Professor

TRANSCRIPT
 

“My background is as a teacher. Today, I have Parkinson’s disease. I’m 61 years old. So no, I’m not retired—I still receive some social assistance. In 2017, I ended up living on the streets, and I’ve been in that situation ever since. But the greatest fear is lying down and not waking up—do you know why? Because of violence. Because of someone acting out of anger.

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You can’t tell anyone the day you receive your benefits. There are people who are homeless, and there are people in a situation of homelessness—they’re different. Some were not always like this, as in my case—today I am. We had a meeting this week between people living on the streets and business owners. At first, they saw us as something bad—and many still do. They want to ‘clean’ the area. But what we want is dignity. You can’t demonize people living on the streets as if they were devils.

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Recently, a man drove by very slowly in a car and said, ‘I’m going to shoot all of you.’ And judging by the car, he was likely a businessman. Not everyone on the street belongs to the street or is in that situation for the same reasons. There are other factors, other dynamics that make things harder—especially those involved in drug dealing. And many of them have homes. So the greatest fear is someone losing control and you going to sleep and not waking up. Or someone mistaking you for someone else. Some people sleep with their heads covered, others don’t—they show their faces. And you never know what kind of madness or anger might come your way. There’s also prejudice—people say all Black people look the same, which is racist.

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I’ve seen it happen—I once slept at the National Library of Brasília, and someone uncovered my face. Two men were together, and one said, ‘No, it’s not him.’ They were looking for someone. These are the biggest fears—the constant unease. You never fully sleep; you wake up at any noise, any movement.

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The restroom at Setor Comercial Sul is the best in the area in terms of hygiene quality. There are only two restrooms, one for each gender. The demand is very high, and during peak hours it’s even higher. Weekends are a problem that still needs to be solved—does that mean people can’t meet their basic needs on Saturdays and Sundays? I believe it shouldn’t close, because it serves everyone here. And now we’re facing this situation also due to a lack of contributions and partnerships.

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Our greatest concern is that this restroom might close. It didn’t exist before, and things were much worse in terms of health and hygiene than they are today.”