Olympic Favela

Image & Style Magazine

Intro for Marc Ohrem-Leclef / Olympic Favela It is no secret that Brazil struggled to complete the facilities for the recent World Cup. The billions spent on stadiums strained the country’s treasury – at a time when the money could have been better spent on infrastructure, health care and education. The people’s questions, “Could we have a FIFA-level educational system?” and “When can we expect FIFA-level health care” fell on deaf ears. The government craved the world stage and was willing to pay any price to be seen on it. And that desire only continues as the country prepares for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Behind the scenes, those in power used the world public’s view of Rio as an excuse to do some urban renovation – not by providing new, safe structures for the urban poor, but rather simply by destroyingwhat the government viewed as eyesores. These shanty town slums – called favelas – are home to approximately 1.4 million of the city’s poor and dispossessed. The powerless had no chance to preventthe destruction of their homes, but at least one photographer made an effort to catalogue the injustice.

Marc Ohrem-Leclef’s photos of the favelas – and most strikingly of the soon to be evicted residents – bear silent witness to a city’s misplaced vanity and distorted values. His work may be viewed at http://www.marcleclef.com/olympic-favela/#home and his book may be purchased from Amazon

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