{"id":24042,"date":"2015-08-26T09:36:37","date_gmt":"2015-08-26T12:36:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=24042"},"modified":"2015-08-28T16:08:29","modified_gmt":"2015-08-28T19:08:29","slug":"everything-is-wrong-protesters-in-complexo-do-alemao-march-against-escalating-violence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=24042","title":{"rendered":"“Everything is Wrong!” Protesters in Complexo do Alem\u00e3o March Against Escalating Violence"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas\"PT\"<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

On Saturday August 22, almost\u00a0100 community members and journalists gathered in a peaceful protest<\/a> against escalating police violence in Complexo do Alem\u00e3o<\/a>. Alem\u00e3o, one of Rio\u2019s largest complexes of favelas, located in the North Zone<\/a>, has been the scene of\u00a0shootings on 81% of days this year<\/a>, resulting in a total of 21 deaths, a spike from previous years. This particular gathering was the first of four planned protests over the next month, organized by community action group Coletivo Papo Reto<\/a>. Protesters demanded tangible\u00a0action to change the constant fear and insecurity they feel at all hours in Alem\u00e3o, where stray bullets do not discriminate<\/a> between young and old, innocent or otherwise. The chant \u201cT\u00e1 tudo errado,\u201d meaning \u201cEverything is wrong,\u201d galvanized protesters and united them in the fight for liberty and a safer Alem\u00e3o.<\/p>\n

The protest began with a powerful speech by Coletivo Papo Reto leader, Raull Santiago<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cToday we launch\u00a0a movement in Complexo do Alem\u00e3o, a movement that represents the beginning of resistance and struggle for our lives. Talk of peace no longer fits within our reality. Today, we are not here asking for peace. \u2018Peace\u2019 will become a word that is no longer a part of our vocabulary because since the beginning of the year, we have come to believe that peace is the same as war. That peace is the ‘thing’ that feeds war, ‘peace’ is what makes us fear within our own community. If liberty to live is what we need, then that will be our war\u2014for the liberty to live within our own community, our own reality, and our everyday lives.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

After his speech, other community members took the megaphone and had the opportunity to say what they thought was wrong in the community.<\/p>\n

\"Resident<\/a><\/p>\n

Throughout the march, community members constantly questioned the meaning of \u2018peace.\u2019 \u201cHow can I believe in peace? This is the \u2018peace\u2019 the government has brought to Alem\u00e3o,\u201d Santiago said, referring to the constant violence and death<\/a> that has been\u00a0a part of their lives through\u00a0the tenure\u00a0of the community’s\u00a0Pacifying Police Units (UPPs)<\/a>. The UPPs have been the State government’s primary policy for trying to bring about peace in select favelas. Many protesters on Saturday were clothed in black, a direct contrast to a\u00a0recent protest in early April<\/a> in which they called for peace and wore all white. \u201cPeace is war and war is peace… today we are not fighting for peace, we are fighting for liberty, for the right to live,\u201d said Santiago to the crowd.<\/p>\n

While the energized and emotional speakers drew a growing crowd, young families gathered in the shade, painting on large white sheets and drawing signs to carry during the walk around the favela. Enrique, age 7, knelt with red paint, writing the words \u201cN\u00e3o matem nossos filhos!\u201d\u2014\u201cDon\u2019t kill our children!\u201d Red paint was also smeared on white shirts, symbolically representing the blood shed by friends and family<\/a> in the violence plaguing the complex. Enrique\u2019s grandmother, Marilene Valadares, handed him more paint as she discussed why she felt \u2018everything is wrong.\u2019 \u201cIn Complexo do Alem\u00e3o, every day we have more violence. Instead of things getting better, everything is just getting worse. Every day is filled with sadness\u2014you no longer see joy in Alem\u00e3o.\u201d<\/p>\n

\""We<\/a><\/p>\n

Following the speeches,the group moved out of Alem\u00e3o’s Grota entrance and began the slow march to the UPP headquarters. Traffic slowed to the speed of the march and about twenty UPP officers surrounded the crowd from a short distance, with a police truck and bus taking up the rear. The children carrying signs led\u00a0the pack, while Raull walked backwards rallying the community through the megaphone. \u201cWe have a mission to be heard today. And we will continue to walk down our road, in the favela we have lived our whole lives.\u201d Many times during the walk, protesters sang along to Rap da Felicidade (by Cidinho)<\/a>: \u201cI just want to be happy\/ To walk in peace in the favela where I was born.\u201d Some held signs reading: \u201cWho will be the next victim? Enough!\u201d; \u201cOur fight is for life\u201d; and \u201cOur homes are not shielded.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Boy<\/a><\/p>\n

Upon reaching the barbed wire entrance of the UPP compound, signs and posters were weaved into the fence and laid at the feet of UPP officers themselves. Mothers<\/a> left school books on mathematics, literature, and handwriting, echoing the posters that read: \u201cWe do not need rifles. We need health and education.\u201d Protesters lit candles and placed them behind a black paper sign reading \u201cPeace?\u201d Red droplets of paint fell over the letters, signifying the blood that had\u00a0resulted\u00a0from the government\u2019s \u201cpeace.” The crowd knelt for a short prayer, remembering the names of those murdered so far in 2015.<\/p>\n

\"Paz?<\/a><\/p>\n

This march is just the beginning of what Complexo do Alem\u00e3o residents hope will be a big movement for change in the community. \u201cComplexo do Alem\u00e3o is bleeding every day,\u201d Rafael Calazans, another vocal member of the community said on Saturday. \u201cWe have to speak, we can no longer remain silent.\u201d The second #T\u00e1TudoErrado event will be a walk through Alem\u00e3o\u00a0on Saturday August 29, followed by a vigil and cultural event on the next\u00a0weekend, September 5-6.<\/p>\n

Watch a video produced by Coletivo Papo Reto<\/a> with highlights of the protest and see more images below.<\/h3>\n

\"Complexo<\/a>