Forum created in Baixada Fluminense is a cry for help from the population

The FGB, as the Grita Baixada Forum is known, is a collective of activists and representatives of human rights social organizations dedicated to the most serious issues experienced in Baixada Fluminense, Rio de Janeiro, especially the historic and persistent lethal violence.

It was created in November 2012, in a popular plenary with the then state secretary of public security, Mariano Beltrame. There was already an alert from the population regarding the relation between the increase in violence and the growth of massacres in the Baixada with the policy of implementing the UPPs, in the city of Rio, but the Rio de Janeiro Public Power denied the connection. From then on, several resources and strategies were promoted to ‘make more noise’ and clarify that the Baixada would not be silent. And so the Grita Baixada Forum was born.

The Forum’s diverse activities 

The Forum takes place at CENFOR – Leaders Training Center, in Nova Iguaçu, Baixada Fluminense, in Rio de Janeiro, and seeks to aggregate, join and share experiences. The GBF is also dedicated to other social problems in addition to lethal violence, such as the lack of basic sanitation in several locations in the Baixada, the precariousness of public transport, limited urban mobility, the neglect of government officials with public education, among others. In recent years, for example, state violence, racism and support for mothers and relatives of victims of violence have profoundly marked the trajectory of the Forum. But even so, the GBF is as diverse in its performance as its composition is more diverse; and it is not limited to a single space either, acting also in schools, unions, churches, neighborhood associations, streets and squares.

Services are not offered, but work is built together with the public, holding meetings where preliminary dialogues take place, with the definition of objectives, strategies and results.

The target public of the Forum, therefore, is the people of the Baixada Fluminense and, depending on the project being carried out, the profiles are different. But the group with which there is more interaction and partnership is made of mothers and relatives of victims of violence carried out by the State in the Baixada Fluminense; to a lesser extent, this interaction and partnership extends to young people, students from public education institutions and with some local social institutions.

Inside the Forum

Adriano de Araujo, 53, a former deputy secretary of the Municipal Secretariat for Valorization of Life and Prevention of Violence in Nova Iguaçu, in 2019, is a Social Scientist, Master in Sociology, and one of the executive coordinators of the Grita Baixada Forum, since 2017. According to him, the purpose of the GBF is to be a unifying space for struggle and resistance, but also for affection and solidarity in the Baixada Fluminense, especially in the face of the countless injustices experienced by the population. “In a more specific way, we can say that our purpose is to find ways and means to face the violence that decimates black and poor young people, that sickens mothers and destroys families due to the extent of State violence”, he explains.

Challenges vs Achievements

“Basically, our challenges are the same as those faced by everyone who is dedicated to justice and the fight for human rights in Brazil. Violence itself is already a major challenge, as it makes mobilization difficult and, finally, the sustainability of social projects is, ultimately, a constant challenge”, explains the assistant secretary.

He also comments that the main value of the initiative is its stubbornness in the face of such a challenging scenario and that faith, the strength of the collective and the will to walk together is what sustains the work of the Forum.

“There have been many achievements in these 10 years, such as carrying out walks for peace in several neighborhoods of Baixada; the activity entitled “Tocha da Vergonha”, which denounced to the world the farce of the social legacy of the Rio Olympics left in the Baixada Fluminense; the launch and numerous conversation circles in Brazil and abroad about racism and violence in the Baixada, several public hearings denouncing the disregard for life in the Baixada and proposing viable alternatives for actions to confront violence and various other activities”, he concludes.

For more detailed information, access the following channels: Youtube, Instagram and the institutions’ website.

Contact

Phone: +55 (21) 2767 0472 

General E-mail: fgbaixada@gmail.com

Coordination E-mail: adrianodearaujo@gmail.com

PR E-mail: fabioleon.fgb@gmail.com