{"id":27037,"date":"2016-02-23T17:19:23","date_gmt":"2016-02-23T20:19:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=27037"},"modified":"2023-08-23T12:21:09","modified_gmt":"2023-08-23T15:21:09","slug":"candomble-practictioner-in-vila-autodromo-has-received-death-threats-to-open-the-way-for-2016-olympics-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=27037","title":{"rendered":"Candombl\u00e9 Priestess in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo Received Death Threats to Make Way for 2016 Olympics"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

This is the second letter sent by Heloisa Helena Costa Berto<\/a> and published on RioOnWatch. Read her first letter, published on September 17, 2015, here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

I have spent the past month in a\u00a0state of shock, crying and feeling as if I have been living out of reality.<\/p>\n

On January 11 at 9:15am, I received a call. When I answered the phone I recognized the voice of Mrs. R, a lady that lived in my back patio area for a year. She said she’d been informed at the Sub-Mayor’s office\u00a0that I owed her R$55,000 and that I would have to pay her that amount no matter what. She added that they knew my address and the places I visited and she would send family members to come and kill me. I asked her “what family members?” She responded by saying that I already knew what her family was involved with.<\/p>\n

I began to shake and cry, because Mrs. R always spoke about her family that was part of the militia<\/a>. She ended the phone call by saying she would go back to the Sub-Mayor’s office. When I calmed down, I tried to call Mrs. Marli Pe\u00e7anha<\/a>, an employee of the Sub-Mayor’s\u00a0office.\u00a0I called several times but no one answered.<\/p>\n

I did what I thought would be best and called the Public Defenders Office<\/a>, and\u00a0then went to the city center to\u00a0meet with Dr. Jo\u00e3o and Dr. Adriana. I had to know what I could do because I never imagined I’d\u00a0be in such a situation. Even though they already knew many of the facts<\/a>, I told the story from the beginning.<\/p>\n

I preside over a spiritual center, the House of Nan\u00e3, and have been fighting for two years over the negotiation and relocation of my house<\/a>. I fight so that the rights of the residents of Vila Aut\u00f3dromo<\/a> who wish to stay are respected. This fight of mine has resulted in many confrontations with the Rio de Janeiro Sub-Mayor’s\u00a0office. I have been\u00a0humiliated, mistreated, and suffered religious prejudices<\/a> many times<\/a>. I have come to the point of experiencing a nervous breakdown while visiting the Sub-Mayor’s office\u00a0after many\u00a0humiliations by Municipal Attorney Marcelo Marques. I became depressed, bedridden and my chronic pains worsened.<\/p>\n

Despite all these problems, my desire for justice increased and I visited Bras\u00edlia with the help of Brother Davi Raimundo. There, I participated in a meeting with Mrs. Ritalzsak, rapporteur for the UN, as well as a meeting with the Senate and Senator Paulo Pain, the Tribunal Magistrate for the State of Rio de Janeiro Paulo Sergio Rangel, and others. While participating in a public hearing with the Senate Human Rights Commission<\/a>, presided over by Senator Cristovam Buarque, I gave my speech on defense of resettlement and\u00a0permanent residence in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo<\/a>. In recognition\u00a0of the fight we represented, I received the Pedro Ernesto\u00a0Award<\/a>, the most important honor\u00a0given by the Rio de Janeiro House of Representatives, as well as the Dandara medal<\/a>, given by the Rio de Janeiro Legislative Assembly.<\/p>\n

\"Burst<\/p>\n

The fight has always been hard\u00a0for those in\u00a0Vila Aut\u00f3dromo. We have suffered constant daily pressures<\/a>, frequently are left without electricity and water, the garbage service has been suspended, and the telephone lines practically never function. This also includes Internet and cable TV services: the companies suspended the service even though customers were up to date with payments. The mail service does not function normally either. Many services have been suspended<\/a>\u00a0because\u00a0companies have been informed\u00a0that there are\u00a0no longer people\u00a0living in the area. We live surrounded by craters that are flooded with rainwater and have became breeding holes for mosquitos. This along with the clearing\u00a0of the area all around the lagoon and removal of the community’s trees has left the community infested with mosquitos. We spent 40 years working to reforest the area; we planted rare trees like Ip\u00eas and Pau-Brasil. Now all of Vila Aut\u00f3dromo\u2019s trees have been removed and have turned to dust.<\/p>\n

