraid to go to the areas covered by the favelas, because no one can guarantee that their unregistered residents will not start shooting from above. 

Most of the slum dwellers are unemployed, in favelas there is practically no sewerage, no schools, no hospitals. Drug dealers, street gangs and other anti-social elements have found here their shelter. There exist unspoken laws, local "barons" and their men.

In favelas children launch the kites not for fun! These special boys keep track of the policemen movement around the favela. When they catch sight of the policemen, they launch a red kite – a warning to the bandits. The green kite means: everything is OK, you can continue your dirty business. 

In any Brazilian guidebook you will find a warning that the favelas are not a good place for walk and it is better to keep away from them.

But there is another side. In favelas live 25% of the population of Rio de Janeiro and their opinion can`t be ignored. Some families live here for more than 20-30 years, they know each other. Most of the people don`t want to move from their homes not only because they don`t have the opportunity to buy a new home in another district, but because they just want to live where they grew up. Initially favelas are not a "dark side" of Rio. It just so happened that at one time they became a very convenient platform for drug dealing, which develops wherever there is a need.

The government persistently continues the so-called pacification (cleansing the city of crime, which includes the destruction of the favelas). And local people resist this in every possible way, that`s why there is often skirmishes on the street. Of course we can take the government`s side, because they want to make the country safer. But there is one "but". In Rio, unlike the rest of the world, the paupers look down upon the rich. The valley between the mountains and the gulf (as the locals say "on asphalt") was filled with luxury districts, displacing poor districts to mountain slopes. Those who live at the top have the best view of Rio. Even the statue of Jesus has perhaps not so good view. Landscape – this is all that these people have. The government wants to move them, explaining that this areas very danger. However, everyone knows that the authorities just want to move out the paupers and build at this place the houses for the rich and hotels for tourists with the best view of Rio. Local dwellers are peaceful, but if they have to fight for their home with the government, they will fight.

 The view from one of the favelas

I highly recommend watching the film "City of God", which shows the life in favelas from inside.

By the way, exactly in Rio`s favelas Michael Jackson made a video for his song "They Don`t Care About Us", after which there was set up a monument to the singer.

by Katerina Bilodid