NO TIME FOR CHILDHOOD and STATE TERROR, GANGS, AND EVERYDAY VIOLENCE IN RIO DE JANEIRO
by Jessenia Collazo
1. A VISIT WITH PEDRO PAUL AT ILHA GRANDE PRISON
1.1. Donna and Gloria go to the prison to see Gloria’s son – it takes hours to be inspected – they have to strip naked and all belongings have to be searched
1.2. Pedro speaks during Donna’s visit that one of his girls are pregnant and have mentioned having an abortion. Pedro speaks of his double standard that a man only needs to put food on the table and can have as many woman as he wants. He states that if the girl gets an abortion, when he gets out of prison he will kill her because she killed his kid. He says it is the woman’s job to understand the consequences of her actions.
1.3. Gloria used Pedro as the negative example for her other kids – telling them a bandit has no friends.
1.4. Pedro referred to women like Gloria as those who worked honest jobs like construction workers and security jobs. He did not feel he should make only minimum wage.
2. Gloria runs into her ex – he oldest sons father and tells him that their son was killed years before because he was the leader in a drug trafficking gang and was shot by police. Gloria's ex begins to cry - Gloria shows no sympathy
3. THE KILLING STREETS: In May 1992, Newsweek ran an article elaborating that about 200,000 Brazilian children live on the country’s street and are In danger of being slain.
4. HOME CHILDREN, STREET CHILDREN AND INSTITUTIONALIZED CHILDREN
4.1. Many children are recruited to do illicit activities for gangs because it is known they get off with a lessor sentence.
4.2. Nurturing children are poor children who from an early age take on serious responsibilities; they bring in resources to their mothers and nurture the household, activities they view a moral obligations.
4.3. Understood as an economic asset, and many take on the role of providers within their own homes and see this as a virtue
4.4. Nurtured children are from middle class families.
5. MIRELLI’S STORY: Mirelli’s mother became a drunk after her father lost a game and the mother had to sleep with the man he lost to. Mirelli’s father also became a drunk. Her mother would then sleep with many different men, men who would grope on Mirelli and her sisters. After her mother died, Mirelli and her sisters did not have a home so was sent to FUNABEM. For the first three months they lived in a clean institution where they ate well and learned how to eat with a fork and knife. After three months Mirelli and her sisters were transferred to an institution that was dirty and uncomfortable. They were unclean – they could only change their clothes once a month, and all the girls had to use only one spoon. The girls would get beaten by the guards for no reason. Mirelli compare it to a gang initiation
6. LUCAS’ STORY: Lucas’ mother died, he had to go live with his godmother who was extremely poor and had her own children. When his godmother could not care for her anymore, they were going to send him to colegio interno. When Gloria learned of this, she took Lucas from his godmothers house and raised him because she had promised her sister Celina she would care for her children.
7. THE EVERYDAY LIFE OF CHILDREN
7.1. Children went to school
7.2. If the children chose not to go to school, they would get jobs to clean up and help at car shops, or they would go to the supermarket and carry packages, guide customers into parking spots or guard their cars.
7.2.1. Children would only work a few hours and once done,
7.2.1.1. they would either go to buy food or borrow items
7.2.1.2. they would sit around
8. THROWING OUT ONTO THE STREETS
8.1. Gloria kicked Filomena out of her house to live on the streets as a form of discipline. Gloria wanted to show her children, blood or not, that she will defendant them.
8.2. Gloria also kicked out her eldest daughter, Fernanda, for sending love letters to Gloria’s lover at the time.
8.3. Gloria took in her Marta to take her off the streets. Gloria was tough on Marta and had her work an “honest” job on Christmas so Marta could learn how to survive and create a living for herself.
9. EATING SHIT IN A FAVELA
9.1. Gloria’s children told stories of events from when they were younger. They told Donna how Gloria was much calmer.
9.1.1. Lucas defecated in his bed, so Gloria made him eat his own excrement when he awoke the next day.
9.1.2. Tiago wet his bed so Gloria made him walk around the neighborhood with a wet-urine stained bedsheet around him.
9.1.3. Alejandro stole from Gloria so she took his hand and placed it on the stove to burn it.
10. THE “PROTECTION” OF CHILDREN
10.1. The leader of the gang in Felicidate Eterna, Dilmar, made it known that in his territory there were to be no child beatings.
10.1.1. Gloria could not beat her children, which her children believed it was why she was more mellow.