Brazilian emergency responders have a message for travelers
arriving to the city just ahead of the 2016 Olympics: “Welcome to hell”.
The photo, shared across social media platforms, is
generating concern over whether or not Brazil is ready to host the Olympic
Games - exacerbated by ongoing trouble stemming from the Zika virus plaguing
the country.
“Police and firefighters don't get paid, whoever comes to
Rio de Janeiro will not be safe,” the sign reads.
Another sign outside of the airport read, “Welcome, we don’t
have hospitals!”
Some 300 police held a rally on Monday rallied to protest
unpaid wages and unsatisfactory working conditions. Some even claimed to have
not received proper equipment for their jobs - down to basics such as gasoline
for cars - and they lack even some of the most necessary of hygienic
provisions.
“At the stations we don't have paper or ink for the
printers, there's no one to come in to clean and some stations don't have a
water supply anymore so the toilets are not functioning,” said an officer
identified only as Andre, a member of an elite police unit, told the AFP.
“Members of the public bring toilet paper to us.”
One officer told the AFP that he had not been paid in at
least five months.
Police say that the unavailability of equipment could prove
dangerous during the 5 August Olympics, which are expected to draw more than
half a million foreign tourists.
An attack on Rio’s largest hospital, close to the Olympic
stadium, sparked security concerns. More than 20 armed men stormed the hospital
on 20 June to reportedly free a drug kingpin being held inside, leaving one
person dead and two injured.
The police could not call for backup because they do not
have a helicopter at their disposal.
Rio officials declared a “state of public calamity” early
June in hopes to trigger emergency federal funding amid the country’s financial
shortfall. But Interim Gov Francisco Dornelles says that they have yet to
receive the R$2.9bn (£657m) Rio officials had requested.
“I’m optimistic about the games, but I have to show
reality,” he told O Globo. “[I]f some steps aren’t taken, [the Olympics] could
be a big failure.”
-The Independent-
Post a Comment