The Flooding: Problems In The Favela

As most people in the world know, about two weeks ago Rio de Janeiro had some of the worst flooding since the 1940’s. I read recently that about 245 people have died and about 160 are still missing. They are still searching for people. The majority if not all of those who died were from favela comunities. Very sad that we who live in these areas have this kind of thing happen. People live in favelas becase they do not have any other option. When you are poor or make little money, where can you live?

In Rocinha, we have a area called Laboriaux, named after the French family who first settled there in the 1920’s. Laboriaux is located up at the highest point of the favela. There are great views there where you can see almost all of Rio. During the flooding, this area suffered some damage. Six houses were lost to damage and two people (a elderly person and a child) ended up dying becase a house collapsed. Very sad.

Approximately 4.000 people live in Laboriaux and they have their own community government or residents association. The government of Rio wants to remove all the people who live in Laboriaux. People are really upset about this and there are meetings going on daily about what will happen to the people who live there. I think that removing the people is not right unless it can be proven 100% that their house is at risk to fall down the hill.

I have many friends who live in Laboriaux, Armando, Binho, Belo, Rick. I could go on. I know both Rick and Armando have been told that they have to move. And my friend Mike Batista also known as “Mike do Skate”. What will happen to him? He is one of my best friends. He is about 40 and sells beer in the favela at the baile funk parties. Interesting about him is he has no use of his legs and gets around Rocinha by skateboard. I saw him the other day and asked him about his house. He told me no problems. I hope so. I do not see where in Rocinha they could put the 4.000 from Laboriaux and I know many of those people have lived here 30-40 years.

So, I live in ponto 7 or 7 as it is called. It is about half way up the hill in Rocinha. I like my place but after the flooding and rains, I see my house has some problems. The wall in my bedroom and half of the living room has water damage from the rain. There is water in the wall. I do not know how it got there or where it is coming from. I spoke to one of my neighbors and she knew about it. I guess the people who lived here before told the neighbors. For me to find where the water is coming from, I would have to break the wall down. At this time, I do not have the money for this.

Since living here in this place for four months, I have been sick a lot with a cough. I had flu about 1 month ago and still have a cough. And still have some problems swallowing. I wonder if the mofo in the wall is making me sick.

A health worker happened to come by here today and registered me for the new clinic/hospital opening here in the favela. She took all my information, formal name, age, birthdate, address, CPF number etc. I told her about my condition and then she started talking about TB or Tuberculose. I do not know anything about TB and told her so. She handed me a small information book on TB. I asked her if the water and “mofo” in the wall could cause TB and she said possibly, so now I have some concern. I just do not want to be sick anymore.

I need to talk to the rental agency about this damage and potential sickness problems. With all this, I might have to move. I will talk and see if there are other places in the favela that are better for me. So the flooding has affected me in a different way yet I still may have to move. There are not many places to live here and it is very crowded. I love rocinha and if I could not find another place here, I would probably have to move to Vidigal.

Vidigal is another favela on the other side of Rocinha. I like Vidigal but it has several diferences. Vidigal is located on a steep hill and public transportation up and down the hill is not as good as Rocinha. There are not as many moto taxis and the community is not as active. Stores close early and there are few parties there. The only advantage to living there is if you can find a place high up the hill, you can have a great view of the beaches of Ipanema and Leblon.

I will try to find a resolve of this problem soon.

Difficult Decisions

I walk through the community everyday and meet many people. I love living here becase one almost never gets lonely. All I need do is open my door, walk out and I meet people. With 300.000 people here I certainly do not know everybody. But many people know me becase I have been on tv a few times talking about my music and some of the projets I am making here in the favela.

About 3 months ago I met this guy at the mototaxi stand in the Via Apia. He started to ask me about my tattoos. He is a guy about 21 years old. I will call him Mario. My friend Grey from Australia told me about Mario a few weeks before. Mario works as a lookout for the gang here in the favela. At first I did not know this. But after talking with Grey and seeing his radio on his hip, I figured this had to be the same guy. Most of the guys who work in the gang are serios and do not talk much with the residents. Mario is different. I have seen him in his spot next to the restarant on the lookout for any possible threat to their business. He always greets me with a friendly “hello”. And he asks how I am doing.

