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BRAZIL – Olympics, World Cup preparation bring evictions
RIO DE JANEIRO – …Rio de Janeiro is giving the Maracana stadium’s neighborhood a $63.2 million facelift as it prepares to host the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics. Maracana will be the jewel crowning both events, with the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics and the final World Cup matches held within its storied blue and gray walls.
A shantytown near the stadium, known as Favela do Metro, does not fit in that picture. It’s being bulldozed; hundreds of families have been bought out as part of a “revitalization” process for the big events and the hordes of foreigners they will draw. …
All across Rio, people are being pushed out of their homes in dozens of communities like Metro to make way for new roads, Olympic venues and other projects.
Authorities won’t say how many people are affected and mostly don’t provide details on the plans for the areas where residents are being evicted.
Documents obtained by The Associated Press, however, show that in 2010 alone, the municipal housing authority made 6,927 payments for resettlement costs, rent supplements or buy-outs to people in 88 communities across Rio.
Nationwide, about 170,000 people are facing threats to their housing, or already have been removed, in the 12 cities that will host World Cup matches, according to the Coalition of Popular Committees for the World Cup and the Olympics, an advocacy group for residents of the affected shantytowns.
In Rio, the city housing authority and the international and local Olympic organizing committees say all is being done according to the law. But residents, advocates and legal authorities say rights are being abused and warn that could be the legacy of the Olympics and World Cup.
The office of Rio’s municipal housing authority chief, Jorge Bittar, responded to repeated inquiries from the AP about removals with a statement saying that “resettling has been done in the most democratic way possible, respecting the rights of each family.”
It said officials explain to each family the value of their property, and then offer a choice from several options: a home in a federal housing project in the place of their choosing, a stipend of up to $230 a month to rent a home they find themselves, compensation for their house, or assistance in purchasing another house.
The International Olympic Committee and Rio 2016, the local organizing committee, said in a statement that they’re following the resettlement issue closely and think removals abide by Brazilian law.
Residents of Metro and lawyers tell a different story. (See “Background” below)
UNITED KINGDOM – Queen celebrates 60 years on throne
LONDON – Queen Elizabeth II marked 60 years on the throne Monday with a message thanking all those who have supported her over her reign and reaffirming her dedication to serving the British people.
Tributes from British officials poured in to honor the 85-year-old monarch on Accession Day. She ascended the throne when her father, George VI, died on Feb. 6, 1952 and is the longest-serving monarch after Queen Victoria, who reigned for more than 63 years.
Before a year’s worth of festivities to celebrate her milestone, the queen said she and her husband [Prince Philip] have been “deeply moved” to receive so many kind messages about her Diamond Jubilee.
“I am writing to thank you for the wonderful support and encouragement that you have given to me and Prince Philip over these years,” she wrote in a message to the nation. “In this special year, as I dedicate myself anew to your service, I hope that we will all be reminded of the power of togetherness and the convening strength of family, friendship and good neighborliness, examples of which I have been fortunate to see throughout my reign.”
The queen’s Diamond Jubilee will be feted with a series of regional, national and international events throughout 2012.
Over the course of 2012, members of the royal family — including Prince William and his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge [Kate Middleton] — will fan out across the globe and travel to Commonwealth countries including Canada, Jamaica and Belize.
The queen and Philip, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, will stay closer to home, touring the U.K. from March to July.
The 2012 Diamond Jubilee weekend will be held from June 2-5, with the main highlight likely to be a huge pageant on the Thames river featuring a 1,000-strong flotilla.
Elizabeth expressed hope that the coming year will be a time to give thanks “for the great advances” since she took the throne and “look forward to the future with a clear head and warm heart.” …
EUROPE – Deep freeze reaches North Africa as it claims more than 300 lives
ROME – The bitterly cold weather that has brought much of Europe to a standstill claimed more victims as the blanket of snow reached as far south as North Africa.
Rome was blanketed in white by the heaviest snowfall in 27 years, with children sledging down the slopes of the Circus Maximus, the ancient Roman chariot-racing arena, cross-country skiers taking to the banks of the Tiber and tourists building snowmen in St Peter’s Square, in front of the Vatican.
Cars trying to drive in the capital were fixed with snow chains – a rare sight for a city known for its mild winters and scorching summers. …
In Poland the bad weather claimed another eight more lives, bringing the death toll to 53.
In Serbia, around 70,000 people remained cut off in villages enveloped in snow, with police and the army stepping in to provide basic necessities.
