A few
when I lived in Brazil.

1. Walking home from work I passed the scene of a recent shooting - there wasn't much left as the police had cleared away the body, but there was a fan shaped splatter of blood and brain etc on the ground.

2. An elderly black tramp lying dead under a table at which three white Brazilian girls were happily eating hamburgers. One had her foot on his hand.

3. Once we decided to go to the Hippodromo (the horse racing track) in Rio. We walked up the street from where we lived and passed a kid of about 19 or 20 lying absolutely rigid on the ground. Two policemen were standing nearby laughing, smoking, and chatting. When we walked home 6 hours later he was still there in exactly the same position.

4. And the worst, there was a mother who lived in the doorway of a cobblers shop fairly near to where we lived. She had 5 (I think) children, between 3 and 11, one of whom was this incredibly sweet 6 year old girl who would hawk chewing gum and tissues around the local bars and restaurants. We used to buy extra bread, fruit and milk and give it to them, but one day I was walking back home a different way from the local supermarket with my mum and we came across a small knot of people gathered around the body of the little girl. Someone had cut her throat from ear to ear and stolen her takings from the night before. It can't have been more than 15 or 20 reals (maybe £5 at most). Brazil can be one sick, sick, country. We went home, my mother was crying uncontrollably and I've never felt so sick in my life.

5. Saw a car accident from a cafe in Cordoba, Argentina. This guy was driving way too fast and crashed into a car waiting at a red light. He got out of his crumpled car and I swear part of his skull was missing. The whole side of his head was just running red. He took about 3 steps and collapsed.

The worst one was the little girl. To be honest you kind of got used to seeing bodies on the street in Rio that may or may not have been dead or drugged up... but seeing that girl with a cut throat... that was nasty.
(Zapiola zip-zap-zop, Mon 3 Mar 2008, 17:42, Reply)