Our Rio hell
Rio de Janeiro-based Kiwi Laura McQuillan tells of the horror week in which her boyfriend was kidnapped by military police, forcing the pair to flee the city. Cigarette sparks blaze at Olympics
SATURDAY
‘‘I’m getting scammed by some f...ing cops so I’m in a bit of…’’, said a threesecond WhatsApp voice message from my partner, Jason Lee, before it cut out.
This is how our lives in Rio fell apart a week ago, in a series of events so strange that we can’t quite believe what’s happened.
Last Saturday, Jay rented a car to drive to a jiu jitsu competition a few hours north of Rio.
He’d told me he should be home by 5.30pm but found himself pulled over by police and told he’d have to pay them R$2000 – about NZ$850 – or be arrested for driving without his passport (which we now know is not a real law).
The choice was pretty simple: Rio de Janeiro’s police are as infamous for their brutality as they are for their corruption. In Jay’s mind, if he gave them cash, he’d get out of there shaken, but unharmed.
I made a frantic call to the New Zealand Embassy to ask what to do, but the line cut out. So I waited at home, shaking with worry.
Jay was really reluctant to make a police complaint entirely because of the reputation police have in Brazil. The Tourist Police – a division of Rio’s Polı´cia Civil – somewhat reluctantly took his complaint over the course of three hours that night.
‘‘There are some Military Police officers involved in militias, you know? We’re scared of those police officers as well,’’ one officer warned. Another officer promised there was no way the Polı´cia Militar could get our address. GO TO Cyclist’s uphill battle Black Sticks resist Rio’s food halls
SUNDAYAt
2.30am, with Jay’s police complaint in hand and full of hope of recovering the stolen money, we headed home. We discussed whether Jay should say anything about it on social media. As the overwhelming response shows, police kidnapping a gringo two weeks before the Olympics is a really big deal.
A friend called, suggesting Jay change his appearance and his daily routine to avoid the Polı´cia Militar.
MONDAYOur
intercom rang at 2.30pm – it was a Polı´cia Militar officer. We locked the doors and closed the curtains.
Jay quickly called the ambassador, who in turn called the Tourist Police. They rushed over to intercept the other officers.
The Polı´cia Militar cops wanted a copy of Jay’s police complaint. The Tourist Police refused to give it to them.
More Polı´cia Militar showed up at our building just before midnight. They were refused access by our doorman, but they handed over a homemade-looking document that confirmed they got our address from the Tourist Police.
It was at this point that we knew we had to get out. We packed our bags and slept about two hours.
TUESDAY
We left Rio de Janeiro state in the early morning, and during our journey, we read about the arrests of two police officers over Jay’s kidnapping.
Jay caught the next flight out of the country to Canada, and I followed on Wednesday morning.
NOWTo
a Kiwi who’s never been to Rio, it might be hard to wrap your head around. To expats and Brazilians, much less so: to them, the biggest surprise is that Jay laid a complaint. But we know we did the right thing.
If he wasn’t a foreigner, if I wasn’t a journalist, and if the Olympics weren’t on Rio’s doorstep, we doubt the case would have been handled with the urgency and seriousness that it has. Obviously, we’re grateful for their investigations, but this entire debacle is emblematic of wider corruption in Brazil’s public agencies – and that’s the problem that needs solving.
The people of Rio have lived in fear of their own police for decades. If the leaders of Rio and Brazil want a real, lasting Olympic legacy for the city, they know what they need to do. A suspected discarded cigarette in the "smoke-free" Rio Olympics village has sparked new tension between the Australian team and local officials after a fire forced athletes to evacuate the Australian quarters.
Fire alarms and sprinklers had been turned off by maintenance workers when the blaze broke out about 4.40am local time yesterday in rubbish beneath the Australian residence. "Some smoke filled up the stairwell," said Australian Olympic Committee spokesperson Mike Tancred said as officials went door-to-door to alert about 100 athletes. The fire was quickly controlled and no one was hurt.
But Australian chef de mission Kitty Chiller has asked to urgently meet Rio organisers and the International Olympic Committee to discuss conditions in the village.
Chiller said she was unhappy that workers smoke in the village where work continues and piles of rubble and rubbish remain.
The incident comes just days after the Australians complained about issues with exposed wiring, leaking pipes and blocked toilets and found arriving athletes alternative accommodation.
Chiller yesterday said she believed the fire started when a cigarette was tossed into a bin or pile of rubbish.
"There’s a lot of smokers – and this is my real issue – there’s a lot of workers and contractors smoking in the village.’’ FAIRFAX