 I found myself in Brazil and believe me or not this is not a Brazil that I expected. I am having a great time in Sao Paulo and I'm here to let you know that don't listen to the media, go out there, go live your life and go learn something new. I'm learning so many things that I never knew it existed until I arrived in here and I'm not just finding out about Afro-Brazilians living in Brazil but seeing my brothers and sisters from the continent also residing in Brazil it's exciting to know that if they had the same perception as me. You live here? Yes. As a Kenyan? Yes, I'm a Kenyan. How long have you been here? I've been living in Brazil for the last nine years so I came to Brazil in 2014 and since then I've lived in two cities here. Let me tell you something this is not what I expected. Why not? I mean the perception that I had for Brazil I was coming to see more people living in cubicles like you know in sharks uh in they call it here they call it favelas because that's all I see on documentaries. I mean were you having the same perception before you came though? Actually before I came to Brazil my perception was more about the amazon so I just knew brazil because of the amazon forest and I knew brazil because of football. That's it? When I was coming I thought that I would find a lot of flores, I thought I would find a lot of football everywhere on the street but I wasn't very exposed to brazil to be honest so when I came here I was pleasantly surprised. Surprised about what? Okay the first thing when I came that was the question about language so when I arrived I knew that the country speaks Portuguese but I didn't know how important and language it is so when I first that was the first surprise to me that okay I have to learn Portuguese really fast. Brazil is a country where whatever you're looking for you'll find it if you like cities you'll find it if you like the beach brazil will give you if you want the forest brazil will give you so if you like the women this is one of the most beautiful countries that I've been to very organized yeah and the fact that this is not the brazil that I saw on tv even shocks me which one is your favorite city? Good cities that I don't know but okay my top city I would think it's Salvador. I was so excited to go to Salvador Bahia which is the largest black nation out of Africa and when I got there I got the shock of my life. How is life in general living in Salvador Bahia as a black person? Yeah it it should be wonderful that it's the most african city outside the african continent at least between the capitals of brazil and all america but it's in the other side it's very difficult because it's one of the most racist city in brazil not by cultural elements because our culture is all inspired by african culture not just the religion but as well the music and the dancing and the food but in spite of all this it's a lot of prejudice here in Salvador we don't have mayors black mayors and we don't have a black elite middle class most of it it's white people that yeah that compose this middle class so it's it's a very large struggle to make justice and you know in the opportunity for the whole society. For all the society. Yeah I have to be honest with you all before coming to brazil I never knew this is how deep racism in this country is. I have been a victim of racism and I know how it feels for somebody to be racist against you and knowing that wherever there are black people racism exists it's really really sad. Viva em paz sabe só que não é verdade porque o branco quando ele tem dinheiro ele vive nos melhores apartamentos de um bairro o preto e o indígena e as pessoas exigenadas as pessoas pardas vivem nas periferias levando tiro de polícia e as pessoas indígenas que ainda o que é que você é essa cultura são violentadas muito pelo governo como no último governo que a gente teve que teve uma violência indígena muito grande o venocídio principalmente com povos como o povo ianomani que teve pessoas que passaram fome as pessoas de nutria e as crianças morrendo de nutria de nutria por conta das criação de ouro sabe então falar que no video não tem racismo que a gente não ver com é uma tais que inclusive pra silenciar essas pessoas diminuídas pra silenciar pessoas negras pessoas indígenas sabe pra gente se alienar e pensar ah não é essa pessoa tá falando de uma característica minha sabe e aí acaba que me segue no brasil existe ele é muito violento ele mata e mata muito mata muito isso é realmente o que está acontecendo me surpreende e eu gostaria de te perguntar e todo mundo está assistindo esse vídeo por que isso é que quando você vê os black people racismo existe porque eu não entendo eu tenho sido víctima de racismo eu não me lembro minha primeira experiência de racismo foi quando eu estava procurando um trabalho e eu disse que sim estamos procurando black people mas nós estamos procurando black people que parecem como obama e se você olhou na minha skin tone isso significa que eu e obama não parecem igual então automaticamente eu tive desqualificação para o trabalho e é realmente importante ver que afro brasilianos e indígenas de brasil também estão indo through exactly the same thing of the country that belongs to them and the country that they built we have like a lot of like how can i say that it's uh i forgot the word in english desigualdage it's let me translate it but it's like when you have people that uh white people is rich and and races and rich and black people are poor because of like slavery is in the past and and it's history like it's our history the history of brazil it's like they build the the society like uh uh considering that black people is like they are slaves yeah and wow then the things were like turning turning out and better for us but still hard like but how how was it being uh black money in in brazil how's it like man there are like cool features like girls like it there are girls that don't like it right oh my god but the hard part is like you're going to like go to the bus for example or even here you there are looks you know you can tell by the look in the eye like they they feel like disgusted just because you are there wow and i don't know if you ever feel that i think you you ever yeah i definitely seen it but i mean i i didn't really think about it that way no yeah it's hard it's like and there are like things that they say they they say it like uh in english for example we have the in english there there is this culture to call uh black people nigga yeah yeah and like a race that's not the bro one like yeah yeah not that one it's like you you know there is lurk yeah and in brazil they call us uh monkey but in portuguese right wow monkey uh negro it's literally the word they call us like uh they do like this is lures but so like racism is a thing that is hard to catch to take make the people the person that make that go to jail for example it's hard because you have to film it because because you don't have proof exactly it's it's just your word against them so so here in brazil there are there are loads of races even even knowing that majority of people are black so yeah but it's like minority but it's like decide that decide that our country is cool brazil there's good there's work there's like you're walking even then the person thinks he lost something he didn't lose but like you stole or you go to some store shopping