“Brazil World Cup: FIfa and business miss an open goal for human rights” – Phil Bloomer and Julia Mello Nieva. 13 June 2014 Click here for original text
“FIFA is recognized as one of the world’s wealthiest sporting associations.” In 2014, its games which occur every four years, were hosted in Brazil. While many hoped that the games would create great revenue for Brazil, it seems that it added to the poverty issue that the country faces. Many residents have taken to the streets in order to protest and voice their concerns against the World Cup being hosted in Brazil. Survey’s show that a majority of the Brazilian population opposes the World Cup in Brazil stating that the money used to fund the games takes away from public services such as in health and education. It seems that only businesses and politicians stand to benefit, leaving many to wonder if this is a violation of human rights. In addition, many contracting companies leave little to be desired. Many workers have lost their lives while building stadiums. “Furthermore, some companies force their workers to live in “slave-like” conditions”. Not to mention,many have been evicted and forced out of their homes in order make room for new stadiums being build. This has resulted in increased poverty and homelessness, as many are not fairly compensated. Other human rights issues that have raised concerned are livelihood of street vendors, protection of protesters, and prevention of childhood prostitution. With hundreds of thousands of tourist predicted to arrive in Brazil for the games, they can become a threat to the life of the Brazilian population.
The authors of this article do a good job of organizing and categorizing how the World Cup is affecting the life of thousands of Brazilians. By doing so they facilitate the understanding of different issues stemming from the World Cup. In addition, they provide helpful links to resources and studies used to write this article.
A graffiti painted by Brazilian street artist Paulo Ito on the entrance of a public schoolhouse in Sao Paulo, Brazil on May 23, 2014. A picture of the graffiti depicting a starving child with nothing to eat but a football has been shared more than 50,000 times on Facebook. AFP PHOTO / Nelson ALMEIDA
The image above is one of many street art, reminiscent of how many feel about the World Cup in Brazil. The depiction shows a starving child, crying because all he as to eat is a football. This shows how many are suffering and being further impoverished by FIFA, its government and their support of the World Cup.
