Berkley Center

After a recommendation from a friend, I recently watched Bus 174, a documentary about a public bus held hostage by a man in Rio de Janeiro in 2000, a news story that made headlines across the country. The documentary has real footage of the incident, including recordings from traffic and news cameras. However, during the whole incident, the man responsible was just considered a criminal and nothing more. But this particular documentary tells the background story of the situation and investigates the life of this 22 year-old Rio native that was held responsible. Often times, we think common criminals are nothing more than criminals, but how often do we stop to talk them, ask them why they do what they do, where did they come from, etc. After all, they are human like everyone else, and like everyone else they have a story. Not only does the documentary depict the life of this man and the hostage situation, but also it revealed one of the biggest embarrassments for one of the most corrupted law enforcement groups in the developing world. It revealed that there are often problems on both sides of the spectrum.

I am lucky that I get to experience a part of Brazil that many people do not get the chance to. Through my internship at Fiocruz, I get to witness the “other side” and talk to people who do not always live the most ideal lives; the ones that live far away from the scenes depicted in movies and travel magazines. One of my fellow interns grew up in one of Rio’s favelas and often provides details and insight. Recently, the government has forced many people out of their homes in order to build structures for the upcoming World Cup and Olympics, but more often than not, these people only receive a fraction of what they should or are relocated to housing complexes in inconvenient places as I have seen. She revealed other stories that revealed Brazil as a corrupt place, where those in power victimize the innocent, and where the poor have no room to escape.

In a discussion with a doctor whom I work under, she revealed to me the drug problem within the low-income communities. It’s a vicious cycle that traps children at a young age, promising a life of companionship and money, much more than many receive in their own families. The sad truth is that these drug rings often survive because of policemen who work for the drug lords and feed the cycle. The government pays policemen horrible wages, forcing them to use their power to seek other sources of income. Why don’t people stand up to them, the police and the government? In Brazil, it could land you in jail, the last place you want to be. In my opinion, the way the police force handles criminals of petty crimes and street kids is inevitably leading to an increased number of violent criminals, giving way to the violent reputation of not only Brazil, but other South American countries.

For the first time, Bus 174 presented to the world a system that was in desperate need of change. Today, Rio’s crime rates sit at the lowest it has been in 20 years. Of course it is still bad, but the curve is still positive. Personally, there have been very few times that I have felt unsafe in Rio. I credit that to my well-rounded experience that I have had here and the amazing people I have met. But still, the documentary and these countless conversations leave me feeling a little helpless, as it exposed the egregious social, political, and economic problems. Things are being done to make this country a more safe place but for the wrong reasons, a huge motivation being that they will soon be placed on a pedestal for the world to see. All in all, I am eager, and a little nervous, to see what the next few years will bring to this city, this country, and its people.