Sport used as weapon against sexual exploitation of children in Manaus

In the capital city of Amazonas, apart from the efforts to deliver the urban mobility and infrastructure works in time for the World Cup, there is much concern about the sexual exploitation of children and adolescents during the period.

In a state where crimes of this kind are extremely alarming, officials from the Guardianship Council call for stricter control and the collaboration of all the organizations involved with the protection of children and adolescents. The Guardianship Council is one of the agencies that form the System for the Reinforcement of the Rights of Children and Adolescents.

According to Guardianship Councilor Daniele Soares, girls in Amazonas have been made victims of sex crimes increasingly early in their lives. “Here in Manaus, the average girl victim of sexual exploitation is just 11. It’s outrageous!” Clodoaldo Santos, also a councilor, says that boatmen profit more from moored vessels than from those sailing, as boys and girls have been found on board involved with sexual exploitation activities.

“Boats sometimes serve as bars and even hotels – a business more profitable than the regular work on a boat. People buy drinks, throw parties… Everything happens in there,” Santos added. At the city’s port and its vicinity, an area teeming with merchants, passers-by, travelers and vendors, no one dares to mention the problem.

Indigenous girls are not protected from sexual exploitation in Manaus either, according to Carapanã indigenous leader Maria Alice Paulino. “Those recruiters come and make everything easier, so Indians end up surrendering their daughters to this kind of work – sex tourism.”

One of the strategies for dismantling exploitation schemes and enforcing children’s rights is sport – a football school, for instance, is changing the lives of boys from the outskirts of Manaus. Humble and with passionate about teaching, football instructor Clodomildo Mendes uses an unpaved court as his classroom in an impoverished neighborhood of the city. One of his 170 students is Jerlisson Lima, 15, who deems the initiative exhilarating. “I used to stay on the street the whole time. Now, I go to school in the afternoon, and I’ve got practice in the morning and also at night. My whole day is occupied with football and school,” he says.

But the World Cup is not the only thing arousing kids’ interest in sports. In the view of an indigenous group from the Upper Negro River, the 2016 Olympic Games, to be held in Rio de Janeiro, afford another good opportunity for indigenous children and teenagers from all across the country to realize how talented they are, and provide them with the tools they need to change their lives.

A group of 12 athletes from the community moved to Manaus to take part in an archery competition. Anderson Santos, 15, from the Cambeba ethnic group Cambeba, was among the athletes selected for the Olympics. “I had no idea archery was going to change my life. And I’ve made it to the national team!” he said.

Four months ago, Nelson Silva de Moraes, 14, left his village in the Lower Negro River, to try his luck as an athlete. He used to have a small wooden bow, but now he goes to practice with professional equipment. His greatest dream is to become champion in the 2016 Olympic Games.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira