Living In The Brazilian Slums Is Not Cool.

Summary

The author reflects on the harsh realities of living in Brazilian slums, contrasting it with the romanticized view some outsiders hold.

Abstract

The author shares a personal perspective on the stark contrast between the romanticized idea of living in Brazilian slums and the actual difficult conditions faced by residents. In their 20s, the author had a boyfriend from a wealthy background who chose to live in a slum for the experience, which the author found to be noisy, dirty, and potentially dangerous. Despite improvements in infrastructure, the author emphasizes that slums are not cool places to live, as they lack basic infrastructure and security. The reality of slum life is a daily struggle for residents who do not have the privilege of leaving, unlike the author's ex-boyfriend who could return to his comfortable life in Maputo. The author acknowledges the strength of slum dwellers but stresses that there is no beauty in poverty itself, only in the resilience of those who overcome it. The situation in Brazilian slums remains dire, with little progress over the years.

Opinions

Living in a slum is romanticized by those who do not have to endure it as a permanent reality.
The author's experience visiting slums as a child with their social worker mother differed from visiting during a typical day as an adult.
Slums are depicted as chaotic environments with poor living conditions, despite some improvements in infrastructure.
The author's ex-boyfriend's choice to live in a slum is seen as a naive and privileged decision, as he could afford a better lifestyle.
The author believes that everyone deserves to live in a place with basic infrastructure and safety, which slums inherently lack.
There is a recognition of the resilience of slum residents who face a life of poverty without the option to leave.
The author expresses concern that the Brazilian slums continue to exist and grow, indicating a lack of progress and social development in Brazil.

It’s only cool if you are playing to be poor, and that is not actually your reality.

I feel that in my 30s, I am living a much boring life because I had lived a lot in my 20s (and my heart and head cannot deal with more stress). Actually, I prefer boring, because it means less drama and tears. However, I love experiencing new things (but I love comfort more).

In my 20s, I had a boyfriend from Mozambique that wanted to live the “real Brazilian life”. His father was one of the biggest names in Africa’s cinema industry, so they had money, but he wanted to live in a Brazilian Slum, and he did. And I used to visit him there.

My mother was a social worker, so visiting slums wasn’t something new in my life because my mother used to take me to her work, usually when they had parties at non-Governmental organisations there. Her job was to supervise these organisations to see if they were doing a good job because although they aren’t public, they do receive public money. But it’s different when you go to a party in a slum from when you experience it during a typical day.

Slums are noisy and dirty, even if your house there is quiet and clean. Most of it doesn’t have streets, so you are walking up and down narrow paths full of trash. And the noise, you can hear everyone and everything.

Nowadays, most Brazilian slums are more developed, they have access to water and energy and have more resources than in the past, but they are still slums. It’s not cool to live in a slum because everyone deserves to live in a place with minimal infrastructure, and not only that, with security. Slums have their own rules and leaders.

I remember that I couldn’t go to his “house” there alone. He needed to pick me up by the slum entry and drop me after. What I was doing was actually dangerous and could end up in trouble, but thank god it never did, and my parents never knew.

My boyfriend was young (and stupid like myself for dating him), and he wanted to be “cool”. It’s only cool if you are playing to be poor, and that is not actually your reality. And this is something about Brazil and its slums; people think it’s cool to visit a slum or even live in one as he did. I knew that was wrong in the past (and even more now in my 30s) because he could afford to live better, be he liked playing poor, living in the struggle, only because it was an option for him, he could leave anytime and go back to his rich life in Maputo.

I can understand the romanticisation of Brazilian Slums. To be honest, people that live there are stronger than most of us, but they don’t have an option. They can’t leave when they get tired or want a change; they don’t have anywhere else to go. Some people are born poor and will die poor. They will never see anything besides those walls. For them, what entertains you, it’s their reality. And although there is beauty in people overcoming a life of poverty, there isn’t any beauty in being poor.

I haven’t been to Brazil in over two years; I don’t watch the Brazilian News anymore, but I talk to my parents every day, and they tell me that things are not progressing there. And I am sure they aren’t. Slums are still there, growing in silence.