Warmth and beauty amid the danger

Warmth and beauty amid the danger

IT IS close to midnight in one of Brazil's most dangerous cities. But like masked crusaders, Jose Arellano, Juan Arjona, Jose Bineso and Fernando Gomez patrol Salvador's Porto da Barra beach in the moonlight.

Sporting masks like those worn by Lucha Libre (Mexican free-style) wrestlers, the quartet are an intimidating sight. Their appearance, however, betrays their intentions.

"We're just out here to have fun, to take pictures with other fans, to enjoy the World Cup," said Arellano, still panting after an impromptu session of keep-ball with some English and Italian fans.

It is the first World Cup for Arellano and his friends. And although the 29-year-olds are well aware of Salvador's reputation as a hot-bed of crime, they didn't think twice about making the trip to Brazil's north-east from their homeland of Mexico.

"A World Cup in Brazil - it's too good an opportunity to miss," said Bineso.

He and his pals all hail from Mexico City.

"We just have to be careful and stay in the tourist areas."

The Barra area is one of the safer areas in Salvador, with a healthy police presence, given the high number of tourists.

It is not far from the Bahia area which hosts the annual Salvador Carnival, a street party where two million revellers turn up every February.

But not everywhere in Salvador is like Barra.

With an average of five murders reported every two days, Salvador is a place to be respected and feared.

The country already has one of the highest homicide rates in the world - 25.2 per 100,000 population, according to 2012 figures. In contrast, the United States is at 4.8 and Singapore is at 0.2.

Part of Salvador's population of three million - Brazil's third-largest after Sao Paulo and Rio - are ruled by drug gangs who control the slums with a cocktail of beatings and executions.

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Stepping into this world, even temporarily, carries risks.

The Japan Times reported that a Japanese national narrowly escaped an attempted robbery by five gunmen in the city.

Accounts by various tourists revealed many other instances of snatch-theft and pickpocketing.

Various foreign ministries, including Singapore, have issued travel advisories for football fans watching the World Cup in Brazil's 12 host cities.

With more than three million fans expected to watch the 64 matches, of which over 600,000 are projected to be foreigners, Brazil president Dilma Rousseff has dispatched federal troops to reinforce security in some places.

Yet, control of the authorities cannot always be taken for granted. Crime and corruption is so bad in Salvador that in the last two years, the police have gone on strike twice for higher pay.

In April, a two-day strike resulted in 39 people being killed when crime spiralled out of control.

Those numbers, however, pale in comparison to 2012 when 12 days without a police presence resulted in over 130 deaths and widespread looting and robbery.

Leonardo Berlim, 35, a manager who runs hotels in the Bahia area and the rougher Amaralina district lamented the state of affairs.

He admits that business has been good during the World Cup as Salvador hosts four group and two knockout matches during Brazil 2014. But running a hotel business can be tough with security such a big concern.

He told The Straits Times that he had installed added locks in the front door of the B Hotel in Amaralina and requested extra police back-up to protect a throng of fans who had recently arrived.

"We take precautions in the tourism industry but the police, sometimes, prefer to pretend not to see what is truly happening," he noted.

He said things were much safer eight years ago when tourists could roam the beaches and much of the city without worry.

The police then, under instructions from the state government, were tougher on crime. Sadly, that is not the case now.

Said Berlim: "Perhaps it is not the popular thing to do to be tough on the gangs because they are normally the poor people and there are many poor people in Salvador.

"Poor people also have votes."

But despite the less than ideal conditions in the city, it has left a lasting impression on many visitors.

Apart from delivering two of the World Cup's best matches so far - the Netherlands' 5-1 demolition of defending champions Spain and Germany's 4-0 win over Portugal - the city's beaches and old-world charm have also been a big hit.

There are many beautiful sights in the old part of Salvador, which was the first urban area the Portuguese settled in when they colonised Brazil in the 1500s.

Especially popular is the historic city centre, better known as Pelourinho.

It is renowned for its Portuguese architecture and historical monuments, such as the Convent and Church of Sao Francisco.

The Porto da Barra beach was voted the third-best in the world in 2007 by Britain's The Guardian newspaper.

Said Israeli Nati Papirovitch, who made the trip to Brazil with his friend Ariel Finkler: "It's really one of the nicest places in Brazil. The people have been friendly, the atmosphere amazing. Yes, we heard about the crime and we just hope that more can be done about it because this is a nice city."

Salvador resident Luis Ariel Chaves, 32, hopes the World Cup will be a catalyst for change.

"There is a lot of potential for Salvador. But the government needs to get the basics right first, like cleaning up the streets.

"I hope the World Cup can help achieve that."


This article was first published on June 19, 2014.
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