Bus 174 Documentary Analysis

The documentary Bus 174 explores how Brazilian society’s treatment of their homeless youth and the lack of a well-trained police force led to the hijacking/ hostage incident on the titular bus. The perpetrator, Sandro Rosa Nascimento, was revealed to be one of the many youths who grew up on the streets of Brazil. Life as a street child was rough, with the lack of aid and the surplus of prejudice against them. It certainly did not help that the police were brutal towards all street kids – physically assaulting the children, whether it be in the center of town or in subhuman prisons. Plagued by his strong desire to be seen rather than continue to be ignored by society, Sandro staged this horrid incident, and he basked in the attention. For him, …show more content…
In all cases, the children are left unable to obtain the necessities of life, much less an education. Without an education, these children grow up lacking the social skills and etiquette – not to mention knowledge – that would help them find employment which would aid them to become self-supporting, fully-functioning members of society (O’Haire …show more content…
The emergency shelters are ideal for runaways who need only a short stay – those that find that their household problems resolve far more easily than expected. However, there also exists youth who cannot return home, “either because they are unwelcome or because returning would place them in danger of continued physical or sexual abuse” (Shane, as cited in Murphy & Tobin 2012). For these adolescents, staying at the shelters is unfeasible for there is a constant influx of newly homeless youth searching for a reprieve. Foster care is not a great alternative, as the response from this system has been overwhelmingly negative; many foster children claim that life with their foster family is even bleaker than life on the streets (Murphy & Tobin 2012). The last, although more scarce housing solution comes in the form of permanent housing - “long-term facilities where youth can live independently while pursuing counselling and other supportive services” (Murphy & Tobin 2012). Not to mention, the response of the few who have accessed this type of housing has been rather positive. In a survey done in 2005, the 3.9% of homeless youth that did experience it rated it five out of five (Murphy & Tobin 2012). Conversely, the number of these types of establishments is ridiculously low and those countries that can afford to build them such as Canada are even