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

The people that stay in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo and continue to defend the principle of unity among residents, defending one another as a family, are few because the mental wherewithal\u00a0necessary to endure all the humiliation<\/a> we suffer everyday is immense.<\/p>\n

I met Mr. M, husband of Mrs. R, through a neighbor. Mr. M was having some troubles at the time because he and his\u00a0family’s job was to look\u00a0after the house of his employer in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo, and his employer was negotiating with the City. Even though his family had been living in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo for a long time, they were left with nowhere to go. Mr. M received money from his boss to buy construction materials.<\/p>\n

He asked that I let him build\u00a0a small one-room house in my yard. Mr. M never gave\u00a0me any\u00a0money, instead there was the exchange of favors. I gave him the space and he did some building work\u00a0for me. I didn\u2019t know at the time that his wife had dangerous relatives.<\/p>\n

I remember the day Mrs. R\u2019s family was evicted from\u00a0their boss\u2019 house. It was a Sunday morning. Mrs. R came to me\u00a0crying and I received her with complete affection. I always tried to negotiate with the City and I still try to, because my main interest has always been to be resettled, which is a right I have according to the law.<\/p>\n

Every time I went to the Sub-Mayor’s office in Barra da Tijuca to demand my rights I did so both\u00a0for her and my daughter. I still have a\u00a0copy of the letter where I requested such an\u00a0agreement. In short, I asked for my own resettlement, an apartment for my daughter because she used to have a place independent from my own house, and an apartment for Mrs. R because she had nowhere to live.<\/p>\n

When the specialist showed up at my house she evaluated my home, the spiritual center, my daughter’s studio and the other studio apartments. According to the information that I got, they would get either the value stipulated with this evaluation or an apartment from the City. Mrs. R continuously said that she needed a place to live and her priority would be an apartment.<\/p>\n

I decided to accept the agreement, although I did not agree with it, because my house was located near the lagoon, and because the evaluation was done in relation to the property\u00a0and not the land, and according to the law I can be resettled in a social area in case I am removed from the edge of the lagoon.<\/p>\n

I was then put under pressure to leave, before even receiving anything, and before Mrs. R received her apartment. I have messages from\u00a0Mrs. Pe\u00e7anha\u00a0pressuring me to leave my house before the payment and before Mrs. R getting her apartment. I said very clearly through messages that I would only leave together with Mrs. R. Only then did Mrs. Pe\u00e7anha\u00a0make an appointment with Mrs. R. in order to choose the apartment.<\/p>\n

Immediately after this, Mrs. R heard there were people receiving both apartments and financial compensation. On the day Mrs. Pe\u00e7anha\u00a0agreed to hand over the key of the apartment to Mrs. R, she refused and said she would only leave with both an\u00a0apartment and money.<\/p>\n

I said I could fight for a roof for her, but that she\u00a0would have to fight for the money by herself. This is when she went to the Sub-Mayor’s office where they told her I had received her money. She called me on the same day with this information. I explained to her that\u00a0that would have been impossible because all payments were made\u00a0through addressed bank checks.<\/p>\n

I called the City government\u00a0and talked to an employee called Mrs. T. She told me that since I was defending Mrs. R, this amount was mine to pay out. Later, Mrs. R sent me a message asking for R$5,000. This is when I stopped answering her messages.<\/p>\n

The next day, a neighbor called and\u00a0urged me to come home because Mrs. R was moving out and the bulldozers were demolishing the back of my house. When I arrived, Mrs. R had already moved out and one of the walls of my spiritual center was already down. They said it was an accident.<\/p>\n

From this moment on, my children and I have been taking turns day and night to watch over the house, because we are now afraid of a sudden demolition<\/a>. This has already happened to three neighbors of ours. The wall that was demolished has not been rebuilt. At the moment my house is unsuitable for housing: due to the City\u2019s work, many walls in my house have cracks, there are leaks in all rooms, mold all over the house, doors that do not close, the kitchen ceiling is falling, and flooding has resulted from the landfilling of the street, putting my house on a lower level to the rest of the street.<\/p>\n

