My trip to Rocinha

At first glance Rocinha was similar to any other slum I’d been to: squalid, composed of ramshackle buildings and lacking in many of the public services that we in the west take for granted. Upon closer inspection, however, I began to notice a lack of the feeling of menace or threat I’ve experienced in other slums in the world as well as pervasive and contagious cheerfulness.
Numerous residents would wave, smile at our presence or call out “Ola” to our group. Often children, less reserved and inhibited than their parents, would run up and watch us or try to interact with us. It’s true some of them were lured by the prospect of money, but they would work hard in order to get it, usually by a capoeira performance or perhaps a football juggling demonstration.
One thing that particularly struck me during our descent back to “civilization” was just how creative people are in conditions such as these and how often communities like these function better than the ones overseen by the often corrupt and inept governments in impoverished countries. As it isn’t really part of the city (although that is starting to change, it has now been given special neighbourhood status), it’s off the grid. In order to deal with a lack of electricity people simply hook up their own cables to whatever wires that do exist and everyone seems to get by. Although some houses have plumbing, many do not. The ones that don’t deal with it by the use of large, blue water tubs on the roof, a simple and effective solution. When it comes to security in the favela the drug lords keep a tight rein on crime. Any theft, rape, or the like, is dealt with severely by their own form of vigilante justice. In many ways it is much safer to walk the streets of a favela (provided, of course that stability and order are being maintained by the current gang in control and there are no challenges to that rule) than the developed parts of Rio de Janeiro.
After finally making it back to the bottom of the hill, we left Rocinha and I looked back with a mix of sadness and hope. Like most communities, Rocinha does have its fair share of problems. However, there are also a lot of positive things going on, and a multitude of creative solutions to living in a place where many lack access to potable water, electricity and the so-called “law and order” of the rest of Rio de Janeiro. These solutions are a testament to the community of Rocinha, the resourcefulness and courage of its people and how those traditionally marginalized on the edge of society find ways to survive, and even thrive. As we left Rocinha I wondered if people would say hello while walking the streets of Copacabana, or if neighbours would help each other during times of financial crisis as they do on the "hill".