Monday, November 14, 2011

Forced Evictions in Brazil due to Rio Olympics

Across the Rio de Janeiro area in Brazil, hundreds of families are being forced out of their homes in order to make the necessary preparations for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. According to Amnesty International, the majority of the families being evicted are from the city's low-income areas. These people are being evicted without warning and without proper compensation or alternative housing.
As a result of these evictions, many families now find themselves having to start over. They have to move away from their jobs or get new ones all together, and children are forced to transfer schools, resulting in months of missed education.
Although new structures have to be built and changes must be made, is the way the government is handling this situation right? The Olympics are supposed to be a time when teams from all over the world come together and compete, but if innocent citizens are losing their homes and businesses because of it is it really worth it?
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1 comment:

  1. ECotnoirNovember 15, 2011 at 3:10 PM

    I think its horrible that the lower income families are being forced out of their homes for the Olympics. Hosting the Olympics should be about showing off the country and having pride in its people. If citizens have to suffer just so that athletes can have better facilities for one summer maybe the Olympics should be hosted somewhere else. The government should find a different space to put up new buildings or at least try to buy the homes from their occupants rather than just evict them.

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