Seminar paper from the year 2005 in the subject Psychology - Social Psychology, grade: 66, Nottingham Trent University, language: English, abstract: On 23 July 1993, at night, a group of men fired on a group of over 50 street children who were sleeping in the surrounding area of the Candelária Church, in Rio de Janeiro city centre. Five children and one young adult were killed almost immediately, three others were kidnapped with fatal consequences for two of them. The remaining survived a shot on his face as the gang had left him for dead. Taking in sum, seven children and one young adult where killed in this episode. However the disgrace for the survivors did not stop that night, it is believed that 39 out of the children who used to sleep in Candelária by that time have died in a violent way (AI, 2003). This butchery was carried out by “death squads”, which mainly involved members of the Military Police of Rio, that is, those who are supposed to protect the civilians. Its “origin”, in words of the accused me, was some stones thrown at a police car. The Candelária slaughter has also become famous for being the first time that a Brazilian policeman is found guilty of murdering a street child (Csillag, 1996) In the following pages I will try to explain the general situation of street children, and why they exist in Brazil, while making references to how psychological and criminological theories can explain their situation. However, first I will define “what” a street child is, and what are they major concerns [...]

The first comprehensive cultural history of Brazil to be written in English, Brazil Imagined: 1500 to the Present captures the role of the artistic imaginary in shaping Brazil's national identity. Analyzing representations of Brazil throughout the world, this ambitious survey demonstrates the ways in which life in one of the world's largest nations has been conceived and revised in visual arts, literature, film, and a variety of other media. Beginning with the first explorations of Brazil by the Portuguese, Darlene J. Sadlier incorporates extensive source material, including paintings, historiographies, letters, poetry, novels, architecture, and mass media to trace the nation's shifting sense of its own history. Topics include the oscillating themes of Edenic and cannibal encounters, Dutch representations of Brazil, regal constructs, the literary imaginary, Modernist utopias, "good neighbor" protocols, and filmmakers' revolutionary and dystopian images of Brazil. A magnificent panoramic study of race, imperialism, natural resources, and other themes in the Brazilian experience, this landmark work is a boon to the field.

On 23 July 1993, off-duty policemen opened fire on a group of street children who were sleeping outside one of Rio de Janeiro's most prominent landmarks--the Church of Our Lady of the Candelária. The incident became known as the Candelária Massacre and it roused the people of Rio to the streets in protest. Shortly before the shootings, the policemen picked up three boys and took them off in their car to be shot elsewhere. One of them, Wagner dos Santos, survived and his survival altered the political landscape of Brazil. This book tells his story--growing up in Rio's orphanages and gangland favelas; being shot during the massacre then being shot again a year later in attempt to silence his testimony; and being forced into exile for his own safety.

This study explores issues of race, racism, and strategies to improve the status of people of African descent in Brazil, South Africa and the USA. The authors provide in-depth information about each country, together with analyses of cross-cutting themes and trends.

Links the plight of contemporary urban dwellers of African descent across North America, Europe, the Caribbean, Latin America, and sub-Saharan Africa, examines their coping strategies, and advocates social policies sensitive to their cultural and societal differences.