Number 265, March 05, 1997.

- Brazil ranks third in homicides in the Americas

Brazil stands in third place regarding the number of homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in the Americas (after Colombia and Jamaica), according to a study made by the World Bank on crime and violence in the area, and presented in Rio de Janeiro at the Conference on Urban Crime and Violence which started on Monday March 3. The document was discussed last week in Washington by Shahid Javed Burki, Latin American and Caribbean vice president of the World Bank, and Robert Ayres, head social scientist of the same department, and author of the work.

The main conclusion is that simple economic development does not seem to be enough to diminish the number of crimes. Reforming the penal system and strengthening the capacity of municipalities to combat crime and violence are as important as reducing poverty in urban areas; reaching the risk groups (especially young unemployed men) and creating or reconstructing the so-called "social capital" (education, health, welfare).

Ayres pointed out that the need to distribute national wealth in a more just way is fundamental to effectively diminish crime and he cited Brazil specifically as a country where the distribution of income is highly unequal. Violence and crime are obstacles to the reduction of poverty and to economic growth creating a vicious circle of cause and effect which is difficult to solve. Ayres' study does not include political violence or terrorism as these are not considered typical phenomena of Latin American societies. What he finds common to all the countries with high crime rates are: rapid expansion of urban populations, large percentages of youths in the populations and unequal distribution of income. High levels of drug consumption and trafficking are directly associated to the amount of crime and violence.

Brazil has a rate of 19.7 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants. Ten years ago it was 11.5. Colombia, which is the most violent country in the hemisphere, has a rate of 89.5 (29.5 ten years ago) and Jamaica, in second place, has 70. The United States have a rate of 10.1. The country with the lowest index in the Americas is Chile, it has three homicides per 100,000 inhabitants. Most of the homicides reported are of young men killing other young men in the streets in their own neighborhoods. However, the number of men killing their wives at home has greatly increased.

Meanwhile, six people were killed and nine were injured in a prison break-out attempt in Recife, State of Pernambuco on Sunday last, March 02. The escape attempt started at 2.30 P.M. in the Anibal Bruno prison on March 02 and lasted for 14 hours. Two of the victims were police, three were prisoners and one was a hostage. The break-out attempt started during visiting hours when an estimated 2500 visitors were in the prison. The prisoners held a policeman and 25 other people - including children, as hostages. Last weekend also was the most violent of the last eight months in the city of Sao Paulo. Between 8.00 P.M. on Friday and 8.00 AM on Monday, 57 assassinations were recorded. This compares with 50 and 46 assassinations during the two previous week-ends.

URBAN QUESTIONS

- Growth of large cities has slowed significantly.

According to preliminary figures of the recent census the larger Brazilian cities seem to have reached the limit of their populational growth. The census figures show that the population of the municipality of Sao Paulo stands at 9811766 and grew only 0.3% since the previous census in 1991. Rio de Janeiro grew by 0.2% and the population now is 5533011. Since the fertility rate in Rio is less than two children per woman it is expected that the city will experience a drop in population within the next twenty years.

The lower fertility rate as well as a decrease in the number of migrants were responsible for the decrease in the population growth in the city of Sao Paulo - the population of the State of Sao Paulo however grew by 1.5% since the previous census. Of this increase, 0.4% is calculated as being due to migrants arriving in the state. In the Greater Sao Paulo area the increase was higher than in the municipality during the period - it stood at 1.4%.

"Since the 80s large urban areas have become synonymous with violence, unemployment and lack of housing. People from the middle and higher classes seek a better quality of life in the interior or in distant condominums. The poorer classes request their relatives not to migrate to Sao Paulo ..... The older urban areas demand specialized workers. The population which normally migrates is not specialized and for this reason is not needed in the large cities" commented geographer Amalia Ines Geraiges of the University of Sao Paulo (USP). Geographer Milton Santos commented that "Brazil is experiencing at the moment a redistribution of its' urban areas. Today due to the relocation of industry new populational centers are emerging".

