Rel & Soc Development

Understanding the Brazilian Favelas Students Name: Schools Name: Understanding the Brazilian Favelas Introduction ‘Favela` is a term generally used in Brazil to mean a shanty town. It is a place where former slaves with no land and who had no other option lived. Many Brazilian citizens who were poor were forced out of towns and were forced to live in the suburbs. These towns- referred to as bairros africanos or "African neighbourhoods"-expanded over the years as many black slaves were freed. In the 19th century, due to what was known as rural exodus, many people moved from the rural areas of Brazil to the cities. Since many people couldn`t find a decent place to live in, they ended up in Favelas (Perlman, 2006). The term Favela was coined in the late 1800`s, during that time, veteran soldiers who had served the army in Bahia, were familiar with the Canudos`s Favela Hill -in reference to Favela, a skin irritating tree- and when they settled in the Providence hill in Rio de Janeiro, they nicknamed the place Favela Hill and hence calling a slum Favela for the first time. The Favelas as we know them were formed prior to the dense occupation of cities and the domination of real estate interests. Thesis The characteristic feature of citizens living in the Favelas i.e. the favela of rocinha in Rio de Janeiro is poverty and hunger. The government has failed to call attention to the problems of poverty and make these issues visible on the national political agenda. Brazilian society had, somehow, avoided the subject throughout the 1980s, and at the level of day-to-day perceptions and practices poverty had become a way of life and accepted. Favelas are built around the edge of the main cities, with time, communities form within the favela. In turn, these communities develop an array of social and religious organizations and they form associations so that they can be able to obtain such services as running water and electricity. Drugs and favela have become woven into a social fabric. The drugs business -especially cocaine- cannot prosper without the existence of the Favela. The church therefore has got a big part to play to help curb down this practise. Most of the people living in the Favelas go to church on Sunday and Wednesday, they listen to their pastors more than they listen to the resident associations or their local government outreach workers. The church has helped in building confidence and dignity, and has helped by playing a significant role in stabilizing the poor Favelas. The church members in the Favelas help each other in building houses, starting businesses and taking care of the sick. In some instances, the pastors have helped counsel gang leaders to reduce violence. The church discourages drinking and handling of illegal drugs, therefore it has helped in counselling individuals associated with the vice to cease altogether. The church has definitely helped in a positive way to deal with issues in the Favelas; however, some of the stands that the church takes have seen some of the underlying issues of the Favelas hard to tackle. For instance, the Catholic Church discourages the use of birth control measures. This has seen the population continue to spiral beyond control. In addition, the Catholic Church discourages the use of Condoms (it is regarded as a form of birth control), this has made it hard to curb the spread of HIV & AIDS amongst the people living in the Favelas. JustificationChristianity and especially the Catholic Church enjoy wide support from the inhabitants of Brazil. As a religious obligation, they need to see to it that they use their influence to address the issues surrounding people in the Favelas. Religion together with the government have got a huge part to play, the government has got an obligation -legal obligation- to ensure that all its citizens are equally treated, for it is a government of the people, for the people and by the people. The government`s existence is by virtue of the votes of the whole country including the people in the Favelas; therefore, the government has got an obligation to address issues surrounding the Favelas. As mentioned earlier, most of the people living in the Favelas spend their time in churches, therefore the church has got their audience and if properly utilised, they can help reduce the vices so rampant in the Favelas. Research MethodologyHistorical data will be greatly relied upon in the conducting of this research. This will help in understanding the origin of the Favelas. Internet resources will also be relied upon. They will help in cutting costs that the researcher has to incur in terms of travelling expenses in order to conduct the research. Other reports surrounding the issue of Favelas and how religion has either helped or worsened the development of Favelas will be relied upon to help give expert opinions in this subject matter. E-Books and available library books will also be used to get information on the subject. Importance of the Research Poverty and hunger are crippling issues. The world all over is trying to see how best it can help kick hunger and poverty out of people`s daily lives. The history of Favelas is rooted in these two issues. Therefore it is important to find out how best hunger and poverty can be tackled so that other vices in the Favelas can be curbed. Without tackling these two main issues, then it would become very hard to address the plight of the Favelas effectively. The findings in this research people will be used to educate people on the origin of the Favelas, the problems surrounding the Favelas, what has been done and what needs to be done to improve the conditions in the Favelas if not eliminating the Favelas altogether. Life in the Favelas has been influential in modern culture, for instance, some movies like Fast Five have had their stories based on the lives in the Favelas. Therefore, there is need to upgrade or positively develop the Favelas so that the culture in the Favelas cannot be copied in other parts of the world; especially for the wrong reasons. ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY Althaus, R at el. (2007). Another Possible World. Presbyterian Pub Corp.This article gives an overview of how religion came to liberate the oppressed. The Favelas of Brazil in this case are the group which is seen to be oppressed and forgotten even by their government. Althaus asserts that liberation theologies are born from the struggles of the poor and the oppressed. Liberation theology was born upon hearing the cry of the oppressed and contributors believe that another world is possible where justice reigns. The researcher will use this book to try and explain why religion has got a part to play in the positive development of the Favelas. Arias, E. (2006...