Brazilian prisons – what is up there?
The last days had seen a number of bad news from Brazilian prisons. I‘ve been asked, what‘s up in Brazilian prisons, and if I could write a few words about it. It‘s a frustrating topic, but here we go. Some days ago news came from the very north of Brazil. In a prison...
Chico Xavier or this awkward moment when you realize that you don‘t know anything about Brazil
„Brazil is not for Beginners“ people like to say when they realize that living in this beautiful country can sometimes be painfully complicated. Brazil is a giant and diverse and rich and beautiful and incredibly unequal country, and even after having lived and worked...
Rio de Janeiro – Home of hate and fear
While the Paralympics are happening in Rio de Janeiro and after the city tried to use the Olympics to portray itself in a good light, it should not be forgotten, that for these Olympics thousands of people had to be relocated or were forcefully moved out of their...
The impeachment of Dilma Rousseff
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/aug/31/dilma-rousseff-impeachment-brazil-what-you-need-to-knowToday is the big day, when South America's biggest country will finally vote on the impeachment of its president. And if you've just woken up from a coma, spent the last three months on a far away island or were simply sick and tired of this sometimes ridiculous and...
What’s up lately in Brazil and the US?
The German shooting star of "a different" political journalism Tilo Jung went to Brazil with his interview series "young&naive" and he talked to Glenn Greenwald about the current situation in Brazil and the US. As always Greenwald's leftish view and reasoning...
Favela life during the Olympics
http://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1040552/problems-looming-for-rio-2016-paralympic-gamesNow that the Olympic Games are over and with serious doubts that the Paralympic Games in Rio will take place as planned, the Guardian has posted a few pictures in a series called "Favela life during the Olympics" from the favela overlooking the Maracaná stadium, where...
Violence, Brazil and the Olympic Games
After watching the games for a while it is interesting to see how German (and international) media and athletes talk about the Olympic Games in Rio. There are complaints about empty stadiums and arenas, even though the organizers claim that everything is sold out,...
The Guardian: Rio Olympics – view from the favela
The great series of The Guardian continues as a warm-up for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro: The Rio Olympics - view from the favelas, articles written by community journalists which are people actually living there. This is really impressive and sometimes...
A perfect start into the weekend…
... is watching this amazing wake-boarder and listening to the equally amazing Brazilian music by Dom La Nena.
What is a favela?
When in Brazil it is hard to avoid hearing about them. "Don't take the wrong exit or you will end up in a favela" is one sentence you might hear, or "he's from the favela" when talking about people - be it football star or colleague. But what is a favela exactly? It's...
Endless Summer
Notes about the mysterious everyday life. Ex-Berliner and lover of coxinha and Rosinenbrötchen, currently living, writing and teaching in Santos/Brazil.