One day while at the taxi stand Mario commented on one of the t-shirts I made. The shirt has a gun diagonally placed on the front with the words “Rocinha, Respeita O Poder”. He really liked this shirt and wanted to know how he could get one. He wants me to make him a shirt. This is not the first time but its different becase he works with the ruling gang here in the favela. Everybody wants a t-shirt from me, but I am not rich. I can not do this for everybody.

How do I feel about this situation? Its complicated becase when you live in the favela, these guys live here too. I do not fear them becase I have never done anything to have fear of them. I do not use drugs so what do I need fear. I am a worker like most the residents here. Many of the guys in the gang like me and say hello. But this guy I am talking about, goes out of his way now to stop me and want to talk. I guess he is curios about my work.

Interesting how life evolves in the favela. I saw Mario about 3 weeks ago without the radio on his hip. I asked him if was working and he told me that he left the gang. In the favelas, you can leave the gang if you find a normal job. You just have to never talk about your activities while you were in the gang. The gang here is not like others where you can never get out. There are always people wanting to join the gang becase it is about economics. When you are poor and favelado and feel you have no other options, you find work where you can. I make no judgement as I am far from perfect and I once was one of them becase I too, sold drugs.

So, Mario told me that he found work as a cobrador or a person who collects money working with the vans that transport people in and out of the favela. I was happy for him and he seemed happy too. It’s not often guys leave the gang as earning money being from the favela is not easy, or you get paid very poorly if you work outside the favela.

About 10 days ago during that 4 days where we had a lot of flooding here in Rio, I was walking through the Valao. The Valao is one of the poorer areas of Rocinha at the bottom of the hill. It’s called the Valao becase there is a open sewer system that runs down the middle of the street. The word vala means ditch and valao means big ditch.

As I was walking through the Valao, I heard a voice call out to me and it was Mario. He was hanging out with another guy chatting and he called me over. He asked me about the design he wanted for the t-shirt. I was surprised becase he told me he left the gang to work with the vans. He told me to turn around and look across the alleyway. I did and saw a .762 automatic machine gun propped up on the sidewalk. He smiled, and I asked if he was back with the gang and he said yes. I just replied “ok”. What am I supposed to say? This is his life and he knows what the gang life is about. Sad thing is I like the guy becase he is friendly and treats everybody with respect. I wish him the best and just hope eventually that he can find a better line of work.

Recently after a police invasion about 1 month ago, the guys have been setting up kind of a checkpoint in the favela. If I am walking down the hill from my house, the checkpoint is right by the Casa da Paz, right before reaching the Curva do “S”. The gang has several guys there with machine guns and other weapons. Today, one guy was carrying a rocket launcher. And there seemed to be more guys there today. Usually there are about 6 or 8 of them but today I saw at least 15 of them. Maybe they are preparing or expecting another invasion. The checkpoints are to see who is coming and going in the favela. Every car and van is looked over. If you plan to drive through Rocinha it is best to have all your windows open. They mostly stop taxis and vans that do not look familiar. But they do not stop the car for long. They just kind of look in the car briefly and let the car go. This checkpoint is set up after dark. There is another checkpoint at the top of the hill as well in the area called 99. So both entrances are watched by the gang.

So, today while walking down the main street here in Rocinha, I stop into my favorite market to say hello to this girl who I know. On my way out I meet a few other friends and continue on. As a said before, you cannot get lonely in this place. As I am walking by the checkpoint I hear Mario call my name. everybody here has apelidos, or nicknames. For people who do not know my name but try to get my attention, they call me “Rocinha” . I see Mario sitting in the middle of the street with his 14kg .762 machine gun. I go into the middle of the street where he is sitting. He reaches out his hand. I shake it. He asks me about the design I am making for him. I told him that I made him two that he can chose from. At the time I had nothing planned, so I jumped on a bike and went to my house to grab the designs for him. I returned gave them to him and he was happy. A couple other guys decided to come over and check them out and asked about if they could have designs. I just told them that to talk to Mario and I am sure they all can share. Before leaving, I told Mario to be careful with that thing (the thing being the heavy machine gun he had on his lap). He laughed and joked, “Ok daddy, I will”.

