Rampant crime in Rio - absolute chaos!
Sep 27, 2017, 10:28 am
#16
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: GIG - YYC - SVO
Programs: Lost it all and don't care
Posts: 945
In Calgary 10 years ago someone "tried" to rob me on 17 Ave SW in the bar district.
My car was stolen from my secure parking garage in 2008.
One of my colleagues in the office was mugged a month ago and spent 4 says in the hospital.
In Canada. In one of the safest cities.
My Brasilian in laws 80 and 76 years old respectively who live in Rio, have never been a victim of a crime.
IMHO most Brasilians overstate their feelings about violence, and cannot grasp the city, nor circumstances in which they live, yet they voted in the biggest criminal the country had ever seen......Lula da Silva, the former president currently appealing his 9.5 year jail term for corruption.
I've saved the most sad and ironic thing for last. In 2008 Jose Neto, a Brasilian living in Calgary, was walking in a known drug crime area in the cities Chinatown district downtown when he felt a sting in his eyes and lost his vision. A stray bullet (Bala Perdida) fired by a dealer at someone else, entered his left eye socket and exited the right hand side. He lived and the dealer is in jail for the rest of his life IIRC.
Iahpdx......
Come to Rio......you'll be fine. My wife and I are leaving 10/16 but if we were here, I'd have been happy to show you around.
My car was stolen from my secure parking garage in 2008.
One of my colleagues in the office was mugged a month ago and spent 4 says in the hospital.
In Canada. In one of the safest cities.
My Brasilian in laws 80 and 76 years old respectively who live in Rio, have never been a victim of a crime.
IMHO most Brasilians overstate their feelings about violence, and cannot grasp the city, nor circumstances in which they live, yet they voted in the biggest criminal the country had ever seen......Lula da Silva, the former president currently appealing his 9.5 year jail term for corruption.
I've saved the most sad and ironic thing for last. In 2008 Jose Neto, a Brasilian living in Calgary, was walking in a known drug crime area in the cities Chinatown district downtown when he felt a sting in his eyes and lost his vision. A stray bullet (Bala Perdida) fired by a dealer at someone else, entered his left eye socket and exited the right hand side. He lived and the dealer is in jail for the rest of his life IIRC.
Iahpdx......
Come to Rio......you'll be fine. My wife and I are leaving 10/16 but if we were here, I'd have been happy to show you around.
Last edited by KDS777; Sep 27, 2017 at 11:14 am
Sep 27, 2017, 11:44 am
#17
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Austin, Texas
Programs: Airline nobody. Sad!
Posts: 26,062
When I went to Rio de Janeiro, I did basically what you said. I'm a beginner speaker in Portuguese, relatively, but capable enough to be able to handle most basic tourist interactions. But, even so, I took the radio taxi from GIG to the hotel in Barra, no issues. I also hired a guide with a vehicle, partly as I only had 2-3 days there and wanted to make sure I didn't miss the big things. I can recommend my guide for sure (named in trip report below). Stick to touristy areas, don't go to Zona Norte, don't go to a favela, do your best to plan where you want to go in advance and how to get there so you avoid accidentally stumbling across a favela, don't flash anything fancy when outside, keep your awareness about you, and you'll be fine; the common sense procedures. The major attractions (Cristo Redentor/Corcovado, Pão de Açúcar, etc.) are fine to visit, obviously again common sense procedures about personal awareness and items. Or, hire a guide who can sweat most of those details for you and enjoy your time in the Cidade Maravilhosa.
Trip report, admittedly from 2013 and also focusing on the flights and hotels more than the city, but proof I made it there and back in one piece
:To Rio de Janeiro with AA in business, and a visit to the Cidade Maravilhosa
Sep 27, 2017, 12:06 pm
#18
Join Date: May 2015
Programs: KLM FB Gold
Posts: 49
After living in Brazil (Fortaleza) now for 11 years, I have yet to be robbed or even seen anything with my own eyes. On the many lists of most violent cities in the world, Fortaleza is always on the top 10 cities of where most killing occur per capita. Sure, I see lot's of crazy s**t on the news, however I have never ever felt unsafe here. That beeing said, I don't live anymore in the city but a 30 min drive north in a smaller fishing village.