CHILDREN'S ISSUES

- "Project Kangaroo" helps premature infants

Premature babies born in the Guilherme Alvaro state hospital in Santos (SP) are being helped to survive and grow, not by the traditional method, being put into incubators at birth, but by being strapped with a towel or piece of cloth to their mothers' bodies, thus gaining strength from her heartbeat, and the warmth of her body. This is known as the Kangaroo project, or Mother Kangaroo, because the idea comes from the pocket that female kangaroos have, where the fetus grows until it is ready to be born. Since 1991, 105 premature infants in the hospital have been helped through this project. By keeping the infant close to the mother's breast after a premature birth, his (her) temperature is maintained between 36 - 36.5 degrees Centigrade. This method was first started in 1979 in a maternity hospital in Bogota, Colombia

"In most hospitals, premature infants are isolated from their mothers and the family sees the child through a glass window. This causes the syndrome known as mother-child separation", says pediatrician Mario Alves Rosa. In this program, mothers remain a minimum of three days with their babies tied to their bodies, under observation. In the Guilherme Alvaro hospital there are 100 to 105 births per month. 10% of these are premature. Rosa says that apart from maintaining the right body temperature, the method encourages and prolongs breast-feeding, helps the relationship between mother and baby, and reduces the risk of infections. Babies who are left in nurseries for long periods run more risks of contracting hospital infections he says. With the kangaroo method, the baby is in contact with the mother's own bacteria, which are not necessarily infectious. The babies who can benefit from this care have to be healthy, free of any other complications.

The doctor says that in this way the child gains much more immunity, and it has helped reduce the number of cases of apnea (breathing interruption). The development of this method in Colombia was aimed mainly at Third World countries which have less capacity for dealing with premature births. Mario Rosa says that the daily cost of care for a baby that weighed 1Kg at birth is US$800.- in developed countries. In Third World countries, this cost averages US$89.- per child per day. In the kangaroo program, the cost falls to US$2.- per day, which is basically the cost of transporting the mother to the hospital to be with her child.

Kangaroo projects were started in Recife in 1994. In one large maternity hospital the infant mortality rate dropped from 22 per 1000 live births to 16. Doctors using this method have been able to reduce the number of days spent by a premature infant in the hospital to 16 which is half the time normally spent. In Fortaleza (CE), kangaroo projects are being adopted starting this month to help reduce the lack of vacancies in maternity hospitals.

- Businessman in Porto Alegre (RS) teaches poor adolescents to "fish".

After he was mugged by a young boy in the center of Porto Alegre in the 70's, businessman Geraldo Linck was inspired to start a project which has, in the past 20 years, taught and provided approximately 3000 young people in several Brazilian states with an occupation. He initially had blamed the government for the violence in the streets, but later decided to do something concrete to try and change the situation of youths like the one who mugged him.

In 1976, he started the Linck Technical School within his company which sold machinery. He took in a few adolescents from a poor area nearby, and started to train them as mechanics. The idea grew because Linck invited other businessmen to sponsor the first groups. Some of them decided to start "sister schools" in their own companies. Linck then started the Projeto Pescar (Pescar means to fish), and in 1995 the Projeto Pescar Foundation was formed, with Linck as president and Leonardo Eymael who is in charge of divulging the idea amongst business companies, as coordinator.

The school has 30 vacancies, and the courses are free. The prerequisite is that the candidates be between 14 and 18 years of age, and be able to read and write. Visits are made to the homes of the candidates, and only the poorest are chosen for the course. In the mornings they learn the theory and practice of mechanics. In the afternoon they work in the different sections of the company. They receive approximately US$18.- a week to cover transportation costs and receive medical and psychological coverage as well as life insurance. Most of the graduates leave the course and find jobs in other companies, earning a minimum of US$190.- a month. Surveys show that the graduates get jobs easily, and are considered excellent employees. For two years after they graduate, the school keeps in touch with ex-students, acting as support. The costs of running the school are covered by the company and are US$2,200.- per month, which includes the instructor's salary (there is only one employee), uniforms for the students, materials and upkeep of the classroom.

UPDATES

- Lawyers' organization protests the beating of women prisoners.

