Kites used to warn locals of the arrival of the police or
competing gangs. Now they use fireworks – apparently more effective in the rain
and at night…
Although Rocinha is in the process of being pacified, the
gangs are still in control (in Rocinha’s case – Amigo do Amigo) and drugs still
evident (although interestingly they don’t allow heroine or crack). On the tour
we saw graffiti indicating the gang’s control, occasional bullet holes and discarded
drugs containers. Then two young men, their faces covered, walked briskly past
us up the hill, one carrying an AK47, the other a semi-automatic pistol…
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