Page 12 - ARUBA TODAY

A12 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 3 OcTOber 2017

Rio’s kids are dying in the crossfire of a wave of violence

By RENATA BRITO was risking his life each day when the shooting hap- heard gunshots and imme-
Associated Press on the job. But he never pened. diately called the friend’s APRIL 26: A PUDDLE OF
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — An imagined his 2-year-old “I live with the illusion mother, who said the chil- CRIMSON
unborn boy’s lung is punc- Every night before go-
tured by a bullet while still ing to bed, Tereza Farias
in the womb. A 2-year- looks at cellphone pictures
old girl is shot in the head taken by bystanders who
while playing at a restau- witnessed her son’s slen-
rant. Three stray bullets cut der body lying in his own
down a 13-year-old during blood.
physical education class at Felipe Farias, 16, died in
school. the Alemao slum complex
Rio de Janeiro, which just a while he was returning from
year ago was in the global a protest condemning the
spotlight as it hosted the death of a 13-year-old who
Summer Olympics, has al- was also killed by gunfire.
ways struggled with crime Felipe was the fourth per-
. But amid a national eco- son killed in Alemao just in
nomic crisis that has exac- that week.
erbated deep problems of The wall of the narrow al-
inequality, this city famous ley where it happened is
for both its glamorous still pockmarked with bul-
beaches and its sprawl- let holes the size of bottle
ing slums is experiencing caps.
a wave of violence that’s Several witnesses reported
the worst in a decade. the fatal shot came from
With an estimated aver- In this Aug. 13, 2017 photo, Tereza Farias poses with a photo of her 16-year-old son Felipe, on the police. However, investiga-
age of 15 shootings a day exact spot where her son was also killed by gunfire not meant for him, in the Alemao complex of tors have told Farias they
involving police and heav- slums, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Every night before going to bed, Farias looks at cellphone pictures will not go to the scene for
ily armed gangs that con- taken by bystanders who witnessed her son’s slender body lying in his own blood. fear of being attacked by
(AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
trol large swaths of the city, gang members.
hundreds of civilians have daughter, Sofia Lara Bra- that maybe one day my dren were playing on the “The investigator told me
been killed or injured in the ga, could become a ca- daughter might come terrace. Moments later that if he came here it
crossfire — and increas- sualty. back home,” Braga said, she learned that Fernanda would be like signing his
ingly that includes children, As the family was dining tears rolling down her had been shot in the face. death sentence,” said Far-
many of whom have been early in the evening at a cheeks. The girl died at a hospital. ias.
felled this year by bullets in- restaurant on the city’s Their hearts broken, Ca- Felipe had hoped to join
tended for others. north side, Sofia was romp- FEB. 15: PLAYING OUTSIDE parica and her sons also the army when he turned
In July, the federal govern- ing in its play area. Sud- Classes at Fernanda Ca- now live in constant fear of 18, following in the foot-
ment deployed over 8,500 denly a gunshot rang out parica’s school in the Mare more shootings. The eldest steps of his two older broth-
soldiers to try to stamp out from the street. slum were canceled that boy is especially petrified. ers and his uncle.
crime in Rio’s roughest “Everyone was com- morning due to gunfire be- “Every time there is cross- “I used to tell him, ‘Don’t
neighborhoods. But so far ing down from the play- tween rival gangs, some- fire, he tells me, ‘Mom, I worry, your time will
they have not been able ground, but not her,” Fer- thing that is all too com- don’t want to die like my come,’” Farias said. “But
to stem the bloodshed. nandes said. mon in Rio. sister,’” Caparica said. his time didn’t come.”q
Here are the stories of three He realized Sofia was mo- Thayana Caparica, 23,
children who died this year tionless atop the jungle took her daughter home
for no reason other than gym, and he ripped its pro- and ordered Fernanda, 7,
they were in the wrong tective netting to get to and her two brothers not to
place at the wrong time. her. A stray bullet had hit leave the house.
the toddler in the head, kill- But by afternoon Fernanda
JAN. 21: NO SAFE PLACE ing her instantly. had grown impatient and
As a police officer in Rio, Investigators have yet wanted to play outside.
where more than 100 of to determine whether it She kept insisting. Finally
his colleagues have been came from a gun fired by Caparica let her go to a
killed this year, Felipe Fer- criminals or by police, who friend’s house.
nandes always knew he were pursuing a stolen car Around 7 p.m. Caparica