Tired and sad volunteers finally bid farewell to two Games in Rio

RIO DE JANEIRO: They’ve been working since early August, from morning to night, acting as volunteer guides for Olympic and Paralympic athletes’ families and spectators at venues.

Volunteers, decked out in loud, short sleeve shirts and khaki pants, will watch the games end today at the closing ceremonies for the Paralympics in Rio.

“Look, I have to be honest. This week, I started feeling that going home and sleeping wasn’t enough,” said Alexis Silva, a volunteer from Sao Paulo who has spent his days working in Olympic Park.

“I used to go back home, sleep and then was 100% again.

“This week, I feel like I go home, sleep, and then I am 90%. Then the day after 80%, and so on.”

Olympic and Paralympic volunteers are unpaid. As compensation, they receive uniforms and meals during scheduled work days, while providing their own lodging.

“At the beginning of this journey, we thought we would need 100,000 volunteers: 50,000 for the Olympics, 50,000 for the Paralympics,” said Mario Andrada, spokesman for the local organisers. “This proved to be unmanageable.”

The Associated Press estimated in 2014 that, for a labour force of 70,000, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) would save US$100mil (RM414mil) by not having to pay their workforce in Rio.

Early in the Rio Games, reports emerged that volunteers were quitting because of long hours and unfair schedules. Organisers said on Thursday that 35,000 volunteers worked for the Olympics and 15,000 for the Paralympics.

For some, their duties have been exhausting. Whallace da Silva, a piping engineer from Rio, took time off from his job to do his part.

Da Silva worked 10 days during the Olympics, about 12 hours each day. That’s a pair of 60-hour work weeks. He also donated his time throughout the Paralympics.

“I promised to help this event, so if you ask me ‘Oh, can you stay two or three more hours’ I say OK, I can stay’. That is a problem for me,” said da Silva. “When I come back to my house, I am too tired.”

Da Silva believes his long days during the Paralympics have stemmed from fewer volunteers.

“There are many fewer people than the Olympic Games,” he said.

But Camila Santana, an 18-year-old Brazilian student, said she’s accustomed to the gig.

“(It was) a struggle in the very beginning because of a lot of working hours,” she said.

“But now, after working the Olympics, I don’t have much difficulty with the long hours or talking to people I don’t know or helping others.” — AP