Photos You Don't See from the World Cup
The 2014 FIFA World Cup games have begun this week, and although there should be much to celebrate, the streets of Brazil tell a different story. Since the decision was made for Rio de Janeiro to hold this year's grand event, more than a million demonstrators have been hitting the streets to protest against the billions of dollars being spent on sports stadiums while education, housing, healthcare, public transportation and other social services go begging for assistance. Hidden behind the glitz and glamour of this internationally beloved event is a great population of people living in suffrage and poverty stricken conditions, in one of the most unequal countries in the world.
With everything going on in Brazil, DOSE.com shared photos from various online media outlets, that you don't typically see in coverage on the World Cup. Whether it's photos of anti-World Cup street art, police violent, protest, or poverty, each tell an important back story that the rest of the world should see. Check them out below, and find more information on the photo sources here.
"The World Cup will continue for a few days, but the lives of these people will continue long after that."- Dose
[Via DOSE]
Life in the Largest Vertical Slum in the World
Photos by Iwan Baan
For almost 20 years in the center of Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, stands an unfinished 45-story skyscraper, known as the Tower of David (Torre de David). Unfortunately, the building was plagued with misfortune since early construction. First the developer died, then with the nation's failed economy and banking system, the building construction has gone unfinished ever since. What was supposed to be the third-highest skyscraper in Venezuela is now the largest vertical slum in the world.
Over the past 8 years, people have begun inhabiting the unfinished building, and is currently holding about 750 families, establishing it's own self-contained community. Besides the many apartments in the tower, it also has shops, grocery stores and other services on each floor, even a church and a common gym on the roof. However, plagued with poverty and government neglect, many hazards have fatally injured residents, plumbing and electrical services are poor, and running water only reaches the fifth floor, leaving most of the lower levels smelling like sewage. Aside from all of this, the building is also known as a base of operations for Criminal gangs. The building's general manager, Elvin Marchan, has even admitted, "if someone caused problems, pushing them off a higher story or shooting them would have been the way of dealing with it." There is no question that this is one of the largest slums in the world and an example of the kind of life that most people here in Caracas, a city reported to have the highest per capita murder rate in the world.
Photographer and urban documentarian Iwan Baan, was able to capture captivating images of life inside the unfinished tower, as he continues to travel the world capturing the relation of people to the architecture and structures they inhabit. Besides his pictures of the Tower of David below, he participated in a TED Talks conference where he shares more of his findings.
[Via Policy Mic]
