/ IRASEMA , BRAZIL /

Brazil's record on human rights has improved considerably in many respects since the end of the military regime. In spite of everything, children often have to face cruel difficulties that prevent them from growing up in stable and peaceful conditions.

In Brazil, a quarter of the population lives below the poverty line. There are big differences between the “rich” who live in beautiful neighborhoods and the “poor” who live in the favelas (settlements).

The two population "categories" live within meters of each other. However, if they were placed on a scale of comfort and living conditions, they would find themselves at two extremes. The children of the favelas face daily problems of health, food, access to water, education and violence.

Brazil has made numerous efforts to fight the AIDS virus in recent years, and has thus served as an example for its neighbors. However, the fight is not over yet. HIV drugs and treatments, for example, remain in short supply in the country.

Child labor has not yet been completely eradicated in Brazil. Children are used especially in agricultural environments, more particularly in sugarcane plantations and in coal mines. Those under 15 years of age represent 25 to 30% of the workforce in Brazilian fields. On the coast, many children also work as fishermen. As for the young women, they are often employed as domestic workers.

Northern Brazil is known for its poverty. In this region, children often live on the streets and face violence every day. Their environment is deplorable: child trafficking, drugs, prostitution, work, begging and sexual exploitation form their daily life. In addition to the sex trade, the drug traffickers who reign in the favelas also use children. The jobs offered to them are very cruel: prostitution, illegal drug trade, and exploitation.

The Brazilian police are the greatest terror of children on the street. Some say that life on the street is a paradise compared to that of the detainees.