I really do not want to make this a habit as then everybody expects something from you all the time. There is only one me..But this is how the politics in the favela works.

News about Favela Adventures

The foto on the top left is Dan Robertson on top of my roof in Rocinha. he came on a tour and a baile funk party here in Rocinha. Please, checkout his blog at http://dandoestheworld.blogspot.com

The foto on the top right is two guests on top of my friends roof in Rua 1 at the top of the hill.

Living in Rocinha, I have great opportunities to meet many people from all over the world. I have the best work in that I get to help people understand the place that I live. The media destroyed the image of the favelas a long time ago. Interesting that Brazilians have fears of favelas but foreigners come here with the open mind and no fears. We welcome foreigners becase after visiting here they can tell people about the realities of life here. Living here in a favela is not as bad as the news says. It is not easy either but not impossible. I would rather have my friends than money.

I meet people who come to see my community. I guess everybody has their own reasons for coming here. Some are curios about the way the community functions outside of government control. Some of corse want to understand the role of the drug lords. We are a community of survivors who have managed to do for ourselves becase we have no choice. I call our favela one of organized caos, becase to the outsider the favela looks like a bunch of houses smashed together without direction.

One of my favorite guests were a couple from Angola who wanted to film everyday life in Rocinha. Everything from walking in a barbershop to riding on the back of a motobike up the hill. I gave them more access than a regular visit becase their interest was to go back to the slums in Angola and show our everyday life here. They made a film to educate their comunities. This was only the second group visit where I spoke Portugues the whole time. This is rare becase Brazilians who are not from favelas, do not make visits to favelas. So speaking Portugues is not common. The first was a couple from Minas Gerais who I later found out were the owners of “Havianas”, the sandals most commonly worn in Brazil. I guess they were doing business research as everybody in favelas wear havianas. We have a population of about 300.000 people and everybody has at least one pair of havianas, so that’s a lot of sandals. In Rocinha there are more stores who have these sandals for sale.

Although many favelas get a bad reputation becase of the news, there is so much more here than the drug trade. I think we can all agree that drugs are everywhere and problems exist with this. In the poor areas of the North America and Europe, there is this same problem of desperate people who have little opportunity taking what they can to survive. I am not making apology for this. But this is just the way it is.

We have the formal and informal sectors of work. The person who works in a restarant or in a hotel works in the formal section and you need get your work card signed by the person who employs you. The guy who sells you water on the beach or rents you a beach chair, works in the informal sector. All of the people working in the informal sector live in favelas. They do this type of work becase they probly do not have the education to work in the formal sector. If you do not have education, working in the informal sector is better than selling drugs. At least it is honest work. I work in the informal sector becase I can not find a job in the formal sector. I prefer to work in my community, I like being here. I feel uncomfortable and do not like leaving the favela My favela needs help and if I can I try to help.

I have two new tour guides that I have hired to work with me in showing our comunity to the world. Vinicius "Maka" Basilio and Rodrigo "Miyague" Zambianchi, both live in the favela. Maka lives in Rua 1 which is where I was raised as a kid. And Miyague lives in Rua 2. I tend to hang out more with Miyague as he lives very close and is not working very much. Maka works another job with his month making fod deliveries outside the favela. I hope as business goes I can give more people jobs as this is what the purpose of what we do here. People living here need to be making the tours.

Recently, many visitors have come here to the favela to write about their experiences. Below are some of the articles written about our work here. Please take the time to see what people are writing about us.

http://dandoestheworld.blogspot.com/2010/03/favelas-of-rio.html


http://riotimesonline.com/news/rio-travel/touring-rios-favelas/


http://www.gonomad.com/tours/1003/favela-tours.html

If you have questions about the article or the work we do, please write to me. I will do my best to answer all your questions.