I was scared to go back home due to the death threat. I prohibited my kids from going there too.<\/p>\n

The next day I got messages from\u00a0Mrs. Pe\u00e7anha\u00a0citing Mrs R\u2019s relatives, but I was unable to talk to Mrs. Pe\u00e7anha. Later I received messages saying that Mrs. R had invaded my house with her family and that they would only leave after they received the money. I talked to the public defenders. My house had been invaded and the City said they would demolish Mrs. R’s part of the property. I was scared they would demolish everything. The public defender said that would not happen, that he had talked to the city’s general attorney and that Sub-Mayor Alex Costa<\/a> would pay me on Thursday, January 14. He told me to wait for a notice from the Sub-Mayor’s office.<\/p>\n

On January 14, my house was surrounded<\/a> by armed municipal guards, police cars, Sub-Mayor Alex Costa, Mrs. Pe\u00e7anha, Mrs. R, and bulldozers.<\/p>\n

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

During the action, my son went over to my house. He received advice from Mr. M who said he should watch out for Mrs. R’s family, because they are very dangerous. Mrs. R and Marli Pe\u00e7anha\u00a0went together to the Sub-Mayor’s office. During the ride, Mrs. R posted a message on the community’s group with information on the negotiations on both my house and my neighbor’s including my neighbor’s full name and the details of the negotiations with the City which she didn\u2019t know about. This was all written in perfect Portuguese, with perfect punctuation, even though she is illiterate.<\/p>\n

I know we must be responsible for our actions. We must accept the consequences of the acts we carry out. Money is a factor that blinds people and tears families apart, and even more so companions in the struggle. This is the reason for mentioning the above, the pressure we live with in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo. We\u2019re always led\u00a0to distrust our neighbors<\/a> since the Sub-Mayor’s office works to undermine our trust. A betrayal is then the cause for many arguments and separations. The strongest recognize these tricks and distance themselves from (the corrupting influences of money). The weakest fall into the trap, and eventually what comes around goes around. Mrs. R can\u2019t read or write. Her values are materialistic. She tries to affirm herself in life through the number of expensive objects she has so she can feel superior in a way. I don\u2019t deny her\u00a0mistake of ambition, after all she was paid by the City and betrayed the person who took her in. But it\u2019s visible, from my point of view, that she was used as a pawn to keep me away from the house. As soon as I became terrified I didn\u2019t go to Vila Aut\u00f3dromo, I didn\u2019t complain further, and this lowered by value because (they assumed) in the despair of being threatened I\u2019d accept any value to leave and stop fighting.<\/p>\n

The Aut\u00f3dromo Road I used to use was blocked off. My house was surrounded and then incorporated into\u00a0the Olympic Park.<\/p>\n

\"ResidentI can\u2019t have visitors to my house. I can\u2019t practice my religion. The mail service doesn\u2019t have access to my house. To access my house you have to have a pass<\/a>. Only my son and I have the right to enter. I have animals at the house that aren\u2019t being fed properly because of the access difficulties. I have problems walking but on\u00a0Aut\u00f3dromo Road I managed to walk. Now I have to enter through the Olympic Park and it\u2019s 5km to my house from the entrance to the Park.<\/p>\n

I kept quiet for two weeks; I was scared. It was my youngest daughter\u2019s graduation and my only thought was that I wanted to see her graduate. I wanted everything to be beautiful and for nothing to spoil her special moment. I fought hard for her to be able to study and graduate from a good university.<\/p>\n

But since my community always gives me strength to speak, a cry for freedom came from me. I told the community that I was being threatened. They gave me strength and I started to fight again<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On January 27 we organized a march. We closed the main street and marched chanting phrases of struggle and courage. We went from the community to the entrance of the Olympic Park. On arriving at the entrance I invited everyone to go and visit my house and in front of everyone, the press, representatives from NGOs, they said I couldn\u2019t take anyone to my house.<\/p>\n

Peacefully, but with force and persistence, Vila Aut\u00f3dromo has\u00a0insisted. I read the fifth article of the Brazilian Constitution which\u00a0says they are\u00a0obstructing my right to come and go, obstructing me from practicing my religion because my house is a religious site. There were police around. I asked them to interfere because the security guards were committing a constitutional offence. They told me to go to the police station if I was feeling offended. The allegation was that I didn\u2019t know if the house was mine.<\/p>\n

