Re: Very sad news from Brazil

Hi all,

This news appeared in the Hungarian media and was also discussed on the
Budapest Critical Mass webpage. In fact, a letter of support was drafted and
sent to the Porte Alegre CM group by the Budapest Cm community. In case
anyone is interested, it can be read below.

Pippa's suggestion of a mobility justice campaign is also a good one, and I
have asked the Brazilians if they could picture doing this, and we'll see if
that can happen to coincide also with Friday's monthly news relase.

*In Brazilian*

Caros ciclistas da Massa Crítica de Porto Alegre!

Há alguns dias ficamos sabendo do evento trágico que aconteceu com vocês na
marcha. Em nome de todos os ciclistas e participantes da MC da Hungria
queríamos desejar a recuperação mais rápida possível para os feridos e
esperamos que nunca mais aconteça tal evento em nenhum lado do mundo.

Esperamos também que esse horrível atropelamento não desencoraje vocês e que
continuem pedalando por um mundo não só mais respirável, mas também mais
amigo para com os ciclistas! Mais uma vez uma recuperação rápida!

A Massa Crítica da Hungria

*In Hungarian:*

Kedves porto alegre-i CM-esek!

A napokban eljutott hozzánk Magyarországra annak a tragikus eseménynek a
híre, ami veletek a felvonuláson történt. Minden magyarországi CM-es és
kerékpáros nevében szeretnénk minden sérültnek mihamarabbi gyógyulást
kívánni, és reméljük, hogy ilyen esemény soha nem fog sehol a világban
megismétlődni.

Reméljük, hogy ez a szörnyűség nem veszi kedvetek, és tovább tekertek egy
kerékpárosbarát világért!
Mihamarabbi gyógyulást kívánnak a magyarországi kerékpárosok!

*In English:*

Dear Critical Mass riders in Porto Alegre!

In these days we in Hungary have come to know the tragical news about what
happened to you at a Critical Mass ride in Porto Allegre. In the name of all
Hungarian Critical Mass riders, we would like to wish for the quickest
recovery to everyone injured in this incident, and we hope that such a thing
will never happen again, anywhere in the world.

We hope that this horrible thing doesn't spoil your mood, and that you will
be able to continue cycling for a more bicycle-friendly world!
We as Hungarian cyclists wish you all a quick recovery!

