Another day that began, and we hardly knew what we would experience. It was clear, however, that this would be a long day with many stories. The same stories that repeat in the lives of residents of communities.
Still in the aftermath of Brazil's victory in its debut in the World Cup, November 25 came abruptly for residents of some favelas of Maré – Vila dos Pinheiros, Morro do Timbau, Baixa do Sapateiro, Parque Maré, Nova Holanda, Parque Rubens Vaz, and Parque União. Something very negative had already been announced since the 23 rd , when several police officers were at the entrances of main streets of Maré with their armored cars parked.
But on Friday, at 4:45 am, before the daybreak and residents beginning to leave for work, children going to school, and businesses opening their doors, among other actions that are part of the daily routine of the population, news arrived that police helicopters were flying low, close to the rooftops of houses, in some favelas of Maré. Additionally, reports of gunfire and the presence of five armored vehicles were noted. This was the moment when a network of messages and communication began both inside and outside the favelas, creating a sense of widespread fear and insecurity.
As always in moments of police operations, for the past 10 years, the team from Redes da Maré’s axis The Right to Public Security and Access to Justice coordinated to go out into the streets and monitor the unfolding of another military intervention. It's worth noting that this was an important day for the team, as everything was organized for a work trip for this axis, where everyone would be together for three days planning the priorities for 2023. There was no doubt when we found ourselves in this situation: part of the group went on with the planning, and another stayed to monitor the process of the police operation, which took around 15 hours of terror and panic for the residents.
And so, before 5 am, many reports of rights violations reached the public security team. We learned that cars were being vandalized in Nova Holanda, houses invaded in Parque União and Morro do Timbau, and shortly after 7 am, we received news that two residents had been executed by the police at Beco da Alegria, in Parque Maré, in the midst of intense gunfire.
Another day that began, and we hardly knew what we would experience. It was clear, however, that this would be a long day with many stories. The same stories that repeat in the lives of residents of favelas. The police operation focused on some favelas - Nova Holanda and Parque Maré – and one of the people killed, Renan Souza de Lemos, 24 years old, was placed in a wheelbarrow by his family, and his body was taken to Avenida Brasil. Here we can pause and think: why did the family decide to remove the body from the crime scene? This can be explained as an act of the family's care for their loved one, out of fear of leaving him exposed on the ground, since, historically, the public body retrieval service typically does not provide adequate assistance in territories like Maré. It is undoubtedly an act of desperation so they can experience mourning and loss.
This body remained exposed for four hours on Avenida Brasil, and at the same time, the public security team provided support to the family, engaged in different collaborations with the Public Prosecutor's Office, the military police, the fire department, among others, so that the Civil Defense would come to remove the body, as required by the occurrence report, which was not done by the agents of the police operation. The body was only removed at 11 am after the Homicide Division was contacted and made the record by phone, without coming in person to conduct the forensic examination, which would have been the correct procedure.
The context of the death of Renan Souza triggered a series of reactions, and suddenly, some protests questioned the brutal and disrespectful manner in which the police were handling the intervention process. There were attempts to block one of the lanes of Avenida Brasil, which were violently repressed by the police, who threw tear gas bombs, pepper spray, and rubber bullets at the residents, including the relatives of the murdered people, who were outraged by the situation that unfolded.
The violations continued, and alarming news arrived throughout the day: home invasions with vandalism and thefts, people being held in private captivity, especially young individuals, sexual harassment, physical and psychological violence, torture, and threats, among other violations. In other words, a day of horror. Faced with all this, we wonder what else needs to happen for this method of police action to be questioned, modified, and denaturalized?
Police operations in the favelas of Maré have been becoming more sophisticated in the cruelest way possible over time. Today, we realize that the lack of accountability for the actions of public security professionals during a police operation is something that does not concern anyone or any institution.
On the one hand, the Public Prosecutor's Office, which has the authority to oversee police actions, neither monitors the violations that occur in these circumstances nor provides substantial answers to the abuses committed by those who should be under control. On the other hand, the state government, instead of ensuring the right to life and public security for favela residents, is the main promoter of violations toward populations most neglected by public policies.
The misinformation and neglect toward the people who are killed and their families are deliberate. In this latest operation, families and professionals from the axis’ team went to four hospitals, a police station, and the Institute of Legal Medicine in search of bodies that were reported of being shot but were missing. This left the families of these people more desperate.
But the curious thing is that every time we sought precise information about the whereabouts of these people, we encountered incorrect information, provided by the police officers in the field. This, without a doubt, is unacceptable and shows a deliberate action of disrespect toward favela residents. On that day, of many violations and barbarism in six favelas in Rio de Janeiro, the police operation, in the case of some favelas in Maré, continued until nighttime. It was past 6 pm when our team learned that some police officers remained on the roofs of residents' houses, hidden, scaring them and leaving doubts about the sense of this type of strategy.
By the end of the day, there were eight murders, two injured individuals, four home invasions, some Family Clinics with suspended activities, 40 closed schools, several social projects that couldn't operate, almost 1,000 commercial establishments in Parque União, Parque Rubens Vaz, Nova Holanda, Parque Maré, and Baixa do Sapateiro that had to interrupt their activities, in addition to the mobility issues established by the terror of this police operation. Not to mention other violations of fundamental rights that significantly affect the lives of residents in the 16 favelas of Maré, including the mental health of those who live here. Besides the eight deaths in the Maré operation, we learned that seven more people were killed in interventions that occurred on this same day at Morro do Juramento and Morro do Estado, in Niterói. We also wonder how this process unfolded in these two favelas.
We think about all that happens here in Rio de Janeiro and what more needs to be done for some collective action involving society to change this scenario.
Rio de Janeiro, December 5, 2022.
Article published on www.nexojornal.com.br
