Well, it’s been a banner week in Brazil! On the 17th there was a report about the former mayor of a city in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul being sentenced and fined for a racial comment he made on the radio. Things then heated up on the 19th after photos surfaced of a “joke” by white law students at the federal university in the state of Minas Gerais that referenced slavery, blackface and Hitler. On the 20th, the blog exploded after photos of a stylist’s “homage” to black soccer players using models who wore scouring pad-like wigs at the 2014 summer edition of São Paulo Fashion Week. Today we publish another story from Brazil’s capital city region where a young girl was beaten up by four assailants simply for being black. Full story below.
A 12 year old girl was beaten up near a bus stop in Recanto das Emas, in Distrito Federal (Federal District), on Monday, March 18. She was allegedly assaulted by four girls, still unknown, for being black.
by Raquel Morais
The attack occurred while the girl was going to school in the morning. After getting mixed up and taking the wrong bus on Potiguar Avenue, the girl came to a stop and was approached by the group shortly after.
“The girls said they did not accept blacks in their alley. My daughter said it was okay, that was already leaving, but they replied that as she was there, (and) as she was there, she would have to pay for what he did,” said the domestic Márcia Pereira do Nascimento, the mother of the young girl.
Two hooded young girls held Nascimento’s daughter while the other two insulted, punched, scratched and kicked her, hitting her in the arms, legs and stomach. The girl said he had no idea how long the assault lasted and she chose not to react out of fear that they would get even more violent. All she wanted was to away.
“It’s too bad, a pain that you can’t even describe, you see a child going through it. She just cries”, said Nascimento. “She asked me if I really love her, the way that she is. And I love her and I will always love, even if she didn’t have two legs,” lamented the mother.
The girl underwent examinations at the Instituto Médico Legal (IML or Institute of Forensic Medicine), where lesions were found. Then she was referred to an Unidade de Pronto Atendimento (Emergency Care Unit or PSU) due to severe pain in her ankle bone.
Márcia said the whole family was horrified about what happened. She was excused from work on Monday and Tuesday to take care of her daughter, who was not in class on those days. The young girl returned to school on Wednesday to take a math test.
Earning a minimum salary per month to support her three children and a grandson, Márcia said she fears for the girl’s emotional balance. “I’m not able to afford a psychologist because there are days when we don’t even have enough to eat. She was very shaken and even more reserved. She will never recover.”
The case was registered at the 27th Police Precinct. In response to aggression, the Federal District government created Disque Racismo (Dial Racism), with the number 156. With this number the population may denounce attacks or disrespect to black, indigenous, gypsy and quilombola citizens.
Future
Very fearful about what happened, the teenager asked her mother if she could go and live with her grandmother in Samambaia. The girl said she wants to continue going to school, but is afraid to go her school.
“We want to transfer her to a school that is close to my mother’s house, where she will feel safer and I will feel more tranquil. But after what happened, what I want is to get away from everybody here,” says Marcia. A fan of the Portuguese language, the girl said she wants to finish school and become a police officer. Her dream, she said, is to protect people from aggressions.
Another case
In another story from the Federal District area that we brought you here at BW of Brazil, the mother of an 8-year old boy made a report to police late in February alleging that her son had suffered racial prejudice within the school, at Bandeirante. A classmate reportedly told the boy he that would never get a girlfriend because he was “black, dirty, ugly and stinking.”
The coordination of the school claimed to have knowledge about the case and said it did not tolerate any kind of prejudice. The case was sent to the Conselho Tutelar (Guardian Council). Data from the Secretaria de Segurança Pública (Department of Public Safety) recorded 31 registrations of racial slurs in 2012 the Federal District.
Source: Yahoo! Notícias, G1
I'm sad to there about this. Racism is horrible. We must be steadfast in our challenge to it. White supremacy does not heal itself; we must be vigilant. Also, please consider altering the description. Marcia daughter was not beat "simply because she was black," She was beat because the other girls were racist. The problem is not with black skin; the sickness is with the society, community, family, and the other children who acted on these false beliefs in white supremacy. I wish her speedy recovery, and trust that all will fight, heal, and build.Wekesa