Living in the Favela.

The foto is visitors to my home in Rocinha. We are sitting on my rooftop enjoying the view.


Many visitors ask me how it is to live here in a favela. So, I decide to write about this. There is much misinformation in the media about what life is like here. And most of the media portrays life here as being one of misery and awful conditions.

I was born here and I really do not know much different. I have lived in other places but do not feel like I belong in these places. The favela is community for me. It is where I belong. I know so many people here. I can not walk the streets or becos without somebody knowing me or calling my name. It feels good to have a place where I feel cared for, loved and needed. Outside the favela is very different because everybody is for themselves. In my life, the favela has always helped me and I try help it too. Living here, this is how it is.

People think that the drug traffic controls everything but this is not true. The guys sell their drugs and of course people buy. The majority of the people who buy are not from the favela. They are the middle class and rich who come in to buy their stuff. Drugs is not a problem only in the favela. Drugs is a world problem.

The gang does not control my life. The rules are simple, if you do not steal, kill or rape, nothing will ever happen to you. Living here, I have never had a problem becase I never think about wanting to break the rules. Unless you have bad intentions the life is good here. What makes Rocinha a special place for me is the people. My life is simple. I work, enjoy my life, have my friends and family. What more do I need.

I live in a small shack here in Rocinha. Things are not perfect but my life is ok. Sometimes we do not have water and times the electricity does not work, but I have my health and have a job. My house is small but the space is big enough for me and a guest. I also have a nice roof view of the community. Now I am living here alone but sometimes I have volunteers who help out here in the favela and they stay with me. Every morning I wake up and say a big hello to the favela and when I go to sleep I tell the community, good night. This keeps me connected to the favela and reminds me to always be humble and appreciate the things I have, not the things I do not.

My favela has about 300.000 people living here in 800 square meters of area. Rocinha is very crowded place and noisy. The place never sleeps. There is constant activity here. Since 1997 people have rights to their houses so many people are now making improvements on their houses. With the government project and personal home improvements, construction is going on almost everywhere here. One of my neighbors in one week built and second floor on to his house. I was amazed that he did this with only one other person helping him. This is the way in the favela.

Rocinha is really a city inside the city of Rio de Janeiro. We have about 55.000 houses here. Favelas are starting to be integrated with the rest of the city. Just five years ago, you would never see favela communities on city maps. It was as if we did not exists. Strange considering that about 1 in every 3 people in Rio de Janeiro lives in a favela now. Close to 2 million people live in favelas.

We have two bus routes that go through the favela on our one main street that starts at the bottom in Sao Conrado and goes up the hill to the other side which is Gavea. One bus route (#546) goes to Leblon, the other (#592) goes to Leme which is close to Copacabana. There is also kombi vans that go to Leme (#593) and Botofogo (#592) as well and the mototaxis that serve the favela for 2 reais. Transport here runs all night and it is very easy to get anywhere in the South Zone of Rio.

Many days when I am not working, I just take walks through the community just to remind me how lucky I am to live here and have my family and friends. Today I decided to walk on Rua 1 or first street which is a beco (alleyway) that cuts across the top of the favela and runs down the right side of the hill. And ends at the bottom in Raiz which is a area in Rocinha. I met so many friends today and becase I was not working, it was nice to have the time to stop and talk to many people.

It really hurts me when people think that I live in a bad place. Or they think favela life is all misery. This is not true. Of corse you will always have people who do not have such a good life. As I said before, life is never perfect but if you were to ask the people here if they had the choice to leave, would they? Probably 90% prefer to stay here. This life here is all I really know. How could I move? Where would I move to? How would I live? How would I make friends? How would the people on the outside treat me? So many fears I would have to leave here.

