Preparation of 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics brings a darker side to the story

The end of London Olympics 2012 on Sunday means all gazing eyes are now pointed at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. However, all happy talks aside, there is a darker side to the city, more staggering to fastest growing country in the world, Brazil.

Some parts of the country are facing forced eviction from the government. The poorest communities are being muscled out of the metropolitan for the preparation and eventual staging of the games. As the event near its commencement date, which is four year ahead, the residents of the slums are becoming more and more fearful.

These people are ejected out of the city to the outskirts, where the basic necessities of life are not readily available, neither are public services handily accessible due to the lack of infrastructure.

“Hosting the Olympics should be a cause for celebration not fear,” said Yvette J. Alberdingk Thijm, Executive Director of WITNESS, a human rights group that did a short documentary about the evictions. “Forced evictions undermine the mission and spirit of the games.  We call on government officials to immediately put a stop to the practice of forced evictions.”

The 2016 Olympics coupled with the 2014 FIFA World Cup has brought a lot of human traffic to the financial capital of Brazil. However, the forced eviction is tempering the nerve of the people who are either affected by it or are indirectly involved in the labour chain.

On Thursday, residents and supporters of the Vila Autódromo community are presenting Mayor Paes with a newly finished community-developed counter-proposal to possible eviction.

Renato Cosentino, spokesperson for the Rio Committee said in the press release that, “The international community is not aware of the threat these evictions hold to some of Brazil’s most vulnerable citizens. We have been begging our Government to engage with us and listen. We are now asking the international community to join us in this plea.”

On Sunday in the closing ceremony, International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge presented the Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, with the Olympic flag in a multi-million dollar ceremony in London, which will be carried to the city afterwards.

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Posted by Usman Khalid on Aug 13 2012. Filed under Gaming, Sports, World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.