A woman stands at the border between her favela and construction for Rio’s 2016 Olympic Park. Homes in the Vila Autodromo favela, a poor neighborhood near the park's edge, have been scheduled for demolition. (PHOTOGRAPH BY YASUYOSHI CHIBA, AFP/GETTY)
Much of the world's population is aware that the olympics are taking place. Throngs line up to see their favorite badminton player execute those well practiced, smooth moves that eliminate the opponent. The
synchronized swimming event attracts fans from everywhere, especially those whose squalid homes formerly sat where the swimming pavilion now sits. Those with a passion for history jam into the stands to witness the winning of the gold by the best of the rhythmic gymnasts. Most scream passionately in favor of their country.
The city of Rio de Janeiro had to declare a state of emergency to receive federal funds to complete construction for the Olympic Games. These would be the same funds used to recover from a hurricane, for example.
Special for this event, the city has to protect against a plague of disease-spreading mosquitoes that has the whole world on guard and is likely to hold down on the number of spectators attending the event. In addition, Rio has other issues to be dealt with, such as raw sewage in the sailing bay, fecal matter on the beach, a crime wave, and a homeless population that is growing.
Against this background, they are building an ostentatious set of stadiums and facilities that will never be adequately used again. The city is spending $15 billion on a new golf course, huge sums for a subway route to a wealthy section of the city where nobody uses public transportation, and a $22 million gondola lift above a portion of the city that doesn't have running water.
Common sense would require that the urban planners would map out the use of the city's land based on the needs of the city instead of the short-term needs of the Olympic committee or Olympic games.
synchronized swimming event attracts fans from everywhere, especially those whose squalid homes formerly sat where the swimming pavilion now sits. Those with a passion for history jam into the stands to witness the winning of the gold by the best of the rhythmic gymnasts. Most scream passionately in favor of their country.
The city of Rio de Janeiro had to declare a state of emergency to receive federal funds to complete construction for the Olympic Games. These would be the same funds used to recover from a hurricane, for example.
Special for this event, the city has to protect against a plague of disease-spreading mosquitoes that has the whole world on guard and is likely to hold down on the number of spectators attending the event. In addition, Rio has other issues to be dealt with, such as raw sewage in the sailing bay, fecal matter on the beach, a crime wave, and a homeless population that is growing.
Against this background, they are building an ostentatious set of stadiums and facilities that will never be adequately used again. The city is spending $15 billion on a new golf course, huge sums for a subway route to a wealthy section of the city where nobody uses public transportation, and a $22 million gondola lift above a portion of the city that doesn't have running water.
Common sense would require that the urban planners would map out the use of the city's land based on the needs of the city instead of the short-term needs of the Olympic committee or Olympic games.
Olympic Games do not improve local housing --- A young man rests next to a destroyed house at the shanty town Vila Autodromo, which is located close to the Olympic Park built for the Olympic Games Rio 2016, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, (photo) April 1st 2015 --- Antonio Lacerda–EPA
Everyone loves the Olympics. They allow people all over the world to set aside their political and religious differences and enjoy a few weeks of healthy competition between a few thousand people who have spent years honing their skills.
At least, this is what we tell ourselves. In fact, not everyone loves the Olympics. Often, the poorest sectors of society within the host countries experience displacement and other forms of oppression as authorities work hard to impress visiting athletes and spectators. In Brazil, the first South American country to serve as the international showcase, this was certainly true; more than 20,000 families were displaced to make way for Olympics-related infrastructure. In fact, the state of Rio de Janeiro, where the games are being held, is in such desperate financial circumstances that state workers are not being paid and health care centers cannot even afford to take on the Zika virus crisis. Rio declared bankruptcy ahead of the games, and the state’s governor declared a “state of calamity.” But the mayor of Rio de Janeiro was quick to assure the world that the economic disaster “in no way delays the delivery of Olympic projects and the promises assumed by the city of Rio.” Apparently, delivering basic services to the city’s residents is a lower priority than accommodating the Olympics. In a recent Dallas News opinion column, Andrew Zimbalist, an expert on the social and financial cost of hosting the Olympics, said, “The net outcome of the Rio Games is that they will have spent $20 billion, they will receive $4.5 billion in revenue, and they will end up with a $15 billion deficit.” While the fireworks and glittering stadiums overshadow the social and financial problems of this year’s host nation, the facade is crumbling. Rio’s famous favelas are in full view of many venues, and concerns about sewage-infested waters are so serious that athletes competing in water sports have been advised not to splash in, or accidentally drink, the virus- and bacteria-ridden water. |
THE GAMES BEFORE THE GAMES
from City Lab by Andrew Zimbalist The problem starts with the bidding process. Getting to host the games is an Olympic event in itself - a marathon that starts ten years before the opening ceremonies. Cities form local organizing committees that first compete nationally to become their country's candidate, then internationally to be chosen as host. At each stage, they must convince the selection committee that the city will orchestrate the most effective, elaborate, safe, and convenient athletic blowout of the myriad competitors. As the bidding proceeds, the plans become more and more detailed, spectacular, and expensive. ... sense of the private benefit (of its members) versus the private cost, rather than the city's public benefit versus public cost ... during the bidding process cities spend tens of millions of dollars to win the hosting competition. Chicago spent a reported $100 million in its losing campaign to host the 2016 summer games. 
