"City of God" & "Bus 174"

About a year ago I watched two Brazilian films that highlight the life of children and youth in the favelas and on the streets of Rio -- "City of God" and "Bus 174." These films were often violent, intense, and difficult to watch, but were helpful preparation for my time here.

The documentary extra on the "City of God" DVD titled, "News from a Personal War" was just as enlightening and eye-opening as the movie itself. In the documentary one police chief asks, "How do you keep two million people under control...how do you control the underprivileged?" He goes on to justify the repression and corruption. I have begun to experience this firsthand as life here in the favela is most often about watching out for the police as I walk the streets of the neighborhood.

“Bus 174” is a documentary about Sandos, a boy who grew up on the streets of Rio, who held up a city bus here in Rio a few years ago. The news here followed the story live, so there was a lot of news footage of the event. The documentary traces back the life of Sandros and the events of his life on the streets that led up to the tragic day on the bus. The film closes with a few powerful quotes that stuck with me. One man comments, "...society doesn't want to deal with it...society wants all the Sandros to vanish because it cannot bear reality...invisibility is perfectly accomplished by death..." Another woman asks, "Who will stand up for someone like Sandro? Who? No one."

Being here in Rio just two weeks I have seen the children and youth being pushed deeper into the invisible margins, out of public view in the cracks and crevices of the city. But, at the same time, I have also seen some dedicated and compassionate friends standing up for these kids and loving them with the love of Jesus.