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Magazine
WINDS OF CHANGE
Music’s healing touch
ALIKA KHOSLA
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In the shantytowns of Rio De Janeiro, the work of Afro Reggae is touching and changing the lives of youth for whom crime and violence are natural options otherwise.
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Later this year, over 30 young people from Shillong and Lucknow will travel to Rio and experience the work of Afro Reggae first hand.
Photos: AJAY PRASAD
Quiet transformation: Life in the Favelas (below) and the percussion reception at Vigaro Geral.
In the heart of Rio, over 20 per cent of its population live in shantytowns or Favelas — the only place they can find a roof over their heads. Housing in the Favelas is illegal, lacks basic sanitation and life in it is dominated by organised cr
ime. Young children grow up surrounded by drugs, guns, shoot-outs between the drug lords and police and often find themselves drawn to drug trafficking as a way to earn a living. Sporting a semi automatic rifle is macho and young boys armed with these enjoy the power vested in them by their masters — the drug lords.
A uniquely successful experiment born out of Brazil’s culture of music, dance and rhythm has changed the life for many within these Favelas. The work of Afro Reggae in some Favelas in Rio had intrigued me since my first interaction with them in October 2007. Coordinated by the international human rights organisation Breakthrough, they had come to conduct a 10-day training and workshop in Shillong and Delhi, introducing youth from both these cities, Kolkata and Lucknow to Afro Brazil music and rhythm. Five months later, I was on my way to Brazil. Over the next couple of weeks I was going to visit some of the Favelas in Rio and see exactly how they had touched and changed the lives of so many.
The Afro Reggae is a grass roots level organisation, founded by Jose Junior who himself grew up in a poor neighbourhood. Junior and his team began their work out of one of the most violent Favelas, Vigaro Geral, addressing the violence and injustice within them while simultaneously embracing black culture. They use educational programmes in art, music and dance, which lie at the heart of Brazil’s culture, to give the youth an alternative to the cycle of drugs and crime which has consumed them for years.
Attractive alternative
And so young boys and girls who thus far have had no access to formal education, entertainment of any sort or a structured adolescence, find themselves drawn to what this dedicated group of Afro Reggae members have to offer them. Ranging from the ages of five to 25, they spend years being trained in percussion, capoiera (traditional martial art form) and dances like the Afro Brazil, samba, Afro Lata and Graffiti. Some are so good that they quickly get inducted into the Afro Reggae team and become instructors, some join bands to become professional musicians. Yet others are helped by the Afro Reggae to get jobs outside the Favelas and go on to lead normal lives, free from the violence which continues to surround them where they live.
On our arrival in Rio, we drove to our hotel in Copacabana and prepared ourselves for a visit to Vigaro Geral, where 21 young people were massacred by the police in 2003. It was assumed that this was masterminded by the police force in retaliation for the killing of four police personnel by the drug gang.
Each Favela is like a small fortress, allowing no one access or entry into it. No visitors, no cops no government officials — only residents of the Favelas and now members of the Afro Reggae. We were escorted into the Favela and toured it accompanied by members of the Afro Reggae. A group of about 12 boys greeted us with an amazing percussion show as we entered Vigaro Geral. Their instruments were nothing fancy! The drums were plastic barrels, tin cans and plastic jerry cans, all picked out of the drains just outside the Favela. But the rhythm, coordination and variation, combined with total enjoyment on all the young performers’ faces, was incredible. We then feasted our eyes on a variety of dance genres which both girls and boys participated in — all put together in our honour.
The coordinators of the training programmes explained to us the dynamics of working in a Favela. Negotiation with the drug gang and their acceptance of the group was the key. Afro Reggae edged themselves into the Favela, set themselves up as a non-threatening, peaceful group and after earning the respect of the drug lords, convinced them to allow government to access the Favela for the limited purpose of concretising all the alleyways and helping create infrastructure which would only benefit the environment in the Favela. Displaying rare imagination, this was agreed to.
What is amazing is that Afro Reggae does not focus on developing traditional or formal education and grooming the youth for steady jobs. They just want them to have fun. To enjoy doing what they love which is to be a part of a group which performs both within and outside the Favela. Most Favelas do not have schools or any form of alternative entertainment. Being a part of the Afro Reggae activities has become a very attractive alternative for many who look forward to visiting the cultural centres and partaking in different activities.
Vigaro Geral is amazingly clean. Each family keeps the area in front of their house spotless. Garbage is systematically collected and disposed off. That is true, as I was to discover later, of only those Favelas where Afro Reggae has a presence. Once you are in the Favelas, you are safe. Robbing, raping, murdering are not allowed by the drug lords. The residents coexist with the gangs which lay down their own law of the land. Acts of crime are confined to shoot-outs between gangs and not petty crimes. This is in stark contrast to the rest of Rio where we were constantly warned about safety.
This semblance of calm and an environment free of crime where you see children playing in the alleyways and where football truly is a passion among young boys is not true in most of the Favelas. Fear of drug-related dangers is neither over exaggerated nor a media generated hysteria. It is, to a certain extent, realistic as we were to find on our visit to Canta Galo, a large Favela where the most powerful gang, the Red Command, operates.
Our tour of this Favela brought back memories of the film “City of God” which had showcased young kids armed to the teeth strolling the streets and involved in shoot-outs, which is a fairly common sight in Canta Galo. There is a much more visible segregation between drug dealers and the rest of the community here. On asking a woman on how she manages to cope living and sharing space with her family and the drug gangs, she said, “We live on mutual trust and respect and stay out of each others way.” Similarly, the drug gangs respect and coexist with Afro Reggae, allowing them to do their job so long as thy can continue to rule their territory.
I will always remember an incident on arriving at the top of the hill after walking upwards through the narrow alleyways of the Favela. We looked out onto the deep blue sea and the islands that skirted the horizon — a picture postcard. Our accompanying escort from Afro Reggae had warned us that we could not take photographs while in the Favelas — the drug gangs disallow it. Sensing our frustration at not being able to capture this view on camera, she walked up to a young boy to ask him if we could take a photograph of this breathtaking sight. He briskly and firmly told her we could not. We froze as we saw a semi automatic rifle slung over his shoulder. He then continued to chat with another young boy who had a dozen grenades strapped to his waist. No one around me appeared frazzled or worried by this.
Safe haven
Afro Reggae has a strong presence on the outskirts of this Favela. A cheerful, bright cultural centre is a stark contrast to the area we had just stepped out of. Here, classes in music, dance, graffiti and computer are on offer. Kids spend hours absorbed in video games which are preferred to being out on the streets getting into skirmishes with the drug gangs.
Later this year, over 30 young people from Shillong and Lucknow will travel to Rio and experience the work of Afro Reggae first hand. The attempt is to create similar cultural centres in Shillong at first and then replicate this model in other parts of India. While the task is daunting, it is definitely possible.
I have come back from Brazil astounded at the work and the impact of the Afro Reggae and its implications for social rehabilitation in India. India too is a country rich with music, dance and art; has a large youth population which needs an alternative way of life and a number of organisations who are exploring ways of engaging youth and keeping them away from a life of crime and drugs.
All we need to make this work is the commitment and dedication which Junior has so successfully been able to build in his community workers. To translate this into an enthusiasm and sense of enjoyment which is so infectious that it successfully draws young people away from living a dangerous life which can be snuffed before they reach their adolescence.
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