During the 2016 games, athletes will stay in the Ilha Pura complex. (PHOTOGRAPH BY MATTHEW STOCKMAN, GETTY)
A boy looks for things to recycle near the polluted Cunha canal, which flows into the Guanabara Bay. Many Olympic water sports will be held in the bay, which author Juliana Barbassa says has “historically been Rio’s toilet.” (PHOTOGRAPH BY MARIO TAMA, GETTY)
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Brazil is hardly an exception in the long line of host countries paying far too dearly for the privilege of hosting the games. The billions spent on building the required infrastructure rarely translate into direct, long-term benefits for the citizens of host countries. Instead, ordinary people pay dearly for the fleeting enjoyment of spectators around the world, while corporations prosper from building contracts and lucrative sponsorship agreements and governments earn little more than bragging rights. This series of photos of abandoned and decaying Olympics venues from host cities around the world is a disturbing testament to the ugly and often invisible legacy of the games.
In addition to poverty, displacement and poor public health and infrastructure, Brazil is in the midst of its worst political crisis in decades, as widely discredited impeachment proceedings against democratically elected President Dilma Rousseff play out in the capital, Brasilia. Interim President Michel Temer has painted a rosy hue on the games and worked hard to silence political dissent. Security forces have deployed stun grenades and tear gas on demonstrators. But protesters among the crowds of spectators are speaking out, using the international spotlight to get their message across. Ahead of the games, activists launched a creative and concerted effort to extinguish the Olympic torch as it was carried through Rio’s streets in order to express their opposition to the effort to oust Rousseff. One of the torch-bearers, an Afro-Brazilian athlete, took a personal risk and exposed the words Fora Temer (Out with Temer) emblazoned on his behind, as this video report shows.
As for the notion that the Olympics help us set aside our political and religious divides for a few weeks, even that is a lie. If anything, the games become nationalistic rituals that amplify existing divides and are simply an excuse to drape oneself with a flag and beat one’s favorite enemy nation in the arena of sports. Certainly this is better than actual war—but rarely, if ever, is it a substitute for war.
On the flip side, the Olympic Games offer yet another platform to display all the societal ills we struggle with on a daily basis, such as sexism and racism. Even the debut of the “refugee team” at this year’s games may do little to humanize the toll of wars (but what about Brazil’s own internally displaced refugees that the Olympics have generated?). Pentagon officials who draw up war plans are hardly going to be moved by the humanity of Yusra Mardini, a Syrian refugee swimmer, and stop bombing her fellow Syrian civilians. It may cause some individuals in Western nations to think twice about their bigoted attitudes toward incoming refugees (or it may amplify existing stereotypes, such as those elicited by a hijab-wearing Egyptian volleyball player). But basic and fair media coverage of the issues refugees face when wars displace them could achieve the same end without the high price of the Olympics.
In addition to poverty, displacement and poor public health and infrastructure, Brazil is in the midst of its worst political crisis in decades, as widely discredited impeachment proceedings against democratically elected President Dilma Rousseff play out in the capital, Brasilia. Interim President Michel Temer has painted a rosy hue on the games and worked hard to silence political dissent. Security forces have deployed stun grenades and tear gas on demonstrators. But protesters among the crowds of spectators are speaking out, using the international spotlight to get their message across. Ahead of the games, activists launched a creative and concerted effort to extinguish the Olympic torch as it was carried through Rio’s streets in order to express their opposition to the effort to oust Rousseff. One of the torch-bearers, an Afro-Brazilian athlete, took a personal risk and exposed the words Fora Temer (Out with Temer) emblazoned on his behind, as this video report shows.
As for the notion that the Olympics help us set aside our political and religious divides for a few weeks, even that is a lie. If anything, the games become nationalistic rituals that amplify existing divides and are simply an excuse to drape oneself with a flag and beat one’s favorite enemy nation in the arena of sports. Certainly this is better than actual war—but rarely, if ever, is it a substitute for war.
