Brazil's 'undesirables' are no longer going to keep silent, or remain in the shadows.
Ahead of the very glamorous and lucrative soccer championship, the disenfranchised youth of Brazil are taking to the malls: yes, the malls.
In a form of peaceful protest, the young girls and boys of Brazil, mostly black or at least not 'white', are trying to gain a voice in a country where monetary and racial divides are incredible wide.
Even though Brazil is being governed by a socialist ex pasionaria, and her predecessor was likewise of a similar conviction, the condition and the social status of black youths in Brazil remains largely unchanged. Those favelas that blight Rio and Sao Paulo are not going anytime soon.
So they are taking to the malls, and the dance floors and just about everywhere outside the confines of their ghettos.
Their protest for now takes the form of song. They are doing 'flash singing' in the middle of malls and other places.
They are called 'Rolezinhos', or small roll, a flash mob of a few young people who decide to sing, respectfully and not too loudly, in public places.
They organize through the internet, via social networks. The internet has empowered the residents of the favelas like little before.
For a long time, black and poor brazilians have been treated like undesirables. They are often barred from malls or other public places. in response to the peaceful demonstrators, the malls have increased security, and they have clamped down in blocking access to anyone to could potentinally be one of the 'small rolls'.
But the media has picked up on it. And that has shined the spotlight on a previously unreported problem. Brazil has a racism problem; or so it seems.
For the longest time, Brazil was viewed as a place where people of all colors and creeds lived happily side by side. But such a vision was a fable, and it was only patently true for those who were wealthy.
With the World Cup championship imminent, the discussion about racism is being tabled with some success. No one in government wants Brazil depicted as a racist country. Furthermore, Brazil is still trying to pretty up its image for the upcoming Olympic games.
The peaceful demonstrations of the 'small rolls' are not just to bring the problem to the fore: they are bona fide attempts at being included, especially when it comes to obtaining work. Jobs don't come easy for the dwellers of the favelas.
Either way, Brazil is now on the brink of change. Indications are that the change, although slow, will take place.
Op-Ed
Source : Deutsche Welle/ 1.23.14
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