On January 30 we carried a report of the severe beatings of over 80 women prisoners in the Santa Rosa do Viterbo police station by the chief of police, Elton Testi Renz, as well as by civil and military police. When 53 year old Maria Madelena Goulart Soares had been refused permission to attend her 16 year old grandson's funeral under police escort, the other women prisoners began beating on the prison bars in solidarity with her. The prisoners were subsequently attacked by water canons, beaten with iron bars and batons and were kicked by the police. Their injuries were numerous - one suffered an abortion, another needed ten stitches to her head, one had an arm broken by two of the policemen; many suffered bruises and the trauma of the event caused many prisoners to subsequently suffer from severe psychological problems.

Various organizations at national and local level have condemned the brutality suffered by the women. The Citizenship Council of the lawyers association (OAB) of Sao Paulo recently published a report of a visit to the prisoners shortly after the violent incident. The report of the visit shows that there is ample evidence - including photographs taken after the incident, to believe in the prisoner's version. In its conclusion the report requested that the public authorities take a number of steps. It requests that chief of police, Dr. Elton Testi Renz, as well as other police involved in the beatings be removed from their posts and asks that the local medical association (CRM - Riberao Preto) investigate the negligence of the prisoners by prison doctor Paulo Luiz Bentazotti. The report requests that one of the prisoners - Antonia Borges da Silva be removed to where she can receive more adequate medical attention - her health conditions became more serious because of the police attack on the prisoners. It also requests that the OAB indicate lawyers to accompany the case and bring the accused to justice.

At an executive meeting of the OAB's Citizenship Council on March 04, an appeal was launched that messages of protest be sent to State Governor of Sao Paulo, Mario Covas. In your message please request Governor Covas to remove the chief of police Elton Testi Renz and other police responsible for the beatings from their functions until a complete and impartial inquiry has been carried out. We suggest that you request as well that those responsible should be given fast and exemplary punishment and that adequate legal and medical help should be offered to the prisoners.

Please send your messages to:

Dr. Mario Covas,

Governador do Estado de Sao Paulo,

Av. Morumbi, 4500,

05698-900 Sao Paulo, Brazil

Fax: +55 11 845 3301

- False death certificates.

In last week's edition we reported that police had begun to investigate the falsifying of false death certificates by Dr. Herbert Martinez (who was subsequently arrested) in association with functionaries from a number of hospitals in the Greater Sao Paulo area in association with three undertaker's firms. Police also feared that human organ trafficking might have taken place.

During the last week this gruesome story has become more horrendous. Dr. Martinez's wife - Dr. Izilda Moreira Martinez, as well as Dr. Roseli Bozzi Ursi were arrested accused of also falsifying death certificates. On March 02 the police also arrested seven people accused of belonging to another gang responsible for the falsifying of death certificates. The seven were connected with an undertaker in Carapicuiba, Greater Sao Paulo area and are accused of falsifying death certificates in the city of Osasco. Here there are suspicions that military police formed part of the gang. The police now suspect that both gangs were active in at least nine hospitals in the Greater Sao Paulo area.

- Conflict in the Pontal de Paranapanema region of Sao Paulo.

On March 04, the judge of Pirapozinho granted conditional liberty to the son of the owner of the Sao Domingos ranch, 18 year old Manoel Domingos Neto as well as four hired gun-men of the ranch. Last week we reported that this group opened fire and wounded 8 members of a group of 2500 members of the Movement of Landless Rural Workers (MST) who were entering the ranch to harvest an extensive area of maize which they had planted there when they occupied the area approximately three months ago. Two of the wounded - Miriam Farias de Oliveira and Antonio Levino Neves da Silva are still in a serious condition in hospital.

On the other hand, the Justice Tribunal of the State of Sao Paulo refused to grant a habeus corpus to MST leader Marcio Barreto. The judge of Pirapozinho, Darci Lopes Beraldo, signed a prison order for five of the local MST leadership - including Marcio Barreto, because they were accused of having organized the group of landless who planned to harvest their maize. The other four whose imprisonment was decreed have gone into hiding.

The freeing of those responsible for opening fire on the landless and the refusal to grant habeus corpus to Marcio Barreto have caused questions to arise if the justice system in the State of Sao Paulo uses two different weights and measures depending on who is before the court.

INDIGENOUS ISSUES

- Newsletter of the Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI).

