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Brazil - dangerous???
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Sheena



Joined: 09 Jun 2003
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Tue Jun 17, 2003 10:56 pm    Post subject: Brazil - dangerous??? Reply with quote

I was interested in going to Brazil to teach. Unfortunately I have heard from a few people that Brazil is very dangerous. My Aunt worked there for a while and wasn't allowed to walk anywhere without being accompanied by someone because of the high risk of being kidnapped. Other people have also warned me of this.

Does anyone who has been there have any insight into this? Perhaps there are areas that are better than others, where I won't be looking over my shoulder everywhere I go...
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wayne allen



Joined: 04 Jun 2003
Posts: 10
Location: montreal, quebec

PostPosted: Wed Jun 18, 2003 3:10 pm    Post subject: safety in Brazil Reply with quote

Hi sheena,

I was in salvador for four months and i didn`t have any problems.I am a six foot three tall guy though. a lot of people i met (foreigners did have problems though) the thing is that you have to know where you are going and be careful and preferably not go alone. where are you planning on living? you just have to know what you are dealing with so in other words be informed. it all depends on the area.
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Veritas_Aequitas



Joined: 15 Jul 2004
Posts: 88
Location: Jalisco, Mexico

PostPosted: Fri Aug 20, 2004 9:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

As a result of the amount of time I spent in Brasil, I am much more an authority on Rio than any other place, but I can tell you that if you have common sense and street smarts there are very few places in the world that are not war-torn, but are still 'dangerous.'

Common sense dictates for starters: do not advertise your foreign-ness in public. Try to blend in as much as possible, learn the language to the best of your ability. Stay away from tourist, and super-poor areas after dark. Always keep your eyes open, and your senses sharp. Do not trust people that try to befriend you and 'help' you out of the blue.
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AcidBurn



Joined: 31 Mar 2004
Posts: 28

PostPosted: Sun Aug 22, 2004 2:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Brazil is a very dangerous country and one of the most violent in the world. It has one of the world�s highest homicide rates. I saw some statistic that more than 25% of all the homicides in North and South America occur in Brazil. I also saw another statistic saying that something like 7% of the world�s murders are within Brazil. People say that Iraq is a mess right now, but there are a lot more murders in Brazil on a per capita basis than in Iraq!

But that shouldn�t discourage you from going there; it is a wonderful country. My fiancee is Brazilian and nothing has ever happened to her or anyone in her family in Sao Paulo. I also haven�t had any problems when I�ve been down there. But because nothing has happened doesn�t mean that one shouldn�t exercise caution.

Rio and Sao Paulo are the most dangerous cities. I have not been to Rio, but I hear it is a lot more dangerous than Sao Paulo, and Sao Paulo is pretty bad! The general rule is to dress casual and not be too flashy. And, most importantly, avoid the favelas. I�d also heed the advice about trusting people and advertising your �gringoness�.

Though I have not been to the South, I hear cities like Florianopolis, Porto Alegre and Curitiba are quite safe. Curitiba is supposed to be one of the best-organized cities in the world, actually. Those places don�t have as bad crime problems as Rio, Sao Paulo or Salvador.

Brazil is a unique country in many ways. It has to have one of the hugest gaps of wealth in the world. That -- along with a corrupt government and police force, other social problems, not to mention a huge drug trade -- are ripe conditions to cause the amount of violence Brazil sees today.
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Jeffrey



Joined: 08 Oct 2004
Posts: 9

PostPosted: Sun Oct 10, 2004 7:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Brazil Dangerous? How can you ask if a WHOLE country is dangerous? Brazil is a huge country. If you fly to Brazil and land in SaoPaulo or Rio, and walk around with your Rolex watch on and your gold chains, then yes, it is very dangerous. The same as if you fly to the states, land in south central LA, or Ney York and wonder if its dangerous. You'll find that if you go to some of the smaller beach towns in the south ( I own land there), you'll meet alot of very nice people and it is very safe.You just have to use common sense.
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portochuck



Joined: 05 Apr 2005
Posts: 48
Location: Brazil

PostPosted: Fri Apr 08, 2005 1:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Some cities are like the USA...maybe just poor.....or..OK...their not like the USA...but Porto Alegre is a safe place to live.....Ive been living here for over 2yrs and Ive never had any problems...

My brother lives in Rio...and his car has been broken into at least 8 times in about 3years.

Just visit the city you want to live......ask people where to live in the city and you be OK......just make sure the bar you goto is close to your house......
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samizinha



Joined: 12 May 2005
Posts: 174
Location: Vacalandia

PostPosted: Fri Jun 24, 2005 6:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I spent a year in the state of Santa Catarina, and felt very safe overall. I would be a lot more worried about the way people drive than crime rates!
I had a number of friends who were robbed in Florianopolis, but this was because they were showing off their expensive music players or speaking loudly in English. People asked them for their money, they gave it to them, end of story.
I travelled the country during the day and at night and I had no such trouble anywhere, but I took care to blend in- I spoke in Portuguese, kept to good areas and used common sense. I would never hesitate to go back to Brasil, especially because of crime rates.
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Aramas



Joined: 13 Feb 2004
Posts: 874
Location: Slightly left of Centre

PostPosted: Sat Jun 25, 2005 3:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you have to ask then you probably shouldn't go. A well known Yank yacht designer once said "If you need all the comforts of home, then stay there."
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amandajoy99



Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 63
Location: Brazil

PostPosted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 2:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

as to this kidnapping business, sheena, i am very surprised to hear that your aunt was so protected. there are kidnappings here but they are generally of high profile wealthy folks - like the patriarch of a well-known rich family that owns a big name company, or the mother of a soccer star with a recently acquired fortune. these are not random crimes. they come from that huge divide between the rich and the poor that you always hear about.
i live in a small town in the state of s�o paulo and there is practically no crime - except that the wealthy patriarch of a rich family that owns a big name company was kidnapped a few years back. as others have pointed out it all depends where you are. if you're worried about crime, don't move to rio, though i honestly think you could be fine there.
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portochuck



Joined: 05 Apr 2005
Posts: 48
Location: Brazil

PostPosted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 3:30 pm    Post subject: Scared?? Reply with quote

Brazil is only dangerous if you show everyone that your not Brazilian...flash your money....camera....MP3 player...things like that....I live in Porto Alegre and it is safer than Rio...And my brother lives in Rio....His car has been broken into a few times..but it because of were he parked it....Brazil is like most other cities in the world......but you do have to be more carefull here, I leave some of my classes after 9pm downtown...and Ive never had a problem, but again I dont let people know I am American.....I dont flast anything....I dont show anyone my money.....

If your that scared about life in Brazil...dont come here.....stay at home...and remember you can get robed on the streets in the USA....
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Cdaniels



Joined: 21 Mar 2005
Posts: 663
Location: Dunwich, Massachusetts

PostPosted: Thu Jul 07, 2005 3:02 am    Post subject: Movie: City of God Reply with quote

Cidade de Deus (City of God) This movie may not be for you, (and it doesn't portray an attractive picture of urban Brazil) But watch the documentary by the filmakers included on the DVD! It is very educational and eye-opening. The movie came out in 2002, and depicted boys in the 70's growing up and dying from violence in the early 80's. I'm not sure how things have changed since the DVD was released.

Last edited by Cdaniels on Sun Jul 17, 2005 11:43 pm; edited 3 times in total
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portochuck



Joined: 05 Apr 2005
Posts: 48
Location: Brazil

PostPosted: Thu Jul 07, 2005 10:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

What movie??
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Aramas



Joined: 13 Feb 2004
Posts: 874
Location: Slightly left of Centre

PostPosted: Thu Jul 07, 2005 2:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

portochuck wrote:
What movie??


He put the name of the movie in the thread title - Cidade de Deus (City of God). Personally I don't think it's terribly relevent to this thread, since it's set in a favela in the 1970's. It's like recommending The Godfather to someone thinking of visiting Darth Muppet's Death Star...um.., I mean the US (Smile), the Crays for someone visiting Britain, or Romper Stomper for someone visiting Australia..

The availability of Brazilian films is somewhat underwhelming in a lot of places. The only ones my local video store have are Cidade de Deus, Orfeu Negro (Black Orpheus) and Madame Sat� (Madam Satan). All good films, but I'd like to see some set in present day Brazil. Unfortunately, porn doesn't count Shocked
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Cdaniels



Joined: 21 Mar 2005
Posts: 663
Location: Dunwich, Massachusetts

PostPosted: Sun Jul 17, 2005 11:23 pm    Post subject: Hello Brazil, from Boston "News from a Personal War&quo Reply with quote

Actually the documentary I mean is the 1997 documentary "News from a Personal War." It is included in the DVD of City of God, and I thought it relevant in the sense that violence seems to be highly concentrated in favelas, as opposed to "Main Street, Brazil." I've also been on the other end of such discussions (Swedes in Sweden asking me if the US is really like its depicted in COPS (early 90's). I couldn't say its fake or that the crime and drugs didn't exist, but the neighborhood I grew up in is certainly a lot safer than what's depicted on TV) The City of God is the only Brazilian movie I've seen. There's a lot more movies here about Central America even, and certainly a lot more movies about Mexico.
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joemac332



Joined: 17 Mar 2005
Posts: 67

PostPosted: Sun Jul 31, 2005 7:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I just went to Rio for a month and nothing happened to me. I didn't even see anyone get robbed. Sure, it happens, but you just have to be careful about which neighborhoods you go into.

I've only heard of 2 tourists being killed in Rio (there are probably more). The people who get involved in drugs and other types of shady stuff are the ones who get killed. Don't get involved with drugs, hookers, etc (i know you're probably not into that) and you should be ok.

People from Sao Paulo say that Rio is worse, but I'd say Sao Paulo is more dangerous. Rio's high crime rate comes from the favelas that are far from the tourist zone. There are favelas in the tourist zone too, but they're in the hills. The worst ones are in the north, on the other side of the city from Ipanema, Leblon, etc. Crime is everywhere in Sao Paulo.

Some people act like crime doesn't exist in Rio after taking a trip there. It does, and it's on a level that isn't even comparable to the worst cities in the US. Common sense (no jewelry, walking alone at night, etc) would cut down the chances of something happening A LOT. Ipanema beach and Cidade de Deus are 2 different worlds, just like watts and beverly hills/lower manhattan and east new york, brooklyn. it's a far bigger difference in brazil, but the same type of difference.

Recife, Salvador, and Sao Paulo are the cities I would be most nervous about visiting.
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