Becase of our situation living in favelas, we experience much prejudice here in Rio. Many people who live in the formal city think favelados (people who live in favelas) are all criminals and uneducated. I am a favelado only becase I live in a favela, and I am not a criminal and I have some education. This is one reason that I do not like to leave the favela. I feel safe here. I never have troubles here becase everybody knows the rules. To the outsider the favela looks like a place of caos and confusion but there is more organization than people think.

We have a community government which is like a liason to the outside world. It is called a residents association which represents the right for all who live in the favela. If there is a serious problem that we in the favela can not solve, then we can ask the residents association to ask for help to the city of Rio. Our RA was formed in 1961 so it has been established here in Rocinha for a long time.

My life is pretty simple, I am a guide here who brings visitors in to see my community. I help educate them about the realities of life of living in the favela. I dispel myths that the media has brainwashed into the minds of both the brazilian people and the foreign media. I show them that the favela is so much more than crime and drugs like the news says. We have so many good things going on here too. The outside world needs to know what life is like inside a favela from WE who LIVE there!

I can say proudly that I like my life here and I have no plans to leave. Even if I was to win the lottery I would not leave here. I love my life here. Sou favelado com muito orgulho.

The favela is me and I am the favela!!

Sou Favelado Blog

So one of my friends Anwar (foto of him to the left) has decided to write about his experience of living in Rio's favelas. He just started his Blog today and will add more information as time goes on. He is still learning how to navigate his Blog.

I think it is VERY IMPORTANT for him to let people know about his experiences in Parada de Lucas, Chapeu Mangueira and other favelas that he had chance to stay and work in. He has embraced favela culture 100% and has made many friends there.

He plans to move back to Rio sometime near the beginning of the new year. His plans are to move to Vidigal favela on the other side of the hill from Rocinha. He plans to work in some capacity with filmaking, possibly with "Nos do Morro", a non profit that helps favela kids in the arts. If you are not from Brazil and have stayed or lived in a favela he wants to hear from you..

his Blog is: http://favelado.wordpress.com

Make sure to tell him Zezinho sent you!

:)

How Outsiders can have a profitable business inside the favela

I have received many emails about this subject. There are many foreigners who see the favela as a oportunity to earn a lot of money but it is not that easy. I have friends in many part of the world who want to do this. The only real way to do this without much politicing is to LIVE here in the comunity.

With the whole favela tour business going on, some of the residents are now realizing what is going on. The majority if not all the tour operators live outside of the comunity, yet they make their money HERE off the backs of we who live here. Some give back a small amount into the comunity, but not enough to really change things or make a big diference in the lives of favela people. People in the favela are seeing outsiders now trying to take advantage at the expense of people who live here.

I will tell foreigners this, before deciding on opening up a comercial enterprise, it is best to come visit the comunity for one month and see if you like it here. Visiting the place is very diferent from living in the favela. You need to see how life works here and how people interact. After your one month then you can make the choise of you think is right to open a business here in Rocinha (or any other favela).

The mention of a hostel has come up several times by people I know. I have been thinking of this too becase I have so many friends all over the world who want come and stay in the favela. A hostel would work, but really depends on where it is located in the comunity as there are certain areas I would not want visitors to stay in Rocinha. The visitors as well, you would have to trust, would need be on their best behavior, which means NO ILLEGAL ACTIVITY..people from the outside do not know but the police will target foreigners leaving favela comunites assuming they bought drugs there. When you live there it is ok to enjoy the culture and people, but stay away from bad influences.

The kind of business matters to becase, to be honest Rocinha, does not need another bar opening up. We already have enough of them..A night club maybe, but a bar, no! This is why living in the comunity for a month you can do research and find out what the comunity wants or needs. If you want a business that is sucessful, find out what will sell....talk to the people about their needs and wants!

The first thing to think of is how will your business be a benefit to the comunity. Remember as a foreigner, the favela is not your home. We are to a degree very protective of our own. This comes from a history of having to do everything ourselves and not relying on the goverment to give us anything. So, of course we will look out after our own interests to benefit our comunity first. This does not mean it cannot be done. But you will be scrutinized as to your intentions in the favela.

