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2009 -
January 2009
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Written by Cristovam Buarque
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Sunday, 24 May 2009 04:53 |
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The dream of a university education has become a nightmare for more than 50 thousand Brazilian students who had to finance their higher-education courses by means of the Programa de Financiamento Estudantil [Student Financing Program], the Fies. The program was set up to finance the graduation of those enrolled in private institutions who do not have the ability to pay the costs of their education.
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I've come across your name in the past in either a book or essay I have read - in English - on some topic of chapter of Brazil. You are known as a radical and guru of education, for the masses, in Brazil as I recall.
My heart is warmed by this bill you composed and my head is bowed to you.
I am often deeply saddened by the struggle and life situation I read, or observe on video, of millions of Brazilians. They share my phenotype, and they share in some measure, the reasons we are both here in the Americas.
I recently read about a once high ranking Vice Lord from Chicago who was in prison with, and knew Larry Hoover. You will likely not know there names, but that is unimportant. What is important is that Vice Lord - Benny Lee - was functionally illiterate and a heroin addict. When he learned to read successfully while in prison, he said that, he knew he was an inmate, but he no longer felt he was a prisoner.
After leaving prison he attempted but failed to pass his GED test. He eventually tried again and found success. Today Benny Lee has a master's degree, lectures, and composes professional papers in his professional field. He is married, has a son, and lives in a middle-class area of Chicago.
There are Benny Lee's to be had in Brazil.
Semper.