Working-class neighborhoods feel division of the...
Transcript of Working-class neighborhoods feel division of the...
Working-class neighborhoods feeldivision of the Olympics
Delmo de Oliveira was the last holdout of a favela that once was home to 3,000 families called Vila Autodromo in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil. Photo: Jonathan Newton, The Washington Post
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - As crowds cheer, Olympic champion swimmer Michael Phelps
glides through another race. In another competition, gymnast Simone Biles does a
breathtaking handspring. However, yards away, there are no cheering crowds. A single
favela practically leans against the Olympic Park. The broken down shack is one of just a
few left of a fishing village that was bulldozed to make room for the Rio Games.
The International Broadcast Center casts a shadow on the tilting sheet metal roof of Delmo
de Oliveira's family favela, directly across the parking lot. International Olympic Committee
(IOC) members enjoy prime seating and dine on a salary of $450 a day, while the Brazilian
minimum wage is just $228 a month.
By Washington Post, adapted by Newsela staff on 08.10.16
Word Count 789
Affordable Places To Live
The first favelas were built in the late 1800s by soldiers who needed a place to live. Over
the years, former enslaved people of African descent moved into them. In the 1970s, more
were built by Brazilians who left the countryside in Brazil and moved to cities in search of
work. Shacks like those on the outer edges of Rio were the only places low-income people
could afford to live.
The Vila Autodromo favela was once a working-class neighborhood of 3,000 residents.
Now all that is left is the Olympic parking lot and 20 tiny white cottages. The cottages were
built grudgingly by the city for families who refused to leave even when their homes were
demolished.
Most of the other 800 families who used to live here moved to public housing. Maria Da
Penha Macena did not move. She and her family once had a three-story home with a fruit
tree garden. De Oliveira also stayed. He won a hard-fought legal order prohibiting his
favela from being pulled down, though he does not live in it anymore. He says he has left it
up as a "symbol."
Years Of Effort And Saving
Most favelas have been in their owners' families for a few generations. De Oliveira built his
home on top of his mother's. People worked and saved for years for the money to buy
ochre bricks, small sacks of cement and wavy sheet metal to gradually build their own
homes by hand.
About one-fourth of Rio de Janeiro's population lives in favelas. In spite of their shanty-like
appearance, these homes have tile floors, plumbing and electricity. The owners sometimes
take electricity from the city with a tangle of cables.
The residents of Vila Autodromo were among an estimated 60,000 people who lost homes
because of the Rio Games. Tearing them down was part of a larger effort, though. Local
land developers are trying to turn the Barra di Tijuca area into a wealthy area full of
condos. Carlos Carvalho, who is organizing a lot of the construction, has declared bluntly
there is no place for the poor here. Residents say they were pressured, even threatened to
leave.
Unity "Is Just A Word"
Da Penha was offered about $600,000 for the three-story house where she lived with her
husband, mother and children for more than 20 years. She turned it down. Instead, she
became a leading activist. She took her fight to the International Olympic Committee and
the United Nations. Her home was finally knocked down in March. She and her family now
live in one of the plain white cottages. Boxes of their belongings are stacked in a small
front room.
Da Penha knows the interlocking rings, the symbol of the Olympics, are supposed to
represent unity.
"But that's just a word," Da Penha said, sitting in the local church. "They destroyed
my community and distanced people. So where is this unity?"
De Oliveira's metal shop was demolished. He was given about $225,000 for it. However,
he says he was offered nothing for his home, though his mother received a cottage. He got
a last-minute ruling from a judge preserving the house. Soon his electricity was cut off.
"I started receiving unwanted visits," he said. De Oliviera says people made him feel like he
would be unsafe if he did not leave.
Instead, he decided to build on to the house. While other homes were going down, his
went up.
It was satisfying, but not a solution. "My life has been totally undone," he said. "I couldn't
save my community."
Activists Hope To Save Other Communities
Even so, the tiny favela neighborhood of 20 homes is still in Rio. Tourists with cameras,
media from around the world and IOC officials must pass it every day to get through the
gates.
The activists here could not save their own community, but if they can get the world to shift
its gaze just a bit over these two weeks, maybe they can save the next one.
Quiz
1 Which detail BEST supports the article's central idea?
(A) The International Broadcast Center casts a shadow on the tilting sheet metal
roof of Delmo de Oliveira's family favela, directly across the parking lot.
(B) In the 1970s, more were built by Brazilians who left the countryside in Brazil
and moved to cities in search of work.
(C) People worked and saved for years for the money to buy ochre bricks, small
sacks of cement and wavy sheet metal to gradually build their own homes
by hand.
(D) The residents of Vila Autodromo were among an estimated 60,000 people
who lost homes because of the Rio Games.
2 What is the MOST likely reason why the author included the story about De Oliviera building
onto his house?
(A) to show that some people are fighting back against the Olympic Committee
(B) to describe the type of people who live in favelas
(C) to explain where people move if they are forced to leave a favela
(D) to emphasize how many businesses and homes are being destroyed
3 What is the summary of the section "Unity Is Just A Word?"
(A) Some people who live in the affected favelas are fighting back instead of
moving.
(B) People in the favelas are offered money in exchange for moving.
(C) The people of the favelas do not value unity and say it is not important.
(D) A local judge is working to help favela residents keep their homes and
businesses.
4 According to the section "Years Of Effort And Saving," which answer choice BEST
characterizes Carlos Carvalho's treatment of the residents of Vila Autodromo?
(A) uncaring
(B) ambitious
(C) cooperative
(D) vicious