What advise I tell these people is be prepared to contribute something to the comunity. The favela doesnt take well to people using the comunity without contributing "something" back to help the favela. So, when you think about your idea, keep in the back of your mind how you can make money but also give a small portion of your profits to a NGO or scholarship fund for kids etc..If you do this, forever you will be welcomed as a member of the comunity. If you only think of YOURSELF, you will not last long here in Rocinha.

I live here and am born and raise here and I contribute. Not a lot becase right now I do not earn a lot and people know me and my intentions. But for me right now, helping other favelados is a big plus for me showing that I do not think only about myself.

I could go into more details here but I think people understand what I am talking about.

My Rant

Another form of Exploitation

*** A note about tours, yes I make tours but anyone who knows me or has seen my website know exactly what I do.

I often receive emails like this:

"I am doing a project to study (fill in the blank) and I am interested to learn more about the community. I am not interested in a tour but would like to come to your favela and meet and talk to the people about (fill in the blank). I want to see what the life is like there"

I realize that there is much interest about favelas, first because of the glorifying TV or Films that show all the violence, drugs and bad things. Movies like "City of God" make favelas seem like hell. The second being that the favelas are independant of formal goverment control. And of course how favela comunities exist and have been able to create their own comunities is a curiosity for foreigners.

***Interesting to note, is that for ALL the research people have done about favelas, little has been done to change conditions there. I wonder why that is? Many books have been written about the people, Social problems, lack of healthcare, education, architecture, anthropology etc..but still the favela has not made drastic changes..

Now its a good thing that people want to help educate and learn about our comunities, but again you need realize people here are poor and NEED money just like you. People in favelas will never have the chance like you, the foreigner, to get on a plane and visit your country. In favelas 95% of the population has never travelled outside their state never mind travelled on a plane. You are blessed that you live in a country with out "Favelas", you may have poor areas, but nothing compared to favelas, and I am talking about North American and the majority of Europe. Unforunately there is no upward mobility for favelados unless you are a famose futebol player or singer. In Reality 99% of favela residents who live here will never be able to leave here and will die here.

What I am getting at here is, you have the available resources to come visit Brazil, you WANT something from a POOR area, to complete YOUR projet, but what are you willing to do to help the comunity you are TAKING from? I have given many people free tours of the comunity, but the majority have given something to the comunity. Most come to volunteer, others donate clothing or school supplies to NGO's and I support this 100%. Our comunities need help and so many people think it is ok to take advantage.

But for the University student from the modern western world (where running water and eletricity are certainly not a problem to receive), who expects me to drop everything for them, including pass up work (which I need) to service them, I am tired of this. I feel I am being taken advantage of. I live in the favela, becase I can not afford to move out. You the foreign student, although you may not be rich, somehow got the money to get airfare, hotel, hostel or place to stay "outside of a favela" (if you were staying inside the favela, I would be more sympatetic), you have plenty of food, clean cloths etc...and you can not afford 60$reais (about 30$US) to come learn about the comunity, meet with the locals ect for 5 hours???? It would be diferent if I was NOT a guide here in the comunity but had a totally diferent job doing something else. But some of you are expecting me to do MY JOB for FREE. Just like YOU, I NEED to work to eat too! So, PLEASE respect my right to earn a honest living...

Ok here is example for those of you who still may not understand. I have a friend who works doing websites. This is his JOB! All day he makes websites. When he comes home from work, the last thing he wants to think about is websites. Do you think it fair for me to expect him to make a website for free for me, just becase we are Friends??? I do not expect him to do for free becase this is his JOB and I RESPECT his way he makes his living..It would be selfish of me to expect this of him..and unfair. He has value and his work has value. So, If i respect him, I need pay him for his work.

So, for all of you out there who expect to want information by coming/visiting to the comunity, if you want it, PLEASE contribute to the comunity in some way, volunteer, give something back, and people in the comunity will be more than happy to help you with your projet. But to come in and expect everybody to service YOUR wants, is not the way to go.