We continued together in front of the security cabin for a few more hours. We decided not to go to the station because we\u2019d done this the previous week and the results weren\u2019t satisfactory since the chief officer is a relative of Mrs. Pe\u00e7anha.<\/p>\n

After some time we heard the cabin supervisor pass on the response given by Sub-Mayor Alex Costa in reference to my request to receive visitors to my home. He told us that no one could enter and that whoever wanted to visit should first register with the City.<\/p>\n

Mrs. Marcia Lemos\u2019 house is in the same situation as mine and she solicited entrance a month ago and still hasn\u2019t received authorization.<\/p>\n

On February 2, I was once again at the Sub-Mayor’s office. I was called there that same day not long after the march. I arrived at 7pm. The proposal was that I would receive my check, go straight home where a moving truck would be waiting and that same night the house would be demolished. I didn\u2019t accept. I have commitments with my saints and respect for them. I would never abandon my saints and the people who trust in me on the eve of Carnival, at night, in the streets. I suggested another date that wasn\u2019t well received and with this I felt more vulnerable.<\/p>\n

On February 4 I went to the State Legislative Assembly\u2019s Human Rights Commission. I denounced the death threat and told them how I was feeling. I was advised to remain at home and not go out in the streets or leave the city. The concern is real and it\u2019s worrying that I\u2019m not the only one being threatened in the community. I also reported slander because City agents spread throughout the community that last November I received R$2 million and now in February received another R$490,000.<\/p>\n

For two years, I have not been living, I have been fighting. My body has been taken over by chronic pains as a result of the surgery, eight screws, two plates, lack of treatment due to lack of time or emotional stress.<\/p>\n

But even worse than that is my departure: I love my community. I feel empty on the inside, deprived, invaded, violated. They have taken away my reason to live: being able to practice my religion. What I wished for was just to continue in my home with my animals and my plants, keep on helping people who would come to me with their problems, worship my saints with my faith.<\/p>\n

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

Now I only want justice. I want the people of my Vila Aut\u00f3dromo to have their right to housing<\/a> secured with dignity, with upgrading. That is the reason I have fought and I will continue to fight, for the warrior people of Vila Aut\u00f3dromo whose only wish is to get their homes back.<\/p>\n

Some names have been substituted for letters for reasons of security.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

– Heloisa Helena Costa Berto\/Luizinha de Nan\u00e3<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas This is the second letter sent by Heloisa Helena Costa Berto and published on RioOnWatch. Read her first letter, published on September 17, 2015, here. I have spent the past month […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":26998,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1293,1736,1288,1328,1268,336],"tags":[662,179,1495,1496,11,26,25,1627,485,1656,1914,5,199,123,270,1892,1890,4,370,21],"writer":[1804],"translator":[1659,491,699],"illustrator":[],"photographer":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-27037","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-evictionswatch","8":"category-1736","9":"category-highlight","10":"category-by-community-contributors","11":"category-favelaculture","12":"category-violations","13":"tag-afro-brazilian-culture","14":"tag-evictee-profile","15":"tag-eviction-tactics-canceled-services","16":"tag-eviction-tactics-divide-and-conquer","17":"tag-forced-evictions","18":"tag-housing-rights","19":"tag-human-rights","20":"tag-human-rights-commission-alerj","21":"tag-light-electricity","22":"tag-lightning-eviction","23":"tag-marly-pecanha","24":"tag-olympics","25":"tag-reforestation","26":"tag-religion","27":"tag-resistance","28":"tag-sub-mayor","29":"tag-alex-costa","30":"tag-vila-autodromo","31":"tag-water","32":"tag-west-zone","33":"writer-heloisa-helena-costa-berto","34":"translator-christopher-owens","35":"translator-emma-platais","36":"translator-luana-gama"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27037"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27037\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27037"},{"taxonomy":"writer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwriter&post=27037"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftranslator&post=27037"},{"taxonomy":"illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fillustrator&post=27037"},{"taxonomy":"photographer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fphotographer&post=27037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}