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How a Small Brazilian Community Fought Big Powers and Won
After 20 years resisting eviction from their homes-- even as the threat level reached Olympic heights this year-- the Rio community of Vila Autodromo wins a concession from the Mayor. Eviction is off the table. Viva a Vila!
Priscila Néri
August 15, 2013
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This Week in Human Rights Video: Police Torture in Bahrain and Why Brazilians are Protesting
This month's Citizen Watch also includes: violence in Guinea, a raid on a prominent human rights organization in Russia, and disturbing reports of chemical weapons used in Syria.
WITNESS
June 24, 2013
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How Activists Can Use Vine To Reach a Global Audience in 6 Seconds
Activists are using the mobile app Vine from Istanbul to Rio de Janeiro, but is their footage getting seen? We share 5 tips that can improve the reach and visibility of these short, dynamic videos.
WITNESS
June 21, 2013
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As Protests Rock Brazil One Year Before World Cup, a “People’s Cup” Celebrates Resistance to Forced Evictions
Massive protests across Brazil started at frustration at cost of living hikes by the government but also include anger at forced evictions taking place in the lead up to the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics.
WITNESS
June 19, 2013
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This Week in Human Rights Video: Protests in Brazil, Turkey and Bulgaria
Over the last week, the Human Rights Channel featured videos of cost of living protests in Sao Paolo, the start of the hurricane season in Haiti, and the crackdown on Gezi Park, all from the citizen's perspective.
WITNESS
June 17, 2013
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As Brazil Marks One-Year Countdown to 2014 World Cup, Thousands Cope with Forced Evictions
Thousands of Brazil’s residents struggle to rebuild their lives after being forcibly removed from their homes to prepare for the multi-billion dollar sports event.
WITNESS
June 12, 2013
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Policing the Police with Citizen Video
In one week, eyewitness’ videos exposed police brutality in four different countries: South Africa, Brazil, Australia, and Fiji. One month later, we check in to see how those videos made a difference.
WITNESS
April 22, 2013
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Key for a Key: Unlocking a Video Advocacy Training in Brazil
What's it like to be in a WITNESS video training? This post brings you inside the classroom in Porto Alegre, Brazil, where two dozen activists are working to save their communities from forced evictions.
Jackie Zammuto
February 16, 2013
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Dear Mandela: Putting a Documentary to Work
Impact does not happen in a straight line: you make the film, show it, and things change. We spent four years shooting Dear Mandela, but it wasn't until we finished that we fully understood where our audience would be.
WITNESS
February 6, 2013
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Two Years After Forced Eviction, Community Fights for Compensation in Rio de Janeiro
Yesterday marked two years since government bulldozers arrived at the Restinga community in Rio de Janeiro to demolish the homes and small shops belonging to 153 families.
Priscila Néri
December 18, 2012
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Victims of the Latin American War on Drugs Make the Case for Reform
Latin American drug policies have made no dent in the drug trade; instead they have taken a tremendous toll on human lives. In 2009, the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and the Transnational Institute (TNI) embarked on an ambitious project to document the real impact of Latin America’s “war on drugs” and to show its human cost through the video testimoniesof the victims themselves.
WITNESS
November 10, 2012
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People Before Profit: New Video on Global Forced Evictions
New video People Before Profit – bringing communities across the world together to tell the global story of forced evictions. WITNESS has supported forced evictions campaigns for more than 10 years. During this time, these projects have amplified the voices of communities across the world. For World Habitat Day we are bringing many of these voices together for the first time to tell another story.
WITNESS
September 27, 2012
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Observing Labor Rights as Human Rights
Yesterday the United States and Canada celebrated Labor Day. It is meant to be a day set aside to honor the contributions workers in both countries make to their economies and societies. In the United States, it was President Grover Cleveland who designated the first Monday in September as Labor Day in part to distance the federal holiday from the more "radical" overtones of May Day - which is still observed in many parts of the world as the day to honor laborers.
Matisse Bustos Hawkes
September 4, 2012
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VIDEO: Meet Elisângela, the Other Face of Rio de Janeiro’s Olympic Legacy
Elisângela wasn't home when they arrived. Her 17-year-old daughter called her cellphone, frantic, to break the news: "There are several men from the municipal government here at our door; they're saying they're going to demolish our house." Elisângela raced home to try to negotiate, to no avail. In a few hours, the home she and her family had spent years building was now a pile of rubble.
Priscila Néri
June 21, 2012
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The Belo Monte Dam in Brazil: “Development” vs. Indigenous Communities
In every corner of the world, we see unfathomably huge hydroelectric dams that destroy entire ecosystems and indigenous livelihoods. The notorious Three Gorges Dam in China has its rivals on all other continents, from the proposed Grand Inga in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the James Bay Project in Canada.
WITNESS
May 23, 2012