Funny thing is the locals here (including my wife) feel more unsafe than I do, and yes, crime DOES happen here everyday, however I choose not to think about it or it would drive me insane. Like the story of this unfortunate brit who chose to do a self safari in one of Rio's favela's... it's common sense that will keep you safe. Most of my foreign friends here that have experienced robbery will tell me they were walking home from a bar, drunk, or in a dark alley at the time of the incident. Stolen iPhone, Rolex, gold chain... get the point?
When I leave my house to go to the beach, or to a restaurant, I always dress causually, rarely take my phone with me, only my credit card and some cash, just in case. Never advertise that you're a wealthy toursit.
It's such a crying shame that clueless people, many who have never been to Brazil, claim it's almost a death warrant to even step foot in this paradise. The media loves to blow things out of proportions.
Please trust me when I tell you that you can safely come to Brazil, bring your entire family including your kids and have a lovely time here! In short, Brazil is an amazing country although with its own serious problems that you will with 99.9% certainty never even realize exist when you're here.
Please everyone, before posting your horror stories here, do your research and get all the facts straight first.
Funny thing is the locals here (including my wife) feel more unsafe than I do, and yes, crime DOES happen here everyday, however I choose not to think about it or it would drive me insane. Like the story of this unfortunate brit who chose to do a self safari in one of Rio's favela's... it's common sense that will keep you safe. Most of my foreign friends here that have experienced robbery will tell me they were walking home from a bar, drunk, or in a dark alley at the time of the incident. Stolen iPhone, Rolex, gold chain... get the point?
When I leave my house to go to the beach, or to a restaurant, I always dress causually, rarely take my phone with me, only my credit card and some cash, just in case. Never advertise that you're a wealthy toursit.
It's such a crying shame that clueless people, many who have never been to Brazil, claim it's almost a death warrant to even step foot in this paradise. The media loves to blow things out of proportions.
Please trust me when I tell you that you can safely come to Brazil, bring your entire family including your kids and have a lovely time here! In short, Brazil is an amazing country although with its own serious problems that you will with 99.9% certainty never even realize exist when you're here.
Please everyone, before posting your horror stories here, do your research and get all the facts straight first.
Sep 29, 2017, 9:50 am
#20
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2000
Posts: 17,421
Well, this story isn't making it easier for me to convince my wife to visit Rio:
http://www.france24.com/en/20170929-...avela-violence
http://www.france24.com/en/20170929-...avela-violence
Sep 29, 2017, 12:14 pm
#21
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 1,667
Jeesh, so stay in Copacabana or Catete and avoid the whole deal. Look at a map. This "situation" is apparently about whether the assistant to the imprisoned drug lord of Rocinha, a poor community located on a mountain, with one main entrance at the foot, or the drug lord's girlfriend, is going to lead the gang. Rocinha is on the other side of Leblon, with Ipanema and Arpoador between Leblon and Copacabana. Catete is even further on the other side of the city from Rocinha. Any problems among the gangs or with the (untrustworthy and often corrupt) police/soldiers has been confined to the neighborhood/mountain. You are not likely to see any of it.
Brazilians love to make more of this stuff than necessary when speaking to non-Brazilians.
They are also very conservative with guests; for example, a couple (aunt and uncle of a friend) I stayed with in the far north did not even want to let me go out by myself during the day to see the regular tourist sights in that relatively safe city, and I have been traveling solo safely in Brazil for 20+ years and speak fluent Portuguese.
And many rich Brazilians simply resent that their privileged lives, modeled on being as much like any European or N.American as possible, being disrupted by those "unsightly slums".
Foreign news agencies don't know what to make of it, so go for the "bad news sells".
There is an economic crisis and more people are in reduced circumstances.. But as mentioned above, some Brazilians have this idea that making the country look bad,or banging pots and pans while walking through the streets, will embarrass the government and bring down the corrupt politicians If it was as bad as they make it out, the world would be seeing refugees streaming out of the city like in Syria.
However, if your wife and therefore you, are looking over your shoulders in abject fear the whole time, you will have a miserable trip. So jump in wholeheartedly, both of you, or stay home.
