With the 2016 Summer Olympics in full swing, the world is supposed to be at an all time high.
According to the IOC (International Olympic Committee), the quadrennial event supposedly brings about a “peaceful and better world,” and at the surface, it looks as if the 2016 games are doing just that. Rio, which is home to a stunning landscape, ideal weather, and beautiful people with an intense passion for sports, makes it appear that the IOC made a brilliant move by placing their games in Brazil.
However, upon a second look into Rio, myriad issues become visible. These hazards have already marked the 2016 Olympics as one surrounded by controversy.
One cause of major concern is the pollution of Rio’s water. Brazil’s natural water locations, which are hosting a total of five events, are filled with sewage and waste that flows in from Rio’s communities, some of which contains dangerous bacteria and viruses. According to the Associated Press, the water in Rio has 1.7 million times more bacteria than a “dangerous” source of water in the US; therefore, athletes only need to swallow three teaspoons of the polluted water to have an almost-certain chance of becoming ill.
Only five days into the Olympics, Belgian sailor and Evi Van Acker became the first athlete to report feeling ill after her race last Wednesday.
Another heavily-debated source of controversy surrounding the games is the Zika virus. Zika, which is contracted by the bite of an Aedes mosquito, is most commonly spread through sexual contact. The CDC (Center for Disease Control) gave Rio a Level 2 Zika notice, encouraging travelers to “practice enhanced precautions” in the area.
To help limit Zika risks among the athletes, the IOC provided athletes with a collective 450,000 condoms, amounting to 42 per athlete.
Numerous athletes have pulled out of the Olympics due to the threat of Zika, including golfers Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, and Jordan Spieth, and tennis star Milos Raonic.
Along with contamination and Zika, security concerns have been a massive dark cloud hanging over Rio’s head. The police in Rio aren’t trusted, causing a great rift between the police forces and the citizens. resulting in Brazil being home to one of the world’s highest murder rates. In an attempt to try to quell the violence, the state has employed a security team of 85,000 members. To ensure the safety of its spectators, Rio has requested $850 million in funding from the government to pay the security guards to work overtime.
However, it seems that not even the extra money can make the police officers want to protect their state. On June 27, a group of policemen stood in the main Rio airport, with a sign saying, “Welcome to Hell.”
Despite the violence caused by the police, the threat that ordinary people pose causes even bigger conflicts. Between the raging drug war in the heart of the city, seemingly constant threats of terrorism, and lone-wolf attackers left and right, it seems as if feeling safe in Rio is as difficult an achievement as winning Olympic gold.
In the past few weeks, a security guard has been shot in the head by a drug lord, 12 ISIS-inspired men were arrested for trying to plot a terrorist attack, two thieves tried to rob a man and his family at gunpoint, members of the Australian team were robbed during a fire evacuation in their hotel, and American swimmer Ryan Lochte was robbed at gunpoint in a taxi.
While those competing in the games are enjoying a lifelong dream being accomplished, the natives of Rio are trying to get back on their feet after a piece of their life was crushed. Of the 34 venues used for the Olympics, 16 were built from scratch. Since Rio obviously doesn’t have an unlimited amount of land, homes had to be destroyed, some of which had stayed within family lines for generations. According to the Washington Post, an estimated 60,000 natives of Rio had their homes destroyed in order for the IOC to build Olympic venues on their land. This controversy has caused worldwide uproar, and skepticism of the games, claiming that the IOC cares more for a successful Olympics that generates as much profit as possible than it does for the people of its own host city.
Rio’s failure in providing a safe and enjoyable environment to its athletes and tourists should be seen as a call for action. While the Olympics are a worldwide spectacle, the IOC needs to think twice before placing its financial desires over the safety of its athletes. The 2016 Rio Olympics will forever be marked as the games that never should have been, and the IOC only has itself to blame.
