On the working poor/criminalization of poverty

[Thomas Kruse <tkruse@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Killing of 4 Beggars Shocks Brazil

New York Times, December 12, 1997

By DIANA JEAN SCHEMO

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- Four beggars sleeping under the awning of a
furniture store were shot dead shortly before dawn here on Tuesday, in a
killing that has shocked the country and raised memories of an earlier
massacre of eight street children sleeping in the doorway of Candelaria
Cathedral.

[...]

Another study by a civic group here found that police homicides rose to an
average of 32 a month in 1996 from 16 a month in the previous three years.

[...]

"Everybody's terrified," said a 17-year-old boy who sleeps under the
viaduct, but was not there at the time of the killings. "I'm terrified."

He said the four who died were "good people," though drug addicts, as he
once was. "It's difficult to make a go of it. When we look for work, they
say we're vagabonds."

Some of his friends fled here after the Candelaria massacre, he said. "They
left there to die here," he said. "Brazil has so little shame."

He said 10 people had found shelter under the viaduct, where the police
would throw water on them and set fire to their mattresses. Merchants in the
area, while saying they were shocked by the crime, criticized the lack of
police patrols.

They called the homeless addicts, and said they would rob customers leaving
the bank and terrorize shoppers. One teen-ager said the group had been
threatened by drug dealers from a nearby slum, who, like the legitimate
merchants, were upset by the addicts.

[...]

Copyright 1997 The New York Times Company

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