www.criticalmass.hu

On Mon, Feb 28, 2011 at 9:07 PM, Davi Pires <[email protected]> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> The driver lawyer said his client would show up at the police this
> afternoon, when he was contacted by the press. According to his
> lawyer, he will pledge innocent, alleging that the cyclists hit the
> car first, breaking the glass and scaring his 15-year-old son who was
> with him.
>
> This is different from the story the cyclists told on the video
> footage taken right after the accident. They said they were going
> slow, and that the driver had been honking and threatening to
> accelerate for a few minutes. They asked him to stay calm, because
> there were elder people, and kids, and pets, and it would not be safe
> for him to pass through - which, as you saw, he ignored.
>
> The 15-year-old son, when interviewed by the press, said (translation):
> - It was wasn't them, the cyclists, who started. My father went a
> little first. But then they started hitting the car for real. Then,
> after they calmed down, three of them stayed in front of the car,
> blocking him, only him.
>
> [from this link, in portuguese:
>
> http://zerohora.clicrbs.com.br/zerohora/jsp/default.jsp?uf=1&local=1&section=Geral&newsID=a3223867.xml
> ]
>
> Etienne, you are right. The police so far acts as if the cyclists were
> wrong, for they had not warned the authorities that they would be
> riding that night.
>
> I think one of the great help we can have from the international
> community is to have this story show up on major newspapers all over
> the world. I believe our politicians are very sensitive to the bad PR
> that will come if this insane driver is not convicted.
>
> BTW, I am brazilian too, but from another city (Recife). I will follow
> the events through the blog of the Critical Mass of Porto Alegre, and
> try to keep you updated.
>
> We are also trying to figure out what is the best strategy to raise
> awareness of the incident throughout the country. Some cities have
> scheduled rides for this week. If anyone has experience on this kind
> of thing (I hope not), we are open to suggestions as to what worked
> before, and what didn't.
>
> Davi Pires
>
> On Mon, Feb 28, 2011 at 8:58 AM, Theo Haris <[email protected]> wrote:
> > This is very sad news indeed. I hope nobody got killed during this
> heinous
> > act..
> >
> > Luis Patricio, do you want to keep us informed on what's happening in
> > Brazil? I wonder also whether we should organise a critical mass ending
> on
> > the embassy of Brazil in all countries we can, to protest if they still
> hold
> > to the story that he didn't mean murder..
> >
> > Theo
> >
> > On Mon, Feb 28, 2011 at 1:51 PM, Etienne von Bertrab <
> [email protected]>
> > wrote:
> >>
> >> These are horrible news, Luis Patricio. As far as I understood the
> police
> >> is still not recognising these powerful video testimonies. I wonder if
> we
> >> could show solidarity while contributing with putting pressure on
> >> authorities with a letter from WCN. Has it been done in the past? What
> do
> >> you guys think?
> >> Étienne
> >>
> >> On 27 February 2011 21:40, Luis Patricio <[email protected]> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> Hi all,
> >>>
> >>> Last friday on Porto Alegre's Critical Mass, a driver hit dozens of
> >>> cyclists:
> >>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRgiIrHRoHM&feature=player_embedded
> >>>
> >>> We are all still shocked but many groups throughout the country are
> >>> already planning something to respond to that hideous crime.
> >>>
> >>> The Porto Alegre CM blog has more info and videos (in portuguese):
> >>> http://massacriticapoa.wordpress.com/
> >>>
> >>> Luis Patricio
> >>> transportehumano.com.br
> >>> "Mais importante que o veículo que você usa, é a mensagem que você
> >>> veicula"
> >>> @luis_patricio
> >>>
> >>> --
> >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
> >>> Groups "World Carfree Network" group.
> >>> To post to this group, send email to carfree_network-/[email protected]
> >>> Replies are sent to the author of the message.
> >>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
> >>> carfree_network-unsubscribe-/[email protected]
> >>> For more options, visit this group at
> >>> http://groups.google.com/group/carfree_network?hl=en?hl=en
> >>
> >> --
> >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
> >> Groups "World Carfree Network" group.
> >> To post to this group, send email to carfree_network-/[email protected]
> >> Replies are sent to the author of the message.
> >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
> >> carfree_network-unsubscribe-/[email protected]
> >> For more options, visit this group at
> >> http://groups.google.com/group/carfree_network?hl=en?hl=en
> >
> > --
> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
> > Groups "World Carfree Network" group.
> > To post to this group, send email to carfree_network-/[email protected]
> > Replies are sent to the author of the message.
> > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
> > carfree_network-unsubscribe-/[email protected]
> > For more options, visit this group at
> > http://groups.google.com/group/carfree_network?hl=en?hl=en
>
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
> Groups "World Carfree Network" group.
> To post to this group, send email to carfree_network-/[email protected]
> Replies are sent to the author of the message.
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
> carfree_network-unsubscribe-/[email protected]
> For more options, visit this group at
> http://groups.google.com/group/carfree_network?hl=en?hl=en
>



-- 
Justin Hyatt
Zöld Fiatalok | Hungarian Young Greens (NGO)
Karácsony Sándor u.22 | 1086 Budapest | Hungary
tel: (+36) 1 266 6978 | gsm: (+36) 20 385 9244
e-mail: [email protected]
www.zofi.hu

-- 
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "World Carfree Network" group.
To post to this group, send email to carfree_network-/[email protected]
Replies are sent to the author of the message.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
carfree_network-unsubscribe-/[email protected]
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/carfree_network?hl=en?hl=en