Beach in Rio de Janeiro becomes memorial for children affected by police action

Rio de Janeiro, Aug 19 (EFE).- Children who have fallen victim to police actions against organised crime in Rio de Janeiro, including the recent case of thirteen-year-old Thiago Flausino in the Cidade de Deus favela, were commemorated on Copacabana Beach on Saturday.

The gathering witnessed the presence of numerous participants who carried banners, lending their voices to the cause.

A poignant symbolic funeral and burial ceremony were held for fourteen minors who tragically lost their lives between 2022 and 2023.

This event was thoughtfully organised by the non-governmental organization (NGO) Rio de Paz. (Camera: JANAÍNA QUINET / ANTONIO LACERDA).

FOOTAGE SHOWS A PROTEST BY THE NGO RIO DE PAZ TO PAY TRIBUTE TO CIVILIAN VICTIMS OF POLICE ACTIONS ON COPACABANA BEACH IN RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL.

SOUND BITES: PRISCILA MENEZES, DEMONSTRATOR; AND ANTONIO CARLOS COSTA, DEMONSTRATOR (IN PORTUGUESE).

TRANSLATION:

1.PRISCILA MENEZES, DEMONSTRATOR:

- It wasn't an operation. That's what they want to convey to the media as an operation, but it was an execution because they didn't enter the community. Everything happened on the main street of the community, where they shot my son without asking who he was.

-We just want to ask for justice to end this. The police must understand that there are children in the community, children who have dreams of becoming footballers or teachers. My daughter wants to be a flight attendant, do you understand? They're destroying our children's dreams.

2. ANTONIO CARLOS COSTA, DEMONSTRATOR :

- What the community is asking for is that these police actions prioritize the lives of the favela residents. A police officer cannot enter a community, so obsessed with arresting or killing a criminal, that they forget human beings live there in precarious conditions and housing, complete families among which are children.

-The most horrifying face of crime in Rio de Janeiro is the death of these children. Imagine those 14 coffins in Hyde Park in London, Central Park in New York, or near the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Those cities would've come to a halt, but Rio de Janeiro did not because historically we live in a nation that ignores the rights of the poor.