This article was quite interesting. I was surprised by the content of it, the fact that there were so many street children in Brazil. I understand that rich people get scared and don't want street children around them. Even though not all the kids do bad thing, it's not possible to know right away who is the good kids or who is the bad one. What the police do to control the situation is not really the best solution, killing that many kids for pretty much no reason is not reasonable. I don't know what kind of Human species those police men are, to have the courage to pull the trigger on probably innocent kids that are just trying to feed themselves. instead of having a "war" with the street children that are just trying to survive, the government should to create jobs, or learning camp for the kids to learn something and be productive. that would probably diminish the amount of kids in the street.
To me, the most interesting aspect of this story is the frequent, brutal police intervention and the responses of society to such tactics. I understand that masses of street children begging and, occasionally, stealing would be a nuisance, especially in Brazil's crowded metropolitan areas, but it seems that the response has gotten out of control. In our society, homelessness is far from encouraged, but usually only results in misdemeanor loitering charges if processed at all. While these tactics don't do anything to solve the "problem" of homelessness, they definitely seem more appropriate and rational than the quasi-sanctioned death squads mentioned in the article. Regardless of why a child is on the street, they should never have to fear violence from police or military officials paid to protect all citizens.
As most of the articles we have read so far, there is always something new that I learn about a different culture's lifestyle. Having my eyes opened to the life of homeless children in Brazil was definitely hard to read at points. I know personally, even with the homeless population in Columbia, it is easy for me to naturally be defensive whenever I am around the city. I judge the places we go with the people I am with for safety of my party. I completely understand why tourists avoid places with youth on the streets, because I would too. It is a safety issue, where some of the youth that get by with theft ruin the general public's view on entire group of homeless kids. It is good to see that there are people who are trying to educate these kids and get them into better situations. It might seem like an endless battle, but having one less kid on the streets and in a good home sounds like a victory to me.
I was very surprised to learn just how negatively Brazilians view homeless or "street children". I found it very disconcerting that Brazil is worried about street children affecting tourism in Brazil, but they are not as concerned with reports of off-duty police executing petty thieves. Like many rehabilitation efforts, FEBEM seems too little too late with many children preferring the streets to the reform houses. I was happy to read that in more recent years greater attempts have been made to reach out to these children. From the quotes in the article, one can tell there are kids living on the street who have the potential to be positively contributing members of society, which is what I think everyone wants. In my opinion reform should start in the shantytowns in an effort to prevent children from turning to the streets in the first place. In the future, I hope people continue to push for their education and well being.
I was appalled by the police solution to controlling street children in Brazil. Although safety for citizens is extremely important and police should make efforts to preserve that safety, killing children is completely the opposite of upholding this safety clause. If homeless children are being shot in the streets, what makes wealthy people feel they are safe? One job loss or change of fortune could put them in the same position as the children they are afraid of, who are being slaughtered by people who are supposed to be their protectors. Police should take entirely different measures to curtail dangerous behavior of street children; I agree with the student above me who suggested education and job initiatives to get children off the streets and provide them with resources so they don't have to steal or become violent.
This article was quite interesting. I was surprised by the content of it, the fact that there were so many street children in Brazil. I understand that rich people get scared and don't want street children around them. Even though not all the kids do bad thing, it's not possible to know right away who is the good kids or who is the bad one. What the police do to control the situation is not really the best solution, killing that many kids for pretty much no reason is not reasonable. I don't know what kind of Human species those police men are, to have the courage to pull the trigger on probably innocent kids that are just trying to feed themselves. instead of having a "war" with the street children that are just trying to survive, the government should to create jobs, or learning camp for the kids to learn something and be productive. that would probably diminish the amount of kids in the street.
ReplyDeleteTo me, the most interesting aspect of this story is the frequent, brutal police intervention and the responses of society to such tactics. I understand that masses of street children begging and, occasionally, stealing would be a nuisance, especially in Brazil's crowded metropolitan areas, but it seems that the response has gotten out of control. In our society, homelessness is far from encouraged, but usually only results in misdemeanor loitering charges if processed at all. While these tactics don't do anything to solve the "problem" of homelessness, they definitely seem more appropriate and rational than the quasi-sanctioned death squads mentioned in the article. Regardless of why a child is on the street, they should never have to fear violence from police or military officials paid to protect all citizens.
ReplyDeleteAs most of the articles we have read so far, there is always something new that I learn about a different culture's lifestyle. Having my eyes opened to the life of homeless children in Brazil was definitely hard to read at points. I know personally, even with the homeless population in Columbia, it is easy for me to naturally be defensive whenever I am around the city. I judge the places we go with the people I am with for safety of my party. I completely understand why tourists avoid places with youth on the streets, because I would too. It is a safety issue, where some of the youth that get by with theft ruin the general public's view on entire group of homeless kids. It is good to see that there are people who are trying to educate these kids and get them into better situations. It might seem like an endless battle, but having one less kid on the streets and in a good home sounds like a victory to me.
ReplyDeleteI was very surprised to learn just how negatively Brazilians view homeless or "street children". I found it very disconcerting that Brazil is worried about street children affecting tourism in Brazil, but they are not as concerned with reports of off-duty police executing petty thieves. Like many rehabilitation efforts, FEBEM seems too little too late with many children preferring the streets to the reform houses. I was happy to read that in more recent years greater attempts have been made to reach out to these children. From the quotes in the article, one can tell there are kids living on the street who have the potential to be positively contributing members of society, which is what I think everyone wants. In my opinion reform should start in the shantytowns in an effort to prevent children from turning to the streets in the first place. In the future, I hope people continue to push for their education and well being.
ReplyDeleteI was appalled by the police solution to controlling street children in Brazil. Although safety for citizens is extremely important and police should make efforts to preserve that safety, killing children is completely the opposite of upholding this safety clause. If homeless children are being shot in the streets, what makes wealthy people feel they are safe? One job loss or change of fortune could put them in the same position as the children they are afraid of, who are being slaughtered by people who are supposed to be their protectors. Police should take entirely different measures to curtail dangerous behavior of street children; I agree with the student above me who suggested education and job initiatives to get children off the streets and provide them with resources so they don't have to steal or become violent.
ReplyDelete