João

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TRANSCRIPT

 

“I lost my job during the pandemic and came here at that time. I have a wonderful wife and a daughter. And when I lost my job, I didn’t want to go back home. I came here to the Setor Comercial and met Seu Zé, who stays right up front.

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He’s someone… a friend who supported me. I used to work making storefront signs—those shop signs. We design them on the computer, you know. And… when I lost my job back then… I’d rather not go into too much detail…

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That’s when I came here.

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I stayed here with Seu Zé for a while. He always gives me advice—not to get involved with the wrong people. I’ve been talking to my daughter about going back home. Because on the streets, you don’t gain anything—you only lose. So you have to look out for each other. If someone says, ‘Man, I don’t even have a cigarette,’ if I have one, I don’t refuse. Just yesterday I helped a girl over there—she hadn’t eaten. I told her, ‘Sit at a table, I’ll pay for your meal, but I want to see you eating.’ She said, ‘No, just give me the money.’ I said, ‘No, I won’t give you money. I want to see you eat.’ Because I know what you want the money for.

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She sat down and ate. Then she said, ‘Now give me ten reais.’ I said, ‘I won’t, because I know what you want it for—you want to buy a drink. I’ll pay for food, but not for drugs.’ Because I know what I went through in the past. And thank God, I’m trying to go back home.

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I have a wonderful daughter. I just sent her some money via Pix. She said, ‘Dad, come home.’ But I don’t want to, because I don’t want her to suffer because of me. I have a project I’m trying to get off the ground so I can get back on my feet. It’s a kind of street entertainment—we set up sound equipment and create events for the community.

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My teacher was DJ Jamaica—may he rest in a good place today. Also Marquinhos from Smokes—those were two guys who taught me.

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Just yesterday I called Marquinhos and said, ‘I want to get back into it, to do some projects on the streets again…’ And we organize collections to help people living on the streets—food, clothes… We manage to gather a lot through the projects we run.”