The opening of the 2016 Summer Olympics set in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is only a few short days away. The Olympics are a time where friend and foe come together to form a united front against the enemy (read: any other country that is not their own). It's a time of euphoria and dispiritedness as millions of people are clustered behind their tvs simultaneously to watch their sport heroes perform.
When you're watching all the gradiose that contains within any major sporting event, it's sometimes easy to overlook the parts that may not reach the daylight as happened during the Sochi Winter Olympics. Brazil is no better as we've already seen when the 2014 World Championship in soccer were also held in the country. Or has the world already forgotten about the protests, state debt and evicted people? Why do we allow an unstable country to host not one but two major sport competitions within a time spam of two years is beyond me.
Brazil's incapability to host the Olympics has been proven over and over again. The fact that it's the country that has been suffering the most under the Zika virus outbreak should be enough reason of its own, but unfortunately the virus might be the least of the country's current concerns. Brazil has always suffered from crime and violence. This has been proven to be a real issue to consider when body parts washed on shore a little over a month ago on one of the beaches where Olympic volleyball players will be playing.
Safety is another real problem facing the country. The police force has recently been protesting and begging for basic supplies such as pens and toilet paper. Brazil is undergoing a major recession and it has been shown in their respective budget. If the government can't even supply the police with these necessities, how are they supposed to guarantee the safety of the athletes and their supporters? This inability has been proven when a Spanish Olympic gold medalist and two other members of the sailing team had been robbed at gunpoint in Rio de Janeiro.
It's the country's corruptness that has led to this downward spiral of protests and no safety. Two months ago the governor of Rio de Janeiro declared a "state of financial emergency." He even pled and begged for support from the national government in order to to avoid a "total collapse in public security, heath, education, transport and environmental management," The Guardian reported.
It's not only Brazil's instability that could endanger the Olympic athletes. The venues where sailing and long-distance swimming will be holding place are apparently so polluted that they could impose serious health dangers to the athletes. Rio's poor sewer system is to blame for the toxic waters. To make matters worse, the waters haven't even been tested on viruses, they've just run some bacterial tests.
The Olympics should be a time of fun and support, not one where one should constantly fear for his safety. I am all for the Olympics, but maybe the Olympic committee should consider a country that is more capable of hosting such a big event. Just think about that when you're watching the opening ceremony this Friday. If that's happening at all, because some of the stadiums aren't even finished yet.