In Bosnia, avalanches and strong winds isolated hundreds of villages in remote areas, and a state of emergency was declared.
Greece declared a state of emergency in the Peloponnese peninsula after torrential rain caused widespread flooding.
So far eastern and central Europe have suffered most from the extreme weather, but the cold front was moving west, affecting flights out of France and coating the Eiffel Tower with snow.
The cold weather extended as far south as Algeria, with rare snowfall on several towns and cities. Roads were blocked and villages in mountainous areas were cut off. At least 16 people were reported to have died – five of them from carbon monoxide poisoning linked to gas heating.
Questions
1. For each of the 3 countries, give the following information:
a) location/the countries that share its borders
b) the religious breakdown of the population
c) the type of government
d) the chief of state (and head of government if different) [If monarch or dictator, since what date has he/she ruled? – include name of heir apparent for monarch]e) the population
NOTE: Before answering the questions below, read the info under “Background.”
2. For BRAZIL:
a) list the who, what, where and when of the news item
b) What is happening to the people who live in the neighborhoods that are being torn down to make room for the World Cup and the Olympics?
c) Read the “Background” on Brazil. What should the government do? A family lives in a home that they don’t own, or worth almost nothing. But now the government needs the land for the World Cup and/or Olympics. The relocation money given to families is inadequate for them to find adequate houses or jobs in the same city they have always lived in. Is the government being fair? How should they resolve this problem? Explain your answer.
3. For THE UNITED KINGDOM:
a) list the who, what, where and when of the news item
b) What is significant about the amount of years Elizabeth has served as Queen?
4. For EUROPE:
a) list the who, what, where and when of the news item
b) How many Serbians living in villages are cut off from the outside due to the heavy snowfall?
Background
BRAZIL:
- Standing in the bar he runs in the shantytown, Evandro de Santos gestured at the layer of bricks, twisted metal and broken plaster that surrounds his home. Across the street, next door, even on the floor above, homes have been demolished. Children play in the debris, which has been piling up since demolitions started in early 2009. Other homes are tagged in blue with the letters SMH — the initials of the municipal housing authority. That means they’re next.
- But nobody in Metro knows for sure what’s in store for the slum. The housing authority’s statement said only that the “area around the stadium will be totally revitalized.”
- Some residents were threatened by city workers who told them they had no rights to the land, which they occupied [since] the 1970s. The workers said the residents “didn’t even own the walls of their homes,” Santos said.
- Initially, they were offered government-built housing in a working-class suburb 45 miles away, with poor access to transportation and jobs. About 100 families accepted, under duress. Another 100 or so took the offer that followed — resettlement in a closer housing project.
- About 270 families are resisting, however, said the Metro residents association president, Francicleide Souza.
- Compensation paid per home for the removals in 2010 averaged $16,000. The amount varies according to the size and quality of a structure. The money offered is not nearly enough to find another home in Rio, said Eliomar Coelho, a city councilman heading an investigation into removals. Market studies say Rio’s real estate is now among the most expensive in the Americas. “If you’re going to take someone out of their home, you have to provide them with an alternative that is equal or better,” Coelho said.
- Alexandre Mendes, until recently head of the housing rights unit of the Rio state public defenders office, contends the relocation process is riddled with illegalities. “Many of these removals did not respect principles and rights considered basic in local and international law,” he said.
- There are dozens of pending cases charging irregularities during the past three years, Mendes said. He said abuses include pulling families from homes at night while a bulldozer stood by to start demolition, forcing families to move to distant housing projects, and paying those who chose financial compensation little for their homes.
- In the case of the Restinga slum, which made way for the new Transoeste highway across Rio’s west side, Mendes was awakened by residents’ calls in the middle of the night. It was just before Christmas 2010, he said. He got there at 2:30 a.m. and saw heavy machinery tearing down houses. If people refused to leave, walls were knocked down with them still inside, he said. “The brutality of that moment, I can describe because I was there and I saw it,” he said.
- Metro’s people know all this, and fear much more since city officials have given them little concrete information. Santos knows, for example, of one resident who ran a paper goods store out of his home, and got $4,060 in compensation. It’s not enough to build a new home and store elsewhere, so Santos is not giving up on his own property.
- He’s pinning his hopes on a rumor that of the community’s 126 businesses, 40 will remain. Maybe he’ll be one of the 40. “I have built something here — a house, a business,” Santos said. “That’s what I want. Not a gift, not charity. I want to keep on working and earning my money and feeding my family.” (from the Chicago SunTimes article)
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