Miscellaneous
Hi there, my name is Lou Whiting, and today I'm discussing life in and around the Brazilian favellas. During my research, I had the pleasure of speaking with two Brazilian people. One, a 14-year-old girl from a large city in Southern Brazil. The other, a 24-year-old man who is an English Professor at a University near the border, surrounded by favellas. This is what they had to say. The young girl decided to remain anonymous. She told me how the people living around her are all around the same tan skin complexion. This is due to a rule that was passed about job opportunities. In attempt to make job opportunities "easier for those people," the government passed a rule that made it much harder for people on the far side of that spectrum to get a job, housing, or afford healthcare. Due to this, many lost their jobs and were forced to move into surrounding favellas. Sadly, she wasn't able to tell me much more. On the other hand, the professor had much more to say. He spoke of the injustices, and I myself (writing this description,) can not, in writing, describe all what he said to me. I highly recommend you listen to his own words, and really take time to understand all that he says. In the end, he tells me this, as a message to all of the outside world who may listen: "As Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie says, we must be careful with the stories we hear. Often we only hear the bad things, without understanding what led to their current position in society. If people live in favellas, they're not there because they want to be. If kids or teens go to school because that's the only place they can get free lunch, they don't do it because they want to. When young woman get pregnant due to a lack of proper information and awareness of health issues, they don't do it because they want to. Our society is a web of power relations that make it seem like those on the weaker side of the web as the most foul things that they want to project. But what this actually is, what actually happens- we never stop and try to understand why they are on the weaker side. Be kind to those who struggle, be kind to those whos stories you do not know, and be kind, because it's better to be kind than to judge. By judging, you never put yourself in a position of understanding others. You will never be able to hear their side of the story. This is a message from a Brazilian teacher, one who teaches Portuguese and English, one who loves to hear different accents in his classroom, one who welcomes students from all backrounds into his class. I must tell you all: Keep fighting there, and I will keep fighting here!" Lou Whiting, Student of Granbury High School