August 24, Sunday

The Cidade Livre is called a satellite city of Brasília because it’s not part of the big airplane that is the main planned part of the capital. So many people have come here to work and the migrants have to live somewhere. The new houses for workers are built out of wood, with several improvised apartments in each building. We open the door to our new home which is tiny with just one bedroom, and the kitchen and living room are the same. There is a pump for water nearby and a bathroom outside, just a shack with a bench and a hole above a pit, but I couldn’t be happier.

“Eva, it’s not fancy, but it’s ours, at least for a while. And the rent isn’t bad.”

“I love it, Luiz. And the most important thing is our family is together under our own roof.”

“Hopefully the roof doesn’t leak! Come on, let’s see if we can domesticate this little shack.” Laughing, he brings our few bundles and boxes of food and supplies inside. Dust coats everything, so I busy myself sweeping and wiping down the cupboards and windowsills. Luiz has arranged a bed for us and we have a small table and two chairs.

It’s hard to believe how this satellite city sprang up out of nowhere. The president and the architect had big plans but they didn’t really think about how many workers they would need or where they would live. Cidade Livre has a big wide dirt road down the center, and little lanes off that road with shacks for people to live in, and businesses. The electric lines are improvised, rough poles leaning in all directions. Just around the corner from us is a wood building like a ramshackle little barn with a hand-painted sign on the front: “Dentist.” There are shacks selling food, hardware needed for building, and cleaning supplies, even a barber shop. So we have all the necessities.

The possibilities for the future seem endless. Brazil is becoming a modern country and the capital we are building here will proclaim that to the world. Where in the Northeast there was no water and no work, here opportunity waits on every corner. To build the city, you must have workers. Workers must live somewhere, so there is more construction. We need food, shelter, and even dentists.