VOA慢速英语--火灾昭示了圣保罗的住房短缺

Fire Shines Light on Sao Paulo Housing Shortage

On May 1, an electrical problem started a fire in a large, former police building in Sao Paolo, Brazil. Officials say at least two people died as a result.

The building was home to a group of people who had jobs but could not afford to live in the city’s expensive apartments. Marta Maria Maia da Fonseca and her husband were among them. They escaped the burning building with their 14-year-old daughter. They spent that night in an open area in front of a church with several other families affected¹ by the fire.

The next day, they moved in with a sister and six other relatives in a neighboring city. Da Fonseca and her family had lived in three different abandoned buildings, called squats³, in the past 10 years. “We have to start all over again,” said da Fonseca.

The fire has brought a renewed attention to the movement of housing groups that have taken over about 70 abandoned buildings in downtown Sao Paulo.

But the fire has also raised concerns that the buildings could be dangerous. Squatters often create their own connections to electrical power and make any repairs themselves.

Jose de Anchieta Rocha, Jr. is with the Housing Movement in the Fight for Justice. He said, “You can’t say this, that we’re criminals, that we’re vagrants⁵, that we’re invaders⁶. We occupy because there are no housing policies. We occupy because (the buildings were) abandoned, abandoned for decades.”

City officials say they will help the now-homeless squatters. They promise to pay about $340 immediately, then $115 a month for one year. Da Fonseca told the AP she does not think she will get anything. She says her name is not on the city’s list of people living in the building. Others say the amount is not enough to pay for rent or for the cost to replace lost belongings⁷.

Sao Paulo is known as the financial capital of Latin America. And it is home to much of Brazil’s economic wealth. But the city’s center is full of places in poor condition. Museums and theaters remain, but they share the area with old buildings that have no windows. The downtown area is home to most of the city’s homeless population and many illegal drug users. Dozens, if not hundreds, of buildings sit empty. Businesses have long since moved to more modern buildings in new neighborhoods.

So, since the 1990s, groups have been breaking into the empty buildings at night and setting up squats. In many, residents each pay a little money to hire a doorman or a cleaner. Some squats have rules: residents are asked to be quiet, neighborly and observe a curfew. Some have fire-preparation measures, check that wiring is safe and make sure fire alarms are working.

Over the years, the city government has struggled to renew the downtown area. Officials often say they want to bring the area back to life, but some observers fear they want an area without poor and working class people.

Rocha of the housing movement said, “We are a very unequal country, where the wealth of 100 million people is in the hands of six.”

Fernando Chucre is a city housing official. He says that adding low-income housing is an important part of efforts to solve Sao Paulo’s housing shortage.

The city hopes to build new homes by working with the state and federal governments, as well as with private investors⁸.

Following the fire, the mayor’s office ordered city agencies to visit the 70 buildings now occupied by squatters. Chucre said the city government will work with squatters’ leaders to fix any problems. He added that if a building is declared unsafe, officials will help find other housing.

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

vagrant⁴ – n. a person who has no place to live and no job and who asks people for money

curfew – n. an order or law that requires people to be indoors after a certain time at night

squat² – n. an empty building that squatters live in

1 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

2 squat   

v.蹲坐，蹲下；n.蹲下；adj.矮胖的，粗矮的

参考例句：

• For this exercise you need to get into a squat.在这次练习中你需要蹲下来。
• He is a squat man.他是一个矮胖的男人。

3 squats   

n.蹲坐，蹲姿( squat的名词复数 )；被擅自占用的建筑物v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的第三人称单数 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。

参考例句：

• The square squats in the centre of the city. 广场位于市中心。 来自互联网
• Various squats, lunges, jumps and sprints are incorporated for the humans. 主人们还要进行下蹲、弓步、跳跃和短跑等各项训练。 来自互联网

4 vagrant   

n.流浪者，游民；adj.流浪的，漂泊不定的

参考例句：

• A vagrant is everywhere at home.流浪者四海为家。
• He lived on the street as a vagrant.他以在大街上乞讨为生。

5 vagrants   

流浪者( vagrant的名词复数 )； 无业游民； 乞丐； 无赖

参考例句：

• Police kept a close watch on the vagrants. 警察严密监视那些流浪者。
• O Troupe of little vagrants of the world, leave your footprints in my words. 世界上的一队小小的漂泊者呀，请留下你们的足印在我的文字里。

6 invaders   

入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They prepared to repel the invaders. 他们准备赶走侵略军。
• The family has traced its ancestry to the Norman invaders. 这个家族将自己的世系追溯到诺曼征服者。

7 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

8 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会