by Felipe Araujo In Solange’s album A Seat at the Table, there is a song called “Where Do We Go”. Released in 2016, it is a poignant compilation of personal confessions and meditations on growing up black in America. “Where Do We Go”, sung in a whisper, talks about a home she no longer recognises… Read More
Photo Story: Seeing Rio with different eyes
by Felipe Araujo For the past three years, winters in Brazil have been marked by major events. Around this time in 2014, the country hosted the World Cup, a tournament that ended in bitter disappointment for this football-mad nation of 200 million. Last year, protests against the now suspended president Dilma Rousseff spread all… Read More
Those in power would prefer favela culture to remain out of sight
Dispatch from Rio by Felipe Araujo The day after the Opening Ceremony of the Rio Olympics, I found myself in northern Rio’s Madureira Park – a place far away from the bright lights of the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema. On weekends, it’s here that Cariocas from the surrounding favelas congregate to spend quality… Read More
Dispatch from Rio: “The History of This Place Has Been Destroyed”
by Felipe Araujo If there was ever a microcosm for the unfair struggle between everyday citizens and huge corporate interests (including a repressive state), then Rio de Janeiro’s Vila Autódromo neighbourhood might just be it. The impoverished community, which has been fighting eviction for years, sits right alongside the Olympic Park. People here have been… Read More
Dispatch from Rio: “where affluent Westerners can turn a blind eye to human deprivation”
by Felipe Araujo “The Olympics are for first world countries and Brazil is still a third world nation.” These were the words of Raff Giglio, a boxing instructor and community leader in Vidigal, a favela that majestically sits among two hills overlooking Rio de Janeiro’s Ipanema beach. Giglio knows Vidigal from top to bottom. He… Read More
Rio 2016: What We’re Looking Forward To
With Rio 2016 less than a week away, a handful of the writers you’ll be reading – and hopefully enjoying – over the next month give us their view on what and who they will be looking forward to seeing at the Olympics and Paralympics: Shane Thomas writes the ‘Two Weeks Notice’ column at… Read More
Persecuted at home, Syrian women seek new beginnings in Istanbul’s “little Syria”
by Felipe Araujo In an old basement deep in the heart of the Fatih district in Istanbul, Syrian women gather around a table making jewellery. When I visited the place on a rainy Friday afternoon, the hustle and bustle of this city of 14 million suddenly disappeared, giving way to memories of Aleppo and Damascus.… Read More
“In the favela this happens every day”: Brazil’s disregard for black bodies
by Felipe Araujo Brazil is dealing with an economic, political, and social mess — and if there’s a picture that could serve to illustrate at least some of the above, this one could be it. It depicts a group of boys casually playing football at a beach — right next to two dead bodies. The identity of the cadavers… Read More
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