As on most days, I woke up and opened the news. I was amazed as soon as I read the headline that said “56 killed, many beheaded, in grisly Brazil prison riot”. This episode has left at least 56 people dead with some bodies decapitated and burned.
When I stopped to contemplate I realized how insane it is. Brazilians have been celebrating a New Year although issues are the same of as 40 years ago. For me, and I believe for a ton of people, this problem can be solved with something so obvious: A resource called “education” I completed my high school education in a public school and for me, a person that used to study in private schools, it was a shock.
Nowadays I am able to see that we were educated to be fools. There were countless times that we went to school and we did not have a class because the teacher did not come. Instead of criticizing what was happening with the head of the school we always celebrated it because that meant that we going to go back home earlier or at least play soccer instead of having class. In each celebration as we did not have class or a teacher to teach us, we jeopardized ourselves and our future without even knowing it.
Another situation that still happens frequently is some students go to school only to be able to eat something. This sort of situation appears chiefly at the elementary and middle school. So, how can you be full of hungry of dreams when you are always hungry? How can a child strike a dream if they are taught to celebrate when they do not have classes or how to stop to thinking how to achieve something good for the future when they are always starving? Steve Jobs needs to forgive me but his famous quote “Stay hungry. Stay foolish” has been not working well to my country.
Lack of education in Brazil causes many other problems such as poverty and consequently violence. I am not saying that all the poor are violent, however, how can we explain to a child that they cannot have a pack of a wafers while others can? How can we explain to a youngster who wants a good job that he cannot work in a big company and give a better life to his family because he does not have the education and certificates? How can we explain to a hungry jobless father that they cannot shoplift while his kid asks for food? In other words, you cannot judge a person who lives likethis. You cannot imagine how terrible it is
That’s why the headline “56 killed, many beheaded, in grisly Brazil prison riot” became a reality. Because most of these criminals once were children that unfortunately did not have any opportunities. It is like a house of cards, with education the last card on the top of the pyramid and when it falls all the rest fall, too.
We need to acknowledge that most opportunities will not come our way. A good background is essential to building the character of the majority. We need to understand it is perverse reading this kind of news as a natural event. It is not normal to feel safe only when we are under a security camera or behind a gate. Jailing a person should be the last resort. Creating more schools and fewer prisons should be the first resort in any system. However, in my country, even though it is already being in 2017, this sensible thought looks still far away.
Debora Komukai, IELTS Class
