Bandits
Holidays photos by Kate
See? Told you so. I think we can all learn something from this photograph. I mean this effectively redefines the holiday snap. Not Like those God-forsaken, “Me-blocking-out-the-view-with-myself” abominations. So you think you’re as spectacular as the Great Wall Of The Taj Ma-Pichu do you? No? Then why the hell are you stood in front of it on EVERY PHOTO? Anyway, this is from my babygirl Kate in Rio, hanging in Rocinha favela with her Brazilan Ragamuffins. Thank you Kate for giving me a legit reason never to tolerate another dull as fudge holiday album ever again. And for reminding me how truly amazing a word ragamuffin is.
(And this is a shout to my friends , loved ones and all the people of Rio - especially the homeless - caught up in the deadly storms. Nearly 100 dead in the cidade maravilhosa. My prayers are with you.)
Beijos & fica bom everyone (: (
(Sasha)
Dark Days On The Hill…
Not happy days on the hill unfortunately. Seems the police elite squad are gonna be doing a sustained attack here in Vidigal, which makes me feel warm and tingley for all the wrong reasons. The second BOPE (elite squad) tank rolled in today and left a few hours alter which probably means they’re figuring the best attack route. Cant imagine they came in for afternoon tea if you know what Im saying. Its weird because I’ve done a little research and I know the BOPE ( pronounced bopee) are a Government arm, are subordinate to the civil police - of whom they take no notice of anyway- and are actually a made up of officers who refused to partake in the usual ritual of killing a street kid on order to be part of the normal military. But don’t let that fool you into thinking they are somehow more compassionate. Check out their logo! I mean what kind of Government allows their military to be represented by that? And the fact is they’re going up there to try and kill teenagers and young men involved in the trafficking often out of the fact they are given little options. I interviewed a bandit from Vidigal only last week. He was smart, polite, a real gentleman and full of regret about cretain decisions he had made in his life, yet holding true to the opinion that it was either this life, or end up with nothing -
just another young black guy from a slum who never had a chance. Now, I`m not condoning violence, never have and never will but the fact that the police are came in two days ago and are coming again to tray and kill this man devastates me. I`m praying for his life. Anyway, Brazil is perhaps the one place on earth where you could actually wax lyrical about the virtues of crime, and on that note I’m posting Dead Prez because sometimes people genuinely need crime to get by… c’est la vie.
Beijos! (Sasha)