Brazilians love to make more of this stuff than necessary when speaking to non-Brazilians.
They are also very conservative with guests; for example, a couple (aunt and uncle of a friend) I stayed with in the far north did not even want to let me go out by myself during the day to see the regular tourist sights in that relatively safe city, and I have been traveling solo safely in Brazil for 20+ years and speak fluent Portuguese.
And many rich Brazilians simply resent that their privileged lives, modeled on being as much like any European or N.American as possible, being disrupted by those "unsightly slums".
Foreign news agencies don't know what to make of it, so go for the "bad news sells".
There is an economic crisis and more people are in reduced circumstances.. But as mentioned above, some Brazilians have this idea that making the country look bad,or banging pots and pans while walking through the streets, will embarrass the government and bring down the corrupt politicians If it was as bad as they make it out, the world would be seeing refugees streaming out of the city like in Syria.
However, if your wife and therefore you, are looking over your shoulders in abject fear the whole time, you will have a miserable trip. So jump in wholeheartedly, both of you, or stay home.
Last edited by VidaNaPraia; Sep 29, 2017 at 12:19 pm
Sep 29, 2017, 2:46 pm
#22
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: GIG - YYC - SVO
Programs: Lost it all and don't care
Posts: 945
What she said. Very well written BTW.
A half a mllion tourists flooded Rio for the Olympics, and even more came for the World Cup. Ask your wife to show you the hundreds of news reports about the murdered tourists at these events.
You won't find them.
If anything, the disrespectful actions of members of the US Olympic swim team claiming they were robbed, which was found thru security cam video to be a lie, dominated the world news.
You are more likely to get killed by a terrorist in Europe, or a gang banger in Chicago where esmjb lives, than you are to get harmed down here. I find it ironic and humorous that someone so terrifled for their personal safety moved to such a place. But let's not digress for I've made my point.
Now, this is embarrassing but true. 9 years ago I was stumbling home at 6pm from a bar where I was watching a football game with my friends. I was piss drunk. I tripped on my flip flops and got thrown off balance by the case of beer I was carrying in the middle of Siquera Campos, a very busy street here in Copacabana that at it's north end enters the favela of Tabajares. My condo is 4 blocks away. I am white with blonde hair.
I found myself in the middle of the street on my back, unable to get up because I was plastered. Traffic stopped and a group of locals came out, got me to my feet, made sure I was OK, asked me if I needed EMS etc, and helped me to the sidewalk.
Brasilians for the most part cannot afford to travel out of their country. I'd say 90% never have. So they have perhaps a naive and different view of what a city of 15MM should be like than it really is.
What direct benefit is there to me to convince anyone otherwise ? Maybe a few more open J seats, but that's it.
A half a mllion tourists flooded Rio for the Olympics, and even more came for the World Cup. Ask your wife to show you the hundreds of news reports about the murdered tourists at these events.
You won't find them.
If anything, the disrespectful actions of members of the US Olympic swim team claiming they were robbed, which was found thru security cam video to be a lie, dominated the world news.
You are more likely to get killed by a terrorist in Europe, or a gang banger in Chicago where esmjb lives, than you are to get harmed down here. I find it ironic and humorous that someone so terrifled for their personal safety moved to such a place. But let's not digress for I've made my point.
Now, this is embarrassing but true. 9 years ago I was stumbling home at 6pm from a bar where I was watching a football game with my friends. I was piss drunk. I tripped on my flip flops and got thrown off balance by the case of beer I was carrying in the middle of Siquera Campos, a very busy street here in Copacabana that at it's north end enters the favela of Tabajares. My condo is 4 blocks away. I am white with blonde hair.
I found myself in the middle of the street on my back, unable to get up because I was plastered. Traffic stopped and a group of locals came out, got me to my feet, made sure I was OK, asked me if I needed EMS etc, and helped me to the sidewalk.
Brasilians for the most part cannot afford to travel out of their country. I'd say 90% never have. So they have perhaps a naive and different view of what a city of 15MM should be like than it really is.
What direct benefit is there to me to convince anyone otherwise ? Maybe a few more open J seats, but that's it.
Last edited by KDS777; Sep 29, 2017 at 3:06 pm