The summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro was a huge success. I, as a volunteer for the badminton games, witnessed majestic new stadiums and inspiring stories of sporting glory. However, behind this amazing Olympic city, there lies a darker side. To make way for the Olympics, 22,059 local families have lost their homes and more than 7 favela communities (urban slums) have been knocked down. The hidden cost of the Games was the social sanitizing of the city. “The Olympics has nothing to do with our story,” said a resident of Vila Autodromo favela, who battled to save his home from being demolished for the construction of the Olympic Park, prior to the Games. Once home to more than 800 families, popular favela Vila Autodromo has now reduced to only 20 concrete houses. I plan to return and spend 8 weeks over winter quarter in Rio doing a multimedia journalism project about the aftermath of the Olympics on this now broken community. My final products, which consist of series of articles, one documentary and one photo slideshow will examine how the Olympics has shaped the lives of the local residents. Through this project, I look forward to improving my journalism skills as a video journalist and learning more about Portuguese language and Brazilian culture. 

 

                Residents of Vila Autodromo were among an estimated 60,000 people who lost homes to the Rio Games, which was a part of a larger effort to turn the area into a presentable “Olympic city.” In order to make way for the construction of the Olympic Park; residents of the Vila Autodromo favela were forced to move out of their neighborhood through psychological pressure and even violence. According to the Guardian, most families were paid to leave in mid-2015. Soon after the bulldozers arrived on site, starting their construction project without residents’ consent, knocking down the favela brick by brick. On June 3rd, 2015, at least six residents were wounded when they “tried to form a human chain around the homes that were due for demolition” and the police reacted with the use of pepper spray, rubber bullets and percussion grenades. “These removals for mega-events always happen, but not in the dramatic way we see here in Brazil,” a journalist from the newspaper, La Presse, commented.iv In Rio de Janeiro, one quarter of the population lives in favelas, which were all targeted by the government beautification campaign in preparation for the game. As the Washington Post pointed out, the Olympic movement, involving the construction of new stadiums and demolishment of the poor neighborhoods, became “a destructive force” that made the local people feel pressured, intimidated and even threatened. “The Olympics does not allow poor people around it. Instead, they leave us with this. Something that looks like a war zone,” a local resident Sandra Souza commented.

 

                Despite the violent clashes, the government promised all residents a considerable amount of compensation and a new community with a sports field and a cultural center. However, a local resident told the Guardian during an interview that, there were many families who took the compensation and regretted it. They felt fooled by the city—“they were lied to about their rights to public housing or they were given lesser compensation than others.”vi Furthermore, the Washington Post revealed that the area that used to be Vila Autodromo, is now nothing but a parking lot adjacent to the Olympic Park, which did not directly impede the construction of the Park. 

 

                All pieces cited above about Vila Autodromo were written during the construction of the Olympic Park, prior to the Games. However, stories revealing the current situation of the favelas seem to be lacking. What happened to the people after the game was over and what was the aftermath of the Olympic Games? As a matter of fact, there are many other questions to be answered—did the residents get full compensation? Did the government keep all their promises and are the people happy with their new community? Answers to questions on the current situation of the community, along with the work previously done by other journalists (the situation before the Olympics) will give us a thorough understanding of how the Olympics has shaped and changed the lives of the local residents. This research will also explore larger questions such as: Why did the government remove the favela that did not directly affect the construction of Olympic Park? Did the Olympics movement create positive or negative changes to the local community? And what happens to an Olympic city after the Olympic is over

  

               I plan to work on a journalistic project on the aftermath of Rio Olympics through written articles and multimedia pieces. My final product will include 3 pieces of articles that examine the loss of community from the diaspora, the government’s interactions with local favelas, and the impact of the Olympics on Rio people; a photo slideshow that compares and showcases the lives of the old and the new community; and a 10-12 minute documentary focusing specifically on one particular family and their narratives of the incident. My audience for this project will be the people outside of Brazil who witnessed the excitement and success of the Games. I intend to reveal the dark and complicated side of the Olympics and inform them about the impact of this global event on local communities. 

       

                In order to gather information for my articles, I will conduct interviews with local residents of the favela asking about their living situation before and after the Olympics (job situation, community events and whether the government has kept their promises) and if moving to this new neighborhood played an important role in these changes. I will also interview members of the Rio Olympic Committee and examine what roles they played during the removal of the favelas. As for my photo slideshow, I plan to take pictures of the newly built Olympic stadiums, the current Olympic parking lot and the new neighborhood the residents moved into. Putting these photos together will create a contrast between the Olympic city presented to the world and the real Olympic city in the eyes of the locals. Finally, I plan to make a documentary focusing on the life of one particular family who agreed to be filmed. I will produce a story told by their own voice. First of all, I will get footage of their everyday life in the new community. Then, I will ask them to give me a tour of the old Vila Autodromo and tell me about their old life as we walk through the neighborhood. To keep my journalistic integrity, I will be a neutral listener and let the family become the story tellers and decide what should be or what should not be told to the audience. By giving them a platform to be speak up and be honest with themselves, my goal is to understand the social impact of the Olympics through the perspectives of the local residents. 

    

                As a Medill student, my journalism classes and writing experience  have prepared me with advanced interview and reporting skills. My previous experience as a RTVF major also gave me the opportunity to develop filming and video producing skills. I have made 3 short documentaries and several audio journalism pieces both in and outside of class for a summer internship. I am confident that I will produce a thorough and newsworthy multimedia project for my research. As for my language proficiency, I had four years of Spanish learning experience in high school, which built a foundation for Portuguese. I was fully exposed to Portuguese in Rio and managed to live with a local family where nobody spoke any English. I am enrolled in Portuguese class this quarter and able to Skype with the Brazilian family every week with no difficulties. 

 

                As a journalism student, I’ve always been interested in conducting community-based researches and examine how a large global event can impact the everyday life of local communities.  My major focus is video journalism and this project is the perfect opportunity to practice my journalistic skills including conducting surveys, interviews and making documentaries. I’m also eager to continue my study in Portuguese language and Brazilian culture. I look forward to pursuing my academic interest in an environment that keeps me motivated and grow as an individual through my interaction with another community. 

 

 

 

 

  

i Jenkins, Sally. "For the Displaced of Rio, 'The Olympics H as N othing to Do with Our S tory'" W ashington Post. The W ashington Post, 7Aug.2016.W eb.23Nov.2016.

 

ii Griffin, Jo. "Change Beckons for Vila Autódromo, the Favela That Got in the Rio Olympics' W ay ." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 26 Apr. 2016. Web. 23 N ov. 201.

 

iii Watts, Jonathan. "Forced Evictions in Rio Favela for 2016 Olympics Trigger V iolent Clashes." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media,03June2015.W eb.28Nov.2016. 

 

iv , Adriano Adriano."Resident of the Last Standing Original Home in Vila Autódromo Tells F oreign Media of Terror RioOnWatch. N.p.,12Aug. 2016.Web. 27 Nov. 2016. Wlkson

 

v Rogers, Martin. "Residents Lose Homes to Make Way for Rio Olympics." US A T oday. N.p., 29 June 2016. W eb. 20 Nov. 2016.