Favelas of Rio

My intrigue of the favelas goes way back to a Geography in secondary school. I was obviously shocked by the poverty but also found the structures really very interesting- these utilitarian buildings built on top of one another in an unplanned way.

While in Rio i decided to take a favela tour to try and understand more about these communities and the realities of life within them. We started our tour in the Rocinha favela which is the largest and most notorious in Rio.

The favelas originally came about in 1880 when slavery was abolished, the slaves needed somewhere to live and so began building communities up the hillsides of the city. The government just let it happen because otherwise they would have to find some other way of dealing with these people. Over time the favelas have grown and now there are over 740 in Rio alone.

The Rocinha favela has an official population of 70,000 but it is thought that the actual size is three times that much. Contrary to popular belief only around 2% of the inhabitants are involved with the drugs and gangs- the majority are just trying to live their lives. It is a place where gang warfare rules and no one will step out of line for fear of reprisal. The favela only has 1 main road and 3 streets- access to most of the housing is through tiny alleyways weaving in and out, up and down- i cannot imagine what it would be like to have to navigate yourself through these alleys. It has no secondary school, only 3 primary schools and no hospital- the children will attend school for six years maximum.

On entering the favela i did not feel scared, partly because i was with a group, but also because it was obvious that this was a community. A place where people stop and chat on the street corner, who despite their standard of living still have a sense of pride for their place. The buildings can be anything from a rudimentary structure of wood and tin to a substantially built block. The inhabitants do not pay electricity because no one would be able to read the meters. We were told that allot of the inhabitants that could afford to move out of the favela decide not to because this is where their family is, this is where their friends are and also perhaps because they don't have to pay for electricity!

We then visited a second favela, which is part of a programme to improve the lives of the inhabitants of the favelas. This one is smaller, it has a primary school where which does not close and the children can stay all day if they wish. This is called Para- Ti school. In this community the properties are metered and so paying for their electricity makes them feel they are contributing to the city. Although there is not a gang presence within this favela they are still ruled by whatever gang is in charge at that time. The favelas hold 20% of Rio´s population. On the tourist maps the favelas are not even shown, which for one thing is insulting to them and from another point of view it is dangerous because a tourist could quite easily walk into one by accident. These communities are quite often next to extremely affluent areas.

I am aware that this all be quite a naive view. I have learned of the dangers involved with these gangs and was thinking about when there may be a gang war and how horrendous it must be for the inhabitants of the favelas. It is quite shocking that inside the favelas robbings and muggings are unheard of (the gangs look on this harshly) whereas outside the favelas robbings and muggings are extremely common place. In fact 3 people in our hostel were mugged during our three day stay which is quite shocking and certainly means you are constantly on your guard. Rio is undoubtedly a dangerous city and we left feeling really quite exhausted.

The buildings are very interesting, most favelas are built on the hillsides so some have stilts, others are built into the hill but all are built out of need and so are devoid of any decoration.