Cry of the Outcasts questions invisibility of the vulnerable

The 30th edition of the Cry of the Outcasts (Grito dos Excluídos in the original Portuguese) addressed the invisibility of vulnerable individuals. Held on Saturday (Sep. 7) in São Paulo, the event’s theme was “All Lives Matter, But Who Cares?”

Homeless individuals, religious leaders, activists, immigrants, and members of social movements and trade unions gathered to advocate for urgent action to address the needs of the outcasts, including the homeless and incarcerated populations.

“We are here to denounce social exclusion and serve as a symbol of resistance in building a just, egalitarian, fraternal, and supportive society. We constantly emphasize the need for a new [societal] model, as the current one no longer meets our needs,” said Paulo Pretini, organizer of the demonstration in São Paulo.

“It’s unacceptable that people are struggling for basic necessities like food, shelter, and work. We need to build a society that is far more fraternal and supportive,” he added.

“The street population is not merely on the margins of society; these individuals are effectively excluded from it. Not only does society ignore them, but it also criminalizes and vilifies their rights,” said Luciana Carvalho from Rede Rua, one of the movements participating in the march.

For nun Petra Silvia Pfaller, from Prison Pastoral, the situation is even worse for those who are in the prison system and have no way of speaking out. “We bring here today the cry of the people who are incarcerated, almost 1 million people who can't come to shout, to say that they suffer from hunger, beatings, torture, lack of access to health care, lack of a place to sleep, lack of access to justice. They are a people who have been abandoned by prejudice,” she said.