A two-day event hosted by the Mills International Center allows students and others to come and experience the culture of Brazil while becoming more aware of the many problems facing the country.
Portuguese instructor Simone Da Silva, a native Brazilian, said Brazil is one of the most populated and geographically large countries in the world. “Brazil is divided into five regions, but those five regions are like five different and distinct countries themselves,” Da Silva said.
On Thursday, students gathered at Brazil Day to watch the film “Cidade dos Homens”, or City of Men, about life in one of Rio’s notorious shanty towns. Called favelas, these communities are riddled with crime and poverty and often run by drug traffickers. The kids who live there often turn to drug trafficking when no other educational opportunities or jobs present themselves.
“The big irony is that a lot of the drug dealers sell to the rich people,” University senior Sherri Van Ravenhorst said. “It goes straight over the fence to them or is exported out to the United States.”
Fast Facts
Where: | Mills International Center, EMU |
When: | Friday at noon – a study abroad and volunteer session. Learn what other students have accomplished in Brazil, including teaching English to kids in the favelas and working with non-governmental organizations such as health care. 2:30 to 4 p.m. – Brazilian dance workshop, Bumba Meu-Boi, Forro, and Samba rhythm styles |
Da Silva added, “I’ve heard people say there’s no solution for the favelas, that we should just burn everything. But we need to try to understand why they are poor, why they don’t have an education.”
Assistant Professor of Political Science Anna Gruben said she has been to Brazil and seen the way the favelas operate within the larger society. “Brazil is one of the most unequal countries in the world,” she said. “To see the juxtaposition of the wealth in these cities with the favela really does shed light on the whole issue of poverty.”
Brazil’s diverse population and culture is segregated economically, with the vast majority of those living in the favelas being of African descent.
Later on Thursday, second-year Portuguese students presented on topics relevant to Brazil such as deforestation of the Amazon Rain Forest, the current government headed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and providing education in poor and underprivileged areas.
Da Silva said one of her goals when taking part in an event like this is to challenge stereotypes.
“A lot of foreigners, when hey come to Brazil, are presented with that equation of the carnival, the beaches, the drinking, tropical happiness and the beautiful women,” she said. “I want to break this image and start from scratch, to understand the country beyond those stereotypes.”
[email protected]