Two lives, two destinies, two stories...

Tell us their stories...

I can’t say too much about these two yet because I’m still trying to discover who they really are and what their lives are about.

Bit by bit I will peace together their intricate past, to match with their confused present, to face their equally unknown but complicated future.

But here’s an introduction to put you in the picture...

Boaz is probably 13 years old -- he doesn’t really know and we’re still looking for his birth certificate, has only been on the streets for the last 8 months. He landed there with a slightly older brother, Ben Hur, when they ran away from home together. Ben Hur has since disappeared, trafficked by professionals to the coast to serve as a sex slave for wealthy women after he was tempted into a posh car by his future “madame” or female pimp and taken to the port of Santos.
Ben Hur was tall, blond and dashing according to previous neighbours; an ideal candidate to serve such a demanding market and probably a match for academy award winner, Charlton Heston, who won his only oscar for the role in 1959. Boaz decided not to leave in that car and that decision was certainly a decisive one in his own life. Street kids are prone to disappear in many different ways, this being one of them.

Leonardo is 17 years old. We know because he still has his ID-card. He’s been on the streets for a couple of years and serves as street “father” to Boaz, who prefers to be called Bruno for some reason. Street fathers are usually older, more experienced street kids who gang together with younger kids to easier support themselves without having to get involved in criminal acts. They create a kind of dependency which is pretty hard to break out of as long as they are on the streets. As their lives gradually “normalize” during rehabilitation, so does this kind of unhealthy relationship.

Leonardo landed on the streets after leaving FEBEM (the government reform school for young law-breakers, better known as the state sponsored school of crime). He ended up being locked away because of an armed robbery together with his cousin that went wrong. His then 15-year old cousin got hit in the spine by two shots from the police and now suffers from paraplegia, seated in a wheel chair roaming the streets of São Paulo.

Leonardo has a great natural talent that will probably help him find a new future in his already turmoiled life. Click on this link and wait for the download, then listen to this talented young musician, who both plays the guitar and sings.

I wonder why they didn’t discover that in FEBEM?

Hoje A Noite Não Tem Luar
Ela passou do meu lado
Oi, amor - eu lhe falei
Você está tão sozinha
Ela então sorriu pra mim
Foi assim que a conheci
Naquele dia junto ao mar
As ondas vinham beijar a praia
O sol brilhava de tanta emoção
Um rosto lindo como o verão
E um beijo aconteceu
Nos encontramos à noite
Passeamos por aí
E num lugar escondido
Outro beijo lhe pedi
Lua de prata no céu
O brilho das estrelas no chão
Tenho certeza que não sonhava
A noite linda continuava
E a voz tão doce que me falava
O mundo pertence a nós
E hoje a noite não tem luar
E eu estou sem ela
Já não sei onde procurar
Não sei onde ela está
Hoje a noite não tem luar
E eu estou sem ela
Já não sei onde procurar
Onde está meu amor?

Original Music & Lyrics: Legião Urbana

Taken on: April 25, 2006

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children

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kid

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Camera: Canon EOS 20D, f/1.4, 1/8 sec, 50mm, ISO 400 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 20D
Aperture:	f/1.4
Exposure Time:	0.125 sec (1/8)
Focal Length:	50mm
ISO:	400
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CS Windows
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