The rain thought it could thwart us. There is a timetable in the Amazonian region of Brazil: every day between three and five it is time to pour. And that is only in the dry season. In the rainy season (beginning in October and ending in May) it rains every single day nonstop (hence the systematic cycle of destruction and repair of the Trans-Amazonian Highway). The Amazon decided to give us a taste of all day rain, which meant essentially no sunlight and definitely not prime filming conditions.
But the thing about Villa De Barca, where we will be for the next few days, is that the community center is a gathering place when the streets aren’t fit for play. People came in and out all day long and we were able to meet all sorts of people from the community. A group of older women (we were soon to find out they were all over 60 as they are part of the over-60 club) sat in the corner with their knitting. More and more women kept joining the group, so we decided to inquire as to their relationship.
The group had started to join together members of the community that were over sixty years old. Many women were waiting to join the group. Every day, women and men could be found dancing (they demonstrated for us) or knitting or attending conferences. A group of young doctors came into Villa da Barca and gave a talk on various factors to consider as one ages. One doctor asked how many in the audience smoked. No one raised his hand. Immediately, the crowd burst into applause for the accomplishment. The structure of this community reinforces the ideals of a healthy life.
The ladies were glad to see us and tell us about all they accomplished. When asked about the violence in the community, though, they were silent. Well, Diuce (pronounced Juicy) said they don’t see much of the violence. Sure, they hear about it on the television, but it is not something that they experience. They just love dancing.
Diuce has just summed up the value of community. Community is one of the main goals of CDI with its many EICs. Five computers to a classroom, ten kids to a class. This policy at Villa De Barca requires sharing. Those who learn faster teach others. Competition is not emphasized but rather a policy of sharing and communal betterment is at the pedagogical foundation.
We also had a chance to meet Francisco. Francisco is a preacher in the community and also coordinates the EIC at Villa De Barca. He sat down to talk to us about the problem we have been hearing rumors about since we arrived in Rio at the beginning of May. Francisco had cracked a prostitution ring and had to flee to escape death threats. It started with the CDI classes. When the children were no longer walking the streets, but instead together in class, the girls would talk before and after the lessons and the teachers began to pick up on their conversation. One girl had been raped. By a preacher at Francisco’s parish. Francisco acted immediately, investigating the charges. The accused preacher was found to be guilty and was expelled from the parish.
The disturbing thing, however, had been the presence of a general acknowledgement of the problem between the girls in the class, age 10. From the time they were nine, mothers and fathers would take the girls to the corner to sell to passers-by for a dollar. One day, a girl did not come to class. Francisco took off to talk to her mother and saw, down at the end of the street, the girl climbing into an older man’s car with the help of her mother.
Francisco approached the mother, “what are you doing?” The mother shrugged, “we have to eat.” Once the initial numbers were in, 62 girls between 9 and 13 were found to be prostitutes. The parents who have up to 15 children do not register the girls with the government. There is no official record of their existence, only in the rush of pitter-pattering feet to the harbor whenever the sailors come to port: sailors are prime real estate.
What is missing is community. There is no sense of a future, only the primal need to satisfy hunger. Francisco and CDI are working to get the children off of the street and to cultivate hope. There have been some successes, but as the rain has gotten harder and the sky is turning too dark to remain safely in the slum, those stories will have to wait for tomorrow.
-Dani