Community media makes waves in Brazil favelas - Features - Al Jazeera English
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - On a warm Sunday evening in April, Arlinda Bezerra and her 10-year-old grandson were on their way home to Complexo do Alemao - a favela, or slum neighbourhood, on Rio's north side.
Bezerra, also known as Dona Dalva, had just turned 72 years old, and was celebrating her birthday with family that night. As she and her grandson crossed the street, they were caught in an exchange of gunfire between police and alleged drug traffickers. A stray bullet hit Bezerra in her stomach, and she was rushed to an emergency care unit. She died a few hours later. As news of her death spread, mainly by word of mouth, hundreds of people took to the streets to protest against violence in their neighbourhood and inefficient health care services. Within 24 hours, the emergency care unit had been vandalised, several buses torched and at least two more people killed.
News of Dona Dalva's death and the subsequent reaction appeared on national television networks like TV Globo and major newspapers like Estado de Sao Paulo. But journalists from these organisations were not present during the events in question. Their main source of information was a small community newspaper based in Complexo do Alemao called Voz da Comunidade.
Brazil's security forces began operations to 'pacify' Rio's favelas in 2008 [EPA]