On the flip side, the Olympic Games offer yet another platform to display all the societal ills we struggle with on a daily basis, such as sexism and racism. Even the debut of the “refugee team” at this year’s games may do little to humanize the toll of wars (but what about Brazil’s own internally displaced refugees that the Olympics have generated?). Pentagon officials who draw up war plans are hardly going to be moved by the humanity of Yusra Mardini, a Syrian refugee swimmer, and stop bombing her fellow Syrian civilians. It may cause some individuals in Western nations to think twice about their bigoted attitudes toward incoming refugees (or it may amplify existing stereotypes, such as those elicited by a hijab-wearing Egyptian volleyball player). But basic and fair media coverage of the issues refugees face when wars displace them could achieve the same end without the high price of the Olympics.
But aren’t the Olympics a wonderful venue for young, talented athletes who have spent years honing their skills? As the hilariously prescient, satirical video-podcast “Ultra Spiritual Life” noted about athletes at the Rio Olympics, “I’m grateful that this 15-year-old girl had parents who were emotionally abusive enough to live through her. Nine hours of training every day since she was 3 years old equals trauma in her psyche, stress fractures in her legs, but it equals national pride for me.” Stories about young children in China being trained for the 2012 Olympics revealed a shocking level of brutality meted out for the national pride of winning a gold medal. Additionally, the financial burden of training for the Olympics, particularly in countries like the U.S., which does not provide subsidies for athletes’ families, is huge and often leads to bankruptcy.
Even heartwarming stories of underdogs winning Olympic medals are not worth the price of the games. The story of a young Afro-Brazilian girl, Rafaela Silva, who hails from the famed City of God favela and won a gold medal, provided just the “inspiration” fodder that many people, including liberals, like to tout. But Silva’s story plays right into the neoliberal myth of individual success being possible for anyone who simply works hard enough. What about the broader community from which Silva emerged? Brazil’s favelasare among the most dangerous places for children to grow up, rife with poverty, drugs and violence, and Silva’s story has no practical, positive bearing on them. In fact, the Olympics only ensure that the state will spend years paying off the debt of hosting the games rather than spending the money on the welfare of its residents.
Are the games really worth the collective and individual sacrifice that so many communities and legions of people pay? Ultimately, the Olympics, like most global sporting events (such as World Cup soccer), distract us from the real work of solving societal ills, divert far too many resources away from human needs and amplify nationalist fervor and existing divides. All in the service of athletes vying for medals and millions of spectators who wrap themselves in flags while cheering them on.
Even heartwarming stories of underdogs winning Olympic medals are not worth the price of the games. The story of a young Afro-Brazilian girl, Rafaela Silva, who hails from the famed City of God favela and won a gold medal, provided just the “inspiration” fodder that many people, including liberals, like to tout. But Silva’s story plays right into the neoliberal myth of individual success being possible for anyone who simply works hard enough. What about the broader community from which Silva emerged? Brazil’s favelasare among the most dangerous places for children to grow up, rife with poverty, drugs and violence, and Silva’s story has no practical, positive bearing on them. In fact, the Olympics only ensure that the state will spend years paying off the debt of hosting the games rather than spending the money on the welfare of its residents.
Are the games really worth the collective and individual sacrifice that so many communities and legions of people pay? Ultimately, the Olympics, like most global sporting events (such as World Cup soccer), distract us from the real work of solving societal ills, divert far too many resources away from human needs and amplify nationalist fervor and existing divides. All in the service of athletes vying for medals and millions of spectators who wrap themselves in flags while cheering them on.
A military police officer patrols the Complexo do Alemão favela in Rio. (PHOTOGRAPH BY FILIPE DANA, AP)
Sonali Kolhatkar
The Life and Times of a Well-Rounded Troublemaker:
Sonali Kolhatkar is a weekly columnist for Truthdig.com, writing regularly about war, poverty, racism, elections, capitalism, and more. She is also a regular columnist for teleSUR English. Additionally she has been widely published online at Commondreams, Alternet, Counterpunch, and more.
Sonali Kolhatkar is the host and executive producer of Rising Up With Sonali, a daily, drive-time nationally syndicated radio and television program.
Most of Sonali Kolhatkar’s political activism has centered around solidarity work with the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan.
The Life and Times of a Well-Rounded Troublemaker:
Sonali Kolhatkar is a weekly columnist for Truthdig.com, writing regularly about war, poverty, racism, elections, capitalism, and more. She is also a regular columnist for teleSUR English. Additionally she has been widely published online at Commondreams, Alternet, Counterpunch, and more.
Sonali Kolhatkar is the host and executive producer of Rising Up With Sonali, a daily, drive-time nationally syndicated radio and television program.
Most of Sonali Kolhatkar’s political activism has centered around solidarity work with the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan.
These half-finished Olympic venues in the Barra da Tijuca neighborhood will host some of the 2016 games. (PHOTOGRAPH BY DADO GALDIERI, BLOOMBERG/GETTY)
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