Rio Rattled By Violence

There are a number of articles you can read about the current violent situation between gangs and police in Rio. It's been a bad week. Blockades have been set up by gangs, cars robbed, buses burned, people shot. Supposedly two of the gangs might even be working together on this attack. It's awful news. 14 people were killed in Rio just today, including a 14 year old girl who was hit by a stray bullet. Today seems to be the worst day so far, 22 is the total death count since Sunday. The one positive note is that 25 people were arrested (which brings the total since Monday to 150).

Here's the lowdown from what I've read tonight:

• Earlier today bomb squads were called in to several areas of Ipanema where wooden boxes were left on the street (near a park we go to regularly, in one case). They contained promotional materials, not bombs. Thank goodness.
• This morning a car was bombed in Copacabana on Rua Siqueira Campos. As a scary-for-me sidenote, Mr. DRL picked the Canadoca and I up from the Pao do Acucar store a block from there, yesterday evening. Crazy. 
• Cars were also set on fire in Niteroi and Recreio. In other words, this situation is NOT just taking place in the Zona Norte as many of Rio's unpleasant situations are. It seems to be almost everywhere.  
• R$200 is apparently the going rate for drug traffickers from Vila Cruzeiro to pay someone to set fire to a bus in Rio. 
• Eduardo Paes is calling this week's acts terrorism.

That said, to be honest if you want to know how I have personally been affected when going about my daily busines - I haven't. It is a chilling reminder, however, to read later about things go down in areas I frequent. With the exception of noticing a lot more helicopters and police around, there doesn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary around here. Which just goes to show how diverse life is in Rio. In one minute it's paradise and around another corner, a warzone.

An interesting sidenote - I was talking with the Canadoca's babysitter a little bit this morning about the situation (she lives in Rocinha) and she seemed pretty un-rattled by it. In fact she was much more excited to tell me about seeing the latest "SAW" movie. I guess when one grows up surrounded by these situations it just doesn't phase one the same way.  The last thing I feel like doing is watching a scary movie... 

Comments

[Rachel]

On Sunday, we just missed the car being set on fire on the highway, when we were heading back from my in-law's sitio. Too close for comfort.

But we have to keep our heads up high. The government is pissed, it actually has a stance, and it's doing something about things. I think that's a positive development.

[Jean]

My little one and I walked literally right by the wooden box in Ipanema yesterday. Within meters!

Still find it strange that it contained promotional materials. In this day and age, someone had to have known that it was going to set off a huge dramatic response. I guess they achieved their objective!