From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord@igc.org>
Newsgroups: soc.culture.latin-america
Date: 28 Jul 92 09:45 PDT
Subject: Street Children in Rio
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1473800115:000:3422
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!hrcoord    Jul 28 09:45:00 1992


From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord>
Subject: Street Children in Rio

/* Written  6:44 pm  May 15, 1992 by gn:wiseamster in
cdp:child.news */

Amsterdam, May 8, 1992

Dear friends,

As you may already know, street people are in particular danger of
being victims of state violence in Brazil.  This is especially
true right now in Rio de Janeiro in the weeks preceding the Earth
Summit and the parallel forum.  In the areas of town where the
international visitors will be, we know, through our contacts,
that the violence has already begun, a so- called "cleaning" of
the streets of the "undesirables."

Enclosed please find a letter, and addresses of authorities in
Brazil to whom you can send it, using your organization's
letterhead if possible. We chose to write this letter in a
diplomatic fashion; if we were to anger the authorities, more
people could be put in danger.  Please send the letters in
envelopes, or they might not properly delivered.  Feel free to use
our letter, or write your own appropriate letter.  And please act
quickly.

With this simple action we hope to let the authorities know that
they are being watched.

Thanks for your help,

WISE-Amsterdam P.O.Box 18185  1001 ZB  Amsterdam Tel: (020) 639
2681 Fax: (020) 639 1379

Exmo Presidente Senhor Collor de Mello Palacio da Alvorada
Gabinete do Presidente Brasilia (DF) B R A Z I L

Exmo Governador do Estado do Rio de Janeiro Senhor Lionel Brizola
Palacio Guanabara Rua Pinheiro Machado s/n 22.231  Laranjeiras Rio
de Janeiro (RJ) B R A Z I L

Exmo. Prefeito da Cidade do Rio de Janeiro Sr Marcelo de Alencar
Prefeitura Municipal Gabinete do Prefeito Rua Sao Clemente 360 Rio
de Janeiro (RJ) B R A Z I L

Exmo. Comandante Geral da Policia Militar Gabinete do Comando
Geral PM Rua Evaristo da Veiga, 78 20.031 Centro Rio de Janeiro
(RJ) B R A Z I L


*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

		      , May 8, 1992                         OPEN
		      LETTER


Exmo. Senhor

B R A Z I L


We, representatives of NGOs coming to Rio for the Earth Summit,
understand that in preparation for the arrival of your guests in
June you are cleaning up your home to make it comfortable for us.
When we have visitors we also clean our homes, and so we
appreciate your intentions.

However, we are concerned for the safety of the people, especially
the children, who live in the streets of Rio.  In the past, in our
own cities, we have seen street people and homeless people
harassed and forced to move from areas where big conventions or
international conferences were to have taken place.  We have seen
this happen in Nairobi, Kenya, before the 1985 United Nations'
Women's Conference, and in Dallas, Texas, USA, during the 1988
Republican Convention.  We do not want to see this happen again.

We understand the poverty that forces these people to live as they
do.  We believe that problems, such as people living in the
streets, are symptoms of a global imbalance and inequality.  They
are global problems, and are inextricably related to the worldwide
environmental problems that will be discussed at the Earth Summit.
Such problems should in fact be part of the Earth Summit agenda.

We ask you to allow us to witness the problems caused by poverty
that exist in your cities for ourselves when we come to Rio in
June.  Then, we can work to effect change for the better together.


In the hope that our appeal has touched you, we are yours
respectfully,