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Residents of the Mangueira favela or slum, which overlooks
the Maracana Stadium where the 2016 Olympic opening ceremony was
held, expressed a mix of pride and disappointment as the Games
opened in Rio de Janeiro on Friday.
"Look, we're extremely proud to be the host of the Games, but
has there been any benefit to us?" asked Lilian Sales, a
Mangueira resident.
"No, nothing has changed in my life because of hosting these
Games and it's absurd to think that anything will change for my
two children," said Sales, who has a son who is 6-years-old and
a daughter less than 12 months old.
As A-listers and other celebrities swamped the Maracana for the
opening ceremony, which celebrated the culture of favelas, slum
dwellers looked on less than 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) away at the
lights coloring the night sky.
"The world needs to know – I am here watching this spectacle
from a slum right next to where they are opening the Olympics,
and my life has not improved at all," said Jose Carmo, a
23-year-old construction worker who lives in Mangueira.
"It is frustrating to be so close to this spectacle and yet so
far away, living in a place were we have no security, not even
sewage," Carmo said.
Rio's Olympics are costing nearly $12 billion but critics argue
even legacy projects like a new metro line, bus highways and
massive real estate developments have done little to improve the
lives of the city's marginalized.
"I really want to be an optimist, and tell you that all this is
great for Brazil," said 34-year-old Robinson Munes as he got his
hair trimmed for the weekend.
"But we have not seen it. I love seeing that stadium light up, I
want to feel pride as a Brazilian, but the Olympics have not
brought any great changes for us."
Denilson Lucio Souza, said that "at this moment I am proud to be
a Brazilian and that the Games are here."
But he said he had seen little investment in health, education
or security in Mangueira since it was announced that Rio had won
the Games in 2009.
"We need help, and it seems bizarre to beg when the city I live
in is hosting the Olympics," he said. "I only ask that we get
more help with health, security and education."
(Reporting by Brad Brooks; Editing by Stephen Eisenhammer and
Andrew Hay)
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