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“As dusk descends on a cemetery in one of Rio de Janeiro’s northern slums, four young men stand on top of a wall vault of tombs and watch their kites flutter in the breeze. Across the graveyard’s dusty expanse, some 20 others are doing the same in hopes of catching the wind. Some 40 billion reais ($12.3 billion) has been spent on projects for Rio to host South America’s first Olympic Games, which kick off on Aug. 5. But for those who live in the slums of the sprawling metropolis of roughly 12 million people, there are few public spaces for sports or recreation. The cemetery lies in the midst of the Vila Operaria slum, where tightly packed red-brick buildings cascade down the hillside. “We can’t fly kites where we live because the buildings are too high”, said 28-year-old Fernando. "The only place we have, the only recreational ground, is this cemetery. One attraction of the cemetery is that it is far from the streets, where gunfights can break out among the city’s rival drug gangs and police, said Felipe, 27. A spike in violent crime in Rio has raised concern ahead of the Games, despite police efforts to pacify the slums. Homicides in Rio de Janeiro state rose by 14 percent to 2,083 in the first five months of 2016 from a year earlier, according to its Institute of Public Safety”. – Nacho Doce and Daniel Flynn via Reuters

Ghuto, 9, flies his kite in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 10, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

Ghuto, 9, flies his kite in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 10, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)



A boy holds his kite in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 9, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

A boy holds his kite in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 9, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)



A boy flies his kite in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 9, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

A boy flies his kite in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 9, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)



Men fly their kites, as an airplane flies past, in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 10, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

Men fly their kites, as an airplane flies past, in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 10, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)



A boy (2nd L) flies his kite as his friends watch, in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 9, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

A boy (2nd L) flies his kite as his friends watch, in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 9, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)



A kite lies on a grave in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 26, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

A kite lies on a grave in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 26, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)



A boy flies his kite in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 26, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

A boy flies his kite in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 26, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)



A boy flies his kite in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 26, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

A boy flies his kite in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 26, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)



People fly kites in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 26, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

People fly kites in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 26, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)



Bala Jr, 17, poses with his kite in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 10, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

Bala Jr, 17, poses with his kite in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 10, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)



Eduardo, 11, poses with his kite in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 10, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

Eduardo, 11, poses with his kite in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 10, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)



A boy holds his kite before flying it in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 9, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

A boy holds his kite before flying it in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 9, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)



A boy helps his friend (unseen) to fly a kite in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 10, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

A boy helps his friend (unseen) to fly a kite in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 10, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)



A boy holds his kite as he sits on a grave, in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 26, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

A boy holds his kite as he sits on a grave, in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 26, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)



People fly kites in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 26, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

People fly kites in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 26, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)



A boy holds his kite inside a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 10, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

A boy holds his kite inside a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 10, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)



Kites fly in the sky above a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 10, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

Kites fly in the sky above a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 10, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)



A man flies his kite in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 26, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

A man flies his kite in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 26, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)



A man reels the line of his kite in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 9, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

A man reels the line of his kite in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 9, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)



A boy runs as he holds his kite in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 9, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

A boy runs as he holds his kite in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 9, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)



A man (L) helps his friend to fly a kite in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 25, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

A man (L) helps his friend to fly a kite in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 25, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)



People fly kites in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 10, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

People fly kites in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 10, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)



A man flies his kite in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 25, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

A man flies his kite in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 25, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)



Luan, 20, poses with his kite in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 10, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

Luan, 20, poses with his kite in a cemetery in the Vila Operaria Favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 10, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)
21 Jul 2016 13:56:00