Excerpt from an article about the growing crack epidemic in Brazil:
"From this world, I'm not going to take anything," he said, looking up, flashing a brief, eerie grin. "Just a coffin as a souvenir."
..."In Rio, even the briefest look into the lives of the crack-addicted kids reveals the magnitude of the challenge ahead.
A skinny, restless teenager, Junior Gomes de Santos looks smaller and younger than his 14 years. His eyes are yellow and bloodshot; he grinds his teeth as he talks, looking down and away.
His story is a familiar one around here; he left home because his father beat him. A cousin introduced him to crack — he doesn't remember when. He can write his name, but little more. He knows he'll be taken to a shelter, but won't stay.
"I'm going to eat, drink and bolt, go back to where I was," he said. Yes, he knows it's dangerous on the streets, he said, but he doesn't care.
"From this world, I'm not going to take anything," he said, looking up, flashing a brief, eerie grin. "Just a coffin as a souvenir." "