LANGUAGE OF ONE P.XXI: CITY OF GOD P.1

"MANY RIVERS TO CROSS"-


THE HON. JIMMY CLIFF OM

"Favelas are complex and vibrant communities. To illustrate, Rio's legendary samba schools were almost all born and raised in favelas. The problems are equally very complex. Most favelas have some drug lord that runs a boca de fumo where they openly sell drugs. When they battle for territory stray bullets always make victims. The police is also sometimes part of the problem, and reports of brutality are not uncommon."-

impanema.com

Brazil: Portuguese: Brasil, IPA: [bɾaˈziw]), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil. A country in the contintent of south america a world apart from the states; but a high percentage share the same cup of poverty as those who do in the global community.

Ricardo (not his real name) lives in Rocinha, one of the biggest favelas in Rio de Janeiro, situated near the well-know tourist area of Copacabana.
We're all hostages of violence and the criminals who rule the favelas.

"Violence is a topic of conversation everywhere, in bars and on the streets. It's impossible not to talk about it or fear it.

-A term i like to use: "The culture of poverty". According to a recent 2007 article, and recent reports the share of the corruption doesnt only belong to the drug lords, but to law enforcement.

We see the news of violence in the Alemao favela and it makes people angry, because we know many of the people who die in the conflicts are reported as being criminals, but we know they are not. "

For decades Rio de Janeiro's favelas, or slums, have been lawless enclaves controlled by gangsters and corrupt police. In recent years, however, the government has begun implementing an innovative community-policing strategy to assert the state's power over them. -

Economist.com

-The culture of Rio's slums reflects the same of the poor, or slums in countries like Bolivia, Colombia, Africa, and worldwide. Some of the above examples are obvious casualties of war. In my studies of slums as San Paulo, and most slums, it struck me to understand that it is a crime to be poor; and birth's or death's arent recorded there. Part of the relief is many grassroots organizations in america that help many people in the favela's, and supply everything from food, clothing medicare and education to the children. One element thats is just as imperative to implement: culture, and the power of music.

In a world of hills and valley's of social ills and tragedy, hope streams in many forms. The face of the favela's reflect the struggle of many, a plight of survival to many degrees from within its inhabitants, a learning experience and eye opener to the rest of the world. In all regards, the face of a generation struggling for better resolve in any troubled community.

THEE URBANPRIESTHOOD GROUP LLC 2011