25 Disturbing Photos That Show You What You Haven't Seen On The World Cup

by N/A, 10 years ago | 3 min read

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The 2014 FIFA World Cup should be a cause for celebration. The World Cup is an event that brings countries together from across the world in order to celebrate a sport that is loved amongst them all.

But behind this year's World Cup is a city and a country in trouble, hidden behind the glitz and glamour of the international event. While the world may only see the party, there is a lot more going on in Rio de Janeiro.

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Brazil spent 6.5 billion pounds on the efforts it took to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

That's upwards of 11 billion U.S. dollars, and upwards of 8 billion Euro.

Numbers can be hard to relate to, and it may not seem like that much at first.

But Brazil is among the bottom half of countries in the world in terms of poverty.

Brazil ranks at 100, just barely above Costa Rica.

1.62 million people in Brazil live below the extreme poverty line.

And it is VERY extreme. People who live below this line are making less than 70 Brazilian Real per month... which is less than $1.30 US dollars per person per day.

Brazil is considered to be the #12 most uneven country in the world.

This list is based on the stark comparison between those living in poverty and the socioeconomic elite. The rich are rich...but the poor are VERY poor.

There have been many attempts to reduce this issue of inequality in Brazil, but the problem is very much still alive today.

So while the world watches and cheers for the World Cup, not all Brazilians join in the celebration.

Many citizens feel that they have been short-changedâ€”their government's money could be spent where it is much more necessary.

Included among these citizens is Paolo Ito, a street artist from Rio de Janeiro, whose painted this provocative image of a starving boy with nothing to eat but a soccer (foot)ball.

The party will continue on the television screen but it won't help the dire situation many in Rio De Janeiro, and all over Brazil, face.

And with all of the money spent on the event, the Brazilian authorities were only able to execute half of their planned projects.

The amount of money spent was a record for the FIFA World Cup.

Where did that money go?

There have been heated disputes between armed forces and the people of Rio, inflamed by the presence of FIFA.

This includes a protest of 600 masked participants that the military police had to respond to with tear gas and stun grenades. At least six were injured.

And it is not the first time that police violence has been a point of contention for Brazil.

In the past several years this has been a rising point of contention, reaching a climactic point when police violence was so rampant that a million citizens at a time would join in protest against it.

The World Cup will continue for a few days, but the lives of these people will continue long after that.