Join Defend Democracy Brazil New York for a conversation with members of frontline defenders Coletivo Papo Reto (Straight Talk Collective), a Brazilian grassroots network that collects and documents evidence of police brutality in Rio de Janeiro’s Favelas. Papo Reto has used social media to counter mainstream narratives about Rio’s Favelas, collaborating with public defenders, civil society organizations and developers to collect, analyze and preserve audio-visual data of police action.
The challenges and threats faced by human rights defenders in Brazil remain very high, particularly for those working on issues of land, environment, indigenous peoples, women and LGBTi rights and police brutality. Many HRDs have experienced death threats, physical attacks, arbitrary arrests and lawsuits. The high number of killings is of particular concern and takes place against a background of widespread impunity.
With the deepening of the political crisis in Brazil, this is an opportunity to share stories, identify common challenges and build solidarity between movements working to end police brutality and empower traditionally marginalized populations.
Participants from Papo Reto:
Lana Souza, 29, lives in Complexo do Alemão and is a co-founder of Coletivo Papo Reto, started in 2014. Lana is a journalist who specialized in popular communication. At coletivo Papo Reto, Lana focuses in institutional communications, and memory preservation through audio-visual.
Raull Santiago is a human rights activist, mediamaker and resident of the Complexo do Alemão favelas in Rio de Janeiro. Bridge-builder and community mediator, Raull is one of the co-founders of the Coletivo Papo Reto and a member of Frontline Defenders.
Ananda Trajano, 19, lives in Complexo do alemão and is a member of Coletivo Papo Reto. Ananda is graduating in Biology Sciences. At Coletivo Papo Reto she is responsible for youth projects and organizing.
ABOUT COLETIVO PAPO RETO (Straight Talk Collective)
Papo Reto is a network of young activists using smartphones and social media to tell their own stories, reporting issues that are relevant to the community, engaging in copwatch and counter stereotypes. Papo Reto’s guerrilla-style journalism is made by, for and with favela residents themselves, is helping create a protective network for residents in times of violence while also fostering spaces for dialogue and exchange. Raull and CPR are also active members of Movimentos, a group of young men and women from favelas that discuss drug policy from the perspective of those who live in favelas. The collective was featured in an extensive article by the New York Times Sunday Magazine, a short documentary by Fusion TV, and a story by AlJazeera on the V App, a copwatch technology developed in New York “A Big Brother – Rebel Geeks”