Think of this when you email me that like you, I have a job and if I do not work, I do not eat or pay my rent. It is that simple!

Somebody who emails me wanting information about my comunity, I have NO problem responding, becase I can respond "When I have time", but to take the time to show somebody around, bring them in the favela, then escort them out etc..this is very time consumming. This is why I am a guide becase if I am earning money doing this, I can provide for my family and provide a great service to my guests. If my work is valued, I am happy. Like everybody on the planet, I am trying to contribute my small part to help my comunity of Rocinha!

ok I think I said enough!

Rant over. I feel better now..

:)

Tchau, tchau, maiow!

Bruno Borges: Classism and Prejudice courtesy of the Brazilian middle class!

I vote this guy...idiot of the day!

Read this passage below written by Bruno Borges a 26 year old resident of Rio and his opinion of favela residents. His comments were posted on couchsurfing.com website which is a website that supposedly supports anti discrimination written material! We were discussing foreigners and their wanting to visit favela comunities.

I am going to pick apart what he say and why I have a problem with his statements. His comments are in bold smaller print.

Bruno: "I'd say that: it's not a rule that anyone who lives in a Favela is a criminal, rather most criminals live in Favelas. Why? Because the way they are. Disorganized, out of control and geographically well positioned."

Yet he fails to mention that the "so called criminals" are tightly joined at the hip with the corrupt police forces and politicians that control the very city he lives! We all agree that the drug dealing criminals certainly make favelas dangerous places to be if you do not know somebody there or being there for some purpose. Nobody likes the drug situation, but as I have said so many times..if there were not buyers, the sellers (traficante) would not exist! So, my blame is put on the users. I am not perfect, but I am not into drugs of any kind, even if I have headache.. And regarding drugs, so I wonder what Bruno thinks of the drugs that are peddled in the nightclubs outside of the favelas. I had a guy try to sell me Acid and "E" (ecstacy) outside a club in Botafogo and this guy was not "some guy from the favela."

Bruno: "I do not suggest people to go to a Favela because poor people live in there and because I think this would look like going to a zoo - even this thoughts come to my mind - but yes, I do not suggest simply because, there are criminals living in there, and at any day, any time, a war between dealers and cops, or dealers and dealers, can suddenly start. And from this situation, there's nothing you can do except hide and pray for not being hit by a bullet."

It's obvious that this guy has no idea what he talks about. He assumes only POOR people live there. Yes, the majority may be poor, but more middle class are moving to favelas becase rents in their own comunities are too much. Also how do we define "poor"? There is Africa "I havent eaten in a week and have no clothes" poor, then there is how we in favelas live. Yes, it is poor but nobody is "starving"! And what... nobody should go there, just because there is poor people. Bruno, then what do you think of the varios non profits that go there to help the people. They should not go there either?

He also mentions that "there are criminals living in there", does he really think favelas are the only places criminals live?? You know Bruno, I live there and I am NOT a criminal..Of course there are criminals that live there just as there are criminals who live outside of favelas too! It is a bigger subject matter in trying to determine why "people become criminals?" That is a question that is left to sociologists, but I can tell you that, in general, when people are not given "equal" oportunity in education, job oportunities, healthcare etc..many do become criminals. Is it right? Of course, NOT, but it is reality. If I am some 18 year old from a poor comunity who is not given equal oportunity in the job force, eventually I may turn to crime to survive. I in no way condone crime of any kind,but I am not living in the shoes of somebody who makes that choice,

so I cannot judge.

Although "invasions of cops or dealers do happen", how about the "arrastao" or the robberies and such that happen all the time in Copa or other tourist areas in Rio. And Rio is not the only place that has this problem. My best friend was pickpocketed in Rome, Italy. One of my martial arts students was beat up and robbed in Paris by three guys, so this kind of crimes can and do happen everywhere. Sad but true.

