Everybody thinks; “Haa…. Brazillll. Paradise. Such a beautiful country where all the people just dance the samba, drink, go to the beach and make love…” But there is a Brazil that nobody knows of. Sadly this is the Brazil I know. Brazilians (me included obviously) are generally ‘happy go merry’ but also extremely cautious and suspicious people. Why? You ask… well, let me tell you.
I was born in a small city, 500 kilometers from Sao Paulo. I moved to Sao Paulo when I was 22 years old. Sao Paulo is the biggest city in South America, and almost every person living there had been robbed at one time or another. My first time was maybe 2 weeks after I arrived in this huge big metropolitan. I was young from a small town and soooooooo naïve. Anyway, one night I decided to go to a pharmacy which was near by and buy some nasal drops. Getting to the pharmacy, I had just to cross a small bridge with a pedestrian sidewalk. When I was exactly half way through, I noticed a man walking behind me. I didn’t think much of it. Then he started to walk faster until he passed me, no big deal right? Wrong…. He suddenly stood at his place, turned around and walked towards me. Naïve as I was, I thought he just forgot something and decided to go back. He stopped in front of me, pulled out a knife and very quietly asked me to come with him. Only then did I realize what was happening and that there was a car behind me, with 2 other men inside. He kept pulling me towards the car and this time screaming obscenities at me. I was so scared… I chocked and just couldn’t think or react. I started to cry and tried to give him my money, but he didn’t want my money, he kept pulling me towards the car. At that same moment a taxi driver, who saw everything stopped by our side. The man panicked and ran to his car. I got inside the cab and he took me to the pharmacy. I was a mess, hysterical, and the driver told me that I was lucky that he saw everything, because I was about to be raped by 3 different men and God knows what more. He waited for me to buy my medicine and took me back home. What an angel. No need to say that after that horrifying experience, I was scared and suspicious of every subtle movement or shadow. Even during the day if somebody was walking behind me I would panic.
My second time took place under completely different circumstances. First, it was 6 years later, so I knew my way around the city and I was a bit older (and wiser). It was during the morning rush hour. I was in my car making my way to work when; I had to stop at the traffic light for it to change. At this exact moment, this man (who came from no where) knocked on my window with a gun and asked me for my money. Damn! They got me again (I was thinking.) I didn’t even look at his face, just opened my window and gave him my purse. Everybody saw it happening but nobody moved an inch, nobody ever does. That’s how it is. Brazil is a beautiful country but the corruption is at immeasurable levels, affecting every sector of my country. That’s what happens when the government uses the money for its own personal benefit and for its member’s personal gains instead of investing it in desperately needed infrastructure and proper educational facilities for all people in the entire country. Law enforcement is practically nonexistent and as for the court system, the punishment for robbery is a joke. Our laws are really crappie. And the politicians don’t change the laws because they are the biggest thieves in the bunch. Actually (and this is a true story), once we had a mayor in Sao Paulo who ran for reelection. His campaign used the following slogan:
“Maluf (his name) steals it is true, but he still get things done”. What???? You say in disbelief. He actually had the vanity to use such a slogan in his campaign? The sad truth is he did and he won the election.
Even after all these years living in different countries, I’m still very suspicious of everything and everyone, a bit paranoid I have to say. Yesterday was a scorching day, so hot you could fry an egg on the pavement, so the only food my husband & I could think of was sushi, something refreshing. We ended up going to this Japanese restaurant in Chelsea, “Momoya”. We go there from time to time and we always have the same waiter serving us, he is very nice & sweet. When we left, trying to get a taxi, it started raining real hard and of course there was no available taxi in sight. Only thing I could think of was: – My bag! My sandals, is this dress supposed to be dry-cleaned? (Yes I am a bit shallow sometimes). So I was there in the corner waving my hands and whistling this very loud whistle I use only in desperate situations (and this was one) trying to get a taxi before anyone else would beat me to it (New York… there is this battle for the Taxi that goes on every corner… but this is a story for a different time), Then all of a sudden my husband shows behind me with an umbrella, and I asked him:
Me – Nice, where did you get that?
Husband – Our waiter came outside in the rain and gave to me.
Me – Really? What does he want from us?
Husband – “stink yes”- Are you for real?
Me – *Sight* Yes you are right. I am a horrible person. I’ll probably burn in hell.
