In 2013, Brazil was in the spotlight of foreign media – the 2014 FIFA World Cup was scheduled to be held in the country. Stadium construction was delayed, Brazilians protested nationwide against mismanagement and corruption, and poor and underprivileged people were displaced from the cities to make way for new luxury housing projects. At that moment, journalist Jörg-Christian Schillmöller and I were commissioned by Deutschlandfunk to create a multimedia reportage blog about Brazilian society. As a pre-coverage for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, this blog was intended to provide readers with new perspectives on the country, which, with its incomprehensible size – approximately 49 times larger than Germany – defies imagination.
Map of the Tinharé Archipelago, consisting of the three islands: Tinharé, Cairo, and Boipeba. The archipelago is one of two administrative regions in Brazil consisting entirely of islands.
We decided to do the reporting on the Tinharé archipelago, consisting of the four islands: Tinharé, Cairo, Ilha do Rato, and Boipeba. The archipelago is one of two administrative districts in Brazil consisting entirely of islands and is located 158 kilometers south of Salvador da Bahia in the state of Bahia. To tell the story of the macrocosm of Brazil from the microcosm in 18 days.
Jörg-Christian Schillmöller summarized our experiences and insights at the end of the trip as follows: "What impressed us most in the past few weeks was Boipeba's deputy mayor, Roberto. With his calm and intelligent manner, he gave us valuable input on many topics. Or nurse Gilza – resolute and pragmatic. The hiking guide Marcos, cheerful and concerned about the environment. The German Baptist Daniel Simon – a dedicated missionary. Police officer Washington, sincere in his fight against drugs.
Health, education, safety, religion, the environment, tourism: All of these topics remain open questions. What about the many women who become pregnant as young girls here? Will a new school building be enough to address the educational deficits? Will the Catholic Church manage to expand its congregation again? Will the nice plans to clean up the garbage dump and introduce recycling (for the umpteenth time) stick? Will there ever be a drug prevention program that people will take seriously?"
The reportage blog has since disappeared into obscurity, but there are still some traces online:
Adeus Boipeba
Culture Unplugged – Boipeba Without Electricity
