Who could hate something as amazing as the world cup...? Brazil could.

        I can say without a doubt that sport has had an impact on all of our lives. Weather it comes from personally participating in sport of simply watching, sports have affected us all. Sports have the ability fo affect our health by giving us the means to participate in physical activity. Sports also develope our emotional and mental strength by teaching us to handle the ups and downs that come with participating in, or simply being a fan. The importance of sports is clearly shown by the fact that UNESCO has officially named the right to sports as a fundamenal right for all humans. On a larger scale sports can be used as a means for economic growth by providing jobs for those who build, own, and maintain sporting facilities, the many jobs that come from broadcasting events and the billions of dollars that are collected yearly from sport related revenue. However, when we look a little deeper into the history of sport we find that it has played a role in maintaining societies which goes further than simply producing money and maintaining personal fitness.

        In Amuse's paper "The promotion of peace and international understanding through sport", Amuse explains how sports can be related to the building of peaceful relations within nations, between individuals and entire countries. However, for sports to play this role he argues that the following four social realities must exist:

1) Providing security

2) building the socio- economic foundations for long term peace

3) establishing the political framework for long term peace

4) fostering reconciliation, healing and justice

        Amuse shows how without these four realities sports no longer are able to unite the masses, but rather hinder the creation of a peaceful and united society, which can be seen in the current situationoccurring here in Brazil involving the World Cup.

        When if comes to the first required reality; providing security, we can all think of many horror stories or list numerous warnings we've received from others when discussing Brazil. The World Fact Book rates Brazil as the 148th most dangerous country out of their 225 countries rated. Although this may seem like a mediocre rating, when we take into account the fact that on average 6.54 citizens out of every thousand will be murdered yearly, the dangers which exist in Brazil can be quantified. But stats aside, my own personal experience here in Brazil has exemplified how Brazil does not provide all it's citizens with the luxury of living a life free of danger. As explained in my previous blog last weekend we took part in a volunteer project playing soccer with the children in Villa Torres, one of the favelas here in Curitiba. After a day filled with many laughs and frivalous play we were horrified by an email the next morning which stated that a drive by shooting had occurred in Villa Torres which left 4 injurded and 2 dead. This example shows why many people are not supporting the World Cup, but rather using it as a stage to fight for their basic need for security.

         When it comes to building long term peace through socio-economic foundations, Brazil has also fallen short in some aspects. Here, in Brazil there is a substancial divide between the rich and the poor which extends into all aspects of life, including education. As stated by the Organization for Economic Corporation and Development, Brazil has an exceptionally high illiteracy level of 10.2% which, is a result of their education system that favors those with money, and neglects those without. From the moment a child enters school their attainable standards for their future is practically decided, depending on whether they will enter a private or public school. For those who do not have the money to enter private school they will receive an education that is sub-par in comparison to the education a child would receive in a private school. This difference in education is perpetuated throughout their life resulting in public school students not gaining the required skills to succeed at a university level. This lower level of education given to those who cannot afford private school then propogates the cycle of poverty since they will not be able to obtain high paying jobs. Because of the disperity between the rich and the poor the two groups often clash, based of different itnerest, disrupting the needed foundation for the promotion of long-term peace based on socio-economic reasons.

Irony of the economic divide

       The World Cup taking place in Brazil has also highlighted the disagreements between the desires of millions of Brazilian citizens and that of Brazi's political body. Many of the riots which have occurred here in Brazil are based on the need for the provision of basic needs to the citizens rather than spending over 11 million dollars to create an image of Brazil that the rest of the world wants to see. There have been riots calling for better public transportation, education, health care and overall security. However, the government, under the influence of FIFA, has prioritized creating a "FIFA standard" experience for all those who are coming to take part in the world cup. Feeling unheard by their government many citizens have turned to violence in order to get their point across - they do not care for the creation of "FIFA standard" stadiums, but rather call for the overall creation of a "FIFA standard" of living. A couple weeks ago the need for an increase in the standard of living for the poor was exemplifed to me by one of my taxi drivers. As we were driving through a favela in Rio he bluntly stated that he'd " rather be in hell, because it's better than this place".

example of Brazilian Favel

         As shown by the previous three points, Brazil is far from achieving Amuse's fourth required reality of fostering reconsiliation, healing and justice. As such the world cup has been met with a high degree of distain. It is not hard to see why citizens are upset that Brazil has decided to ignore the cries for basic needs in order to create an enjoyable experience for the fans who will be visiting Brazil for a couple weeks then leaving. When citizens are forced to live day to day in fear for their lives, it is understandable why so many Brazilians have decided to protest against the World Cup, and view it as a social injustice rather then support it.

Call for FIFA Standard of living

        Through the short comings in the four required realities as stated by Amuse, it can be seen why the World Cup has not been met with adoration by all those who originally supported it, namely the citizens or Brazil, and it makes me feel foolish. When I first planned on coming to Brazil for the World Cup I did not understand why so many Brazilians were fighting against it. I even did my first presentation naively on the ability of sports to unite the world, and how I though this would occur through the use of the World CUp here in Brazil. However, like many other visitors from around the world I actively chose to neglect the social situation of the people in Brazil. Instead of looking into the ways in which the World Cup could harm those who were hosting it, I foolishly assumed it was an honour void of negative effects. At the end of the day, my opinion of the World Cup being held here in Brazil has changed. I no longer see it as a stage for Brazil to create a new image of themselves through hosting this sporting event, but rather hope that it can be used as a stage to exemplify the need for social change here in Brazil.