OUR PARADISE, THEIR INFERNO
Rio de Janeiro has been one of the top exotic destinations picked by people all over the world, for many years now. Known internationally as a sports center in the world of sports, they hosted the 2014 World Cup Games and the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics games of 2016. Its white sand beaches and the memorial monumental structures have become some of their most iconic tourist attractions. However, one should ask themselves if behind all of their superficial beauty, there’s something else the eyes cannot see at first glance.
With a population of more than two hundred million people, Brazil is the world’s fifth’s largest country both by area and population and more than ten million are said to live in the famous Favelas, urban areas that carry very little basic human conditions to live in. Even though these are over populated areas, they continue to appear and spread out even more throughout the cities of Brazil. The ones in Rio de Janeiro carry more than 22% of the country population. These urban areas are far from being developed areas that can provide the basic human necessities for one to live there.
They call these tours one of the biggest attractions, a must-do when you visit the country and more precisely, the city. In the Favelas, sanitation is often a big issue - more than 65% of the people living there have no access to clean water to cook or wash.
The country managed to convert poverty into a tourist commodity at a global scale but some might argue that this is not just a good thing for the city itself and the country but also for the people who live in the Favelas. If the tourists come and visit, and if on top of that they pay to do so, money is being directed towards helping these people and their living conditions. Some might also say it’s a great opportunity for the people to do business - to sell things, souvenirs of some sort, in markets or small stools. However, if that was the case and the money earned from this type of tourism was being used towards these people, how come nothing seems to change in the Favelas?
The people continue to struggle, the kids continue to play their games with no shoes on, the mothers continue to count their coins every day because they have very little to spend and the streets are still unsafe. An exotic destination for most of the people around the globe, Rio de Janeiro and Brazil, a paradise for some, but a complete inferno for others.