Newsletter n. 249

VOLUNTARY DOCTORS RECOVER VISION OF INDIANS

A team of voluntary doctors from the Medicine School of ABC, state of Sao Paulo, and other institutions made news this week because of their initiative to visit indigenous villages in Amazonia offering treatment for cataract and other eye diseases. Conceived in 1994, the "Amazonia Vision 2000" project relies on investments amounting to one million dollars in state-of-the-art equipment sponsored by the Alcon pharmaceutical corporation, headquartered in the United States. The project began in Bororo and Xavante villages, in the state of Mato Grosso and Goias, where the doctors visited 16 villages and saw 900 Indians. The first victories of the project were the surgical treatments applied to 68-year-old Bororo Indian Melania Akiri Kodreuta - who was able to see for the first time in her life - and the Xavante Indian Geralda Pe Dabu, aged 95.

The "Amazonia Vision 2000" project relies on two hospital ships which will visit riverside villages and communities in the states of Amazonas and Para, on the banks of the Amazonas river, for five years with three teams of 15 doctors which will be taking turns at every ten-day period. The assistance will be provided 45 days a year. It is estimated that these teams will be seeing 30,000 Indians in the two states during this period. The project is not being supported by the Ministry of Health, which according to its organizers could not be persuaded of the benefits it can bring.

INTERTRIBOL BRINGS INDIANS TOGETHER IN SAO PAULO

The 1st. Indigenous Soccer Tournament, referred to as Intertribol, brought together 17 soccer teams on the last weekend representing five different ethnic groups (Guarani M'bya and Nandeva, Krenak, Kaingang, Terena, and Pankararu) from the 15 indigenous areas of the state of Sao Paulo. The tournament was organized by the Culture Secretariat and the Sports and Tourism Secretariat of the state. According to its organizers, the soccer tournament was only a means to bring together indigenous peoples, draw the attention of the press and articulate joint actions among institutions which assist those peoples. In addition to soccer games, discussions were held on land, health and education issues. An Indigenous Handicraft Fair was held during the tournament, in addition to indigenous shows and the release of a CD recorded by Guarani M'bya and Terena Indians.

PANKARARU INDIANS OCCUPY FUNAI's OFFICE TO PROTEST AGAINST

OFFICIAL SLUGGISHNESS

Tense moments were experienced in the downtown area of Recife, state of Pernambuco, on Friday, the 21st, when Pankararu Indians occupied Funai's regional head office. The Indians demanded US$ 298 thousand until Thursday, the 27th, to indemnify 33 squatters who agreed to leave their indigenous area, which covers part of three municipalities, peacefully. The Pankararu denounced the noncompliance with an agreement signed late in 1995 by Funai, Incra, the government of the state, and squatters providing for an indemnification for invaders who occupy a 8,100-hectare indigenous area where 3,600 Indians lived and which was registered in 1989. The conflict between squatters and the Pankararu has been going on for 40 years. The Pankararu promised that they will occupy Funai's office again if the agreed-upon deadline is not met.

Brasilia, 27 February 1997

- Indians regroup in a shantytown in Sao Paulo.

The Indigenous Pankararu Association calculates that 920 indians from its' ethnic group originally from Tacarutu, State of Pernambuco are now living in shantytowns (favelas) of Sao Paulo according to a report in the 'Folha de Sao Paulo' on March 02. 80% of this total is living in the Real Parque favela situated on the margin of the Pinheiros river in the southern region of the city.

"I came here as a child in 1958. It was a wooded area here. We used fish in the river" commented Frederico de Barros Pankararu, president of the indigenous association. "Dams covered the fertile lands with water. There was a war between titleless farmers (posseiros) and the Pankararus. All that remained for the indians was the edge of the hills" said Geralda Chaves Soares of the Indigenous Documentation Center of Minas Gerais referring to the exodus of the indians from thie reserve. The indigenous area had been demarcated as far back as 1939. Many of the Pankararu came to Sao Paulo along with other waves of migrants arriving from the north-east to work on numerous construction projects in the city.

"Seldom I mention that I am an indian. I hand in my work document only after I start working. If I were to hand it in beforehand, they would say that an indian is lazy" said Manuel Alexandre Sobrinho. Most of the indians in the favelas no longer speak their indigenous language - it is only remembered on rare occasions when traditional songs are sung and indigenous ceremonies performed.

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