security goes behind you yeah and I already have the friends who learned it too sad about it because like in brazil where there are there are many there are thousands of people and that come from several countries and it still happens that there are people with such a small thought well I know it's a country with a very strong culture and I believe that I have my ancestors there right so I think it's a place I also want to know a lot how does she feel in brazil as an afro-brazilian for a long time I feel so sad to hear that beautiful sister saying that she feels so lost and I believe that we as Africans needs to be blamed right the african union has declared africans in the diaspora as the sister region of Africa but what are we doing to bridge the gap what are we doing to connect our people what are we doing to let them know that we love them as our own I mean there is a narrative about how africans sold our african brothers and sisters in the diaspora but have we tried apologizing to each other have we tried coming together as a family no this is why I believe that we africans on the continent have failed to do thank you so much and we know that in Africa we love you so much and I want him to say that you have to know that Africa loves you and you will never feel any discrimination in Africa, you will never be discriminated against you look like him there in Ghana, there's no difference 2025 once he comes to Ghana please he should reach out to me and I want to make sure she lives her best life how does it feel being an Afro-Brazilian in Brazil you feel happy, you feel free, you feel professional, you feel family, you feel powerful I am a journalist, I am 69 years old, speak to him and the happiness of the world is to have a father and a mother called Guilhermina my father was almost 61 years old, my mother was 92 years old and I am here, I am that I've spoken to a lot of young Afro-Brazilian and some of them are saying they feel so lost because the country is so racist today, as the 69 year old would she say the same thing why do you think a person like that doesn't do that tell me again about the second one the second one is a neighbor, he's white, he talked to a friend who was visiting him I stopped to compliment him and he said that what did you say? are you crazy? who ruined your pants? I did and not black what? the answer so how do I feel? I feel like responding in time there's no point in arguing there's no point in complaining there's no point in making memes respond in time this charge has to be daily ok every minute, every second without complaining without crying without being victimized ok and she always tell her children you are not victims you don't have to behave as victims just face the situation and deal with the situation as they come you gotta run it's not very easy oh my goodness downtown Sao Paulo the center of Sao Paulo they say the center ok it's more of a business district there's a lot of businesses that run here during the weekdays but today's the holidays, many things are closed but usually the businesses some of them even run almost 24 hours because Sao Paulo is a city that doesn't really sleep it's a very busy city and the center is kind of like the heart that business so that's a word so what else do you want to say you know that before September and after that what do you think about Africa? what do you think about Africa? the continent itself wonderful, beautiful money over there what country do you want to visit? what country do you want to visit? what country do you want to visit? I'm from Ghana man go to Ghana, come to Ghana that would be nice life for you as Brazilians here in Brazil for us especially for us that is an independent artist it's a bit difficult but it's not possible because we come from Salvador Bahia and the culture, the capoeira is very strong what makes it so difficult? for example, if what we are an independent artist for example, we work here in the train, subway from São Paulo sometimes we go through some difficulty regarding the system the guards want to oppress us because they are doing art they say that they can't there is also a question of people not seeing us as artists they don't value us so there is a certain prejudice and when we dance people are like impressed, never seen that in life and then we conquer people by our art and by our words have people ever been racist to them? in our country? yes they say they have that but we don't care about that we see that in people's eyes when we enter the wagon and when we present people hide their bags and when we dance and we comment about our daily life we comment about values but life with art people start to understand that we are really an artist and then people stop seeing us by our way of dressing and start to see us by what we do by our essence the oppression of people racism and the difference of treatment from place to place opportunities that are different smaller opportunities for black people women and men has she ever had a racism encounter at first hand? several times several times I arrived at a restaurant and it was many white people and the waiter said that there was no table available for me and that there was no place for people like me when you go to America we have what we call racism where police kill black people and all of that does that happen here too? a lot a lot but the big issue is that in addition to racism there is police violence redeployed from the amount of people who kill themselves here in Brazil two days I fear for my life for the life of my family and all of the people who are close to me I know they are to thank for possible police violence so she said she fears for the people around she fears for her life so she fears for the people around and all of that Brazil upon abolition was faced with a question about the future of Brazil the future of Brazil in the world and having been one of the last countries to abolish slavery and seen as backwards and inferior they were grappling with what to do with this majority black population how do they move forward and become modernized and become comparable to Europe and other countries that was modernized in long before the abolition of slavery so in Brazil there was a concerted effort at the level of government the federal government to eliminate and exterminate the black and indigenous population through whiteening branqueamento embedded in the idea of whiteening of course is the idea that blackness and indigeneity are inferior that meant an actual financial investment in the importation of European whites that would produce a new white race in Brazil wow this is deeper than I thought so when you find yourself in Brazil you realize that there's a lot of mistrace and you know why it's because of this and I love the fact that you guys still stick to your roots I appreciate that about you guys if I have the power I would have built Africa and bring all of you back home to feel at home but that is not a situation and I just want to encourage you all never give up of course I dream a lot with this change but I believe that it is something that requires effort both on the black and on the white and many times not everyone is willing to work hard to change and be part of this awesome channel we are here to educate ourselves and also learn something new my name is Wadamaya and I'll see you all in the next one peace out