And now she can’t leave because on May 26 President Donald Trump announced Brazilians are banned from traveling to the U.S.

“I had to go back to Brazil because I was alone in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic,” she said. “Now I’m stuck in Brazil and have to wait until the ban is lifted.” 

She has no idea when the ban will end or when she will get to attend Fordham University in person.

According to the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it is estimated that around 1,7 million Brazilians like Ururahy live in the US. Brazil is the ninth largest student exporter to the US according to the Institute of International Education (IIE) and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). 

Located in the epicenter of the coronavirus, Brazil has 60,813 deaths and 1,460,000 cases as of  June 29.  Recently, the European Union is also restricting Brazilian entry in countries from the block. 

“One of the options was to go to Europe and stay there for a few days,” Ururahy said.  “Now they also closed the borders for Brazilians, so I’m stuck.” 

Her classes are still taking place in the fall, but she will be on zoom. 

“I’m doing everything I can to start my degree in person, but I will have to wait until the ban is lifted,” she said. “This is sad for students like me, who would love to go back, but will have to take zoom classes.” 

Ururahy said that she thought about deferring her studies and to start school in January. But she would lose her scholarship. She is trying to find a way to get to the U.S. through other  countries where there is no ban, like Mexico.  

“Mexico is now the last option because it is the only country where we, as Brazilians are allowed to go in and  can go to the United States afterwards,” she said.

But that option is complicated. She said some are saying that Brazilians are not allowed into the U.S. