Festival restores self-esteem of juvenile offenders.

Mariana Tokarnia
Reporter from Agência Brasil

Brasilia - "Who picked up more than one article here?", asks rapper Diey Pitalurgh to a group of teenagers at the Planaltina Inpatient Unit (UIP) in the Federal District. The question is answered with laughter. Everyone there has committed at least one infraction and is serving a socio-educational measure. The chat with the rapper, from the group 3 um Só, is part of the Elemento em Movimento Festival, which, in addition to workshops and lectures with the inmates, promotes shows and sporting events open to the public this weekend.

"What I want to bring to these young people is the restoration of self-esteem," says rapper Diey Pitalurgh. "I don't confirm the statistics; I'm 28 years old and I'm from a neighborhood that has had a reputation for crime for 15 years. I've always been in contact with violence and drug trafficking, and I didn't go down that path." At the same time, the rapper says he feels close to these teenagers. "The same anger they felt, I also felt. The stories are different and similar. The same difficulties in getting to various places, I also faced."

Around 80 of the 90 inmates at UIP participated in Friday's (20) program. "The intention is to bring culture to these young people, something they don't see every day," says one of the organizers, Yan Killian, from the Central Union of Favelas of the Federal District (Cufa-DF). It is the first time the group has visited the Planaltina unit. "We realize that they want to participate."

Mário*, 17 years old, has been in the unit for nine months. Before that, he went through provisional detention six times (45 days). The crimes are: drug trafficking, robbery, and attempted murder during a robbery. "Diey gave us a lot of positive ideas. To think about what we're doing here today, what we're going to do when we get out. Only positive ideas. He knows what we've been through," he said.

The teenager dropped out of school at age 12. "I started skipping class and I liked it." Inside the juvenile detention center, he returned to his studies and is now in high school. His plan for when he leaves is still uncertain, but Mário says he intends to work hard even while incarcerated. He is in one of the best modules of the unit, reserved for inmates who stand out for good behavior.

At UIP, young people participate in various activities. In addition to attending classes at basic school, they learn, in vocational courses, computer skills, confectionery, horticulture, theater, and how to make posters. The time they will spend in the unit refers more to how they respond to the socio-educational measure and demonstrate good behavior than to the number of items they "picked up".

João*, 20 years old, is counting down the days until he leaves the facility. He will be released on Monday (23), after spending almost three years (maximum time) in the unit. "I learned that crime doesn't pay, it took away a lot of my freedom and time with my daughter." And it was his daughter, whom he only learned about when he was incarcerated, who motivated the young man to no longer want to commit crimes. He started stealing when he was 10 years old. At 17 he was apprehended. "I've been through a lot," he says. "I'm going to look for a job, it won't be easy, but I'll try like every citizen tries."

Vinícius*, 20, is expected to be released in 30 days. He will balance working with his stepfather – who has already secured him a job – with his studies. "My focus is on studying and making up for lost time." Like Mário, he dropped out of school early, at age 11. He started by stealing, then got involved in drug trafficking. At 14, he killed for the first time. By the time he was 16, he had committed four homicides. "Today I'm in a better place mentally, I can think more clearly about my life and my choices. This is not what God wants for me." Vinícius says he is evangelical, "but I don't follow it very closely." If João and Vinícius commit crimes again, they will no longer be considered juvenile offenders and will be sent to regular prisons. 

The event is organized by the Caixa Seguros Group in partnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Brazil, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and CUFA-DF. The shows, open to the public, take place today (21) and tomorrow in Ceilândia (DF). The complete program can be found on the Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/jovemdeexpressao