Bruno: "Please, don't get me wrong here as it follows.
The Amazon is a cool place. Lots of people live in there. Lots of tourists go there too. But I would not suggest a walk in the middle of the jungle, as it is not safe just as a Favela isn't. The "tour" sounds like the same. A guide takes you to dangerous areas, risky areas, but they tell you they will protect you, will overlook for you. But this is not always true. Warm situations turns people into savages, and their first instinct is to regard for themselves. What does this means? Watch your back."

So now he go on his writing about comparing the Amazon Jungle to the favela. This is where I have a BIG problem. Becase he is comparing people of the favela to animals. I have never heard of ANY tourist visiting a favela being killed or hurt in any way. So, again he has no idea what he is talking about!

Bruno: "The people who live in the Amazon are like the average people who live in a Favela. Cool people, honest, but as in a Favela, the jungle has a higher concentration of dangerous animals that won't miss an opportunity to hit your back if they think they need to. Animals will attack if they must, if they feel alarmed and if they feel ... hungry."

Sounds passive agressive to me..he says the people are cool, honest but then goes on to again mention the comparison of people to animals in a jungle. I find this offensive. HELLO! BRUNO...I LIVE IN A FAVELA and I am NOT an ANIMAL!!! Its obvious this guy has never travelled and seen anything more than his protected middle class life.

Bruno: "As in a Favela, animals from the jungle can surprisingly act weird. People from the Amazon will warn you about how dangerous can be to walk around in the middle of the jungle. They will tell you to not go just to "take pictures" and "to know how does it feels". They will ask you: "do you REALLY NEED to go there?!".

More of his rant of favela=animals in jungle stuff and how "People" can act weird..bla bla bla..

Bruno: "For me, who wasn't born in the middle of the jungle, I'd think twice, or even more times, before going there just to "walk around and get to know the place". I don't need, I don't want to know a Favela. My curiosity in favour of that is the same as about the Amazon jungle. None."

Ok here he is just saying his opinion of not having a desire to go there, ok, no prob there. But the fact that he still is using the word jungle when we all know he is referring to the favela does show his discrimination against the favela and its residents. So by his not wanting to "know a favela", he will never be open to changing his idea that there are good people there too. His mind will be stuck forever thinking the same way..sad! Maybe is he got to know some of the people there, he would then realize that the people there are not ALL criminals. I consider myself a good person who lives a honest life, I do not drink alcohol and never use drugs. So, I take his remark in not wanting to "know a favela", that he would have no interest in knowing me.

Bruno: "Just for a thought: ask a Yankee who was born in Manhattan, if he would take you to walk around the Brooklyn, or Bronx."

Here he mentions not only the word "Yankee", which is offensive to any American, but includes

places he has never been as an example of prejudice too. I wonder what the people of the Bronx or Brooklyn would think of this guy prejudice against their neighborhood? I have been to the Bronx and Brooklyn and I am sure there are areas that are more sketchy than others, I never felt fears when I was there.

Bruno: "To conclude my opinion, I'd like to ask people who live in a Favela, specially for those who were born at: if you were born at somewhere else, would you really take someone to a Favela Tour?
Zezinho, I honestly think you are happy living in there, and I'm glad you feel that way. For all the people that think like you, I feel happy. And I respect that. I truly do. Again, don't get me wrong here. If you think you got the wrong idea, please reread this whole text over and over. But just consider others' opinion as most of us consider yours."

Dude, you wrote offensive, bigoted, prejudiced comments about people and places that you have even said that you have never been and have no interest in knowing! This is the place I live and you just made it sound like I am in a jungle which I feel I am NOT. And that everybody around me is like somebody waiting to kill somebody..Then you try to be all passive with me after equating my neighborhood to being a jungle full of wild animals just waiting to attack.

This guy is an ignorant and as long as this attitude persists, racism, prejudice and bigotry will continue to keep Brazil a third world country!

I think the thing that is more upsetting to me is not so much this guys attitude (I think amoung the Brazilian Middle class this is so common) but that Couchsurfing would allow this kind of prejudice to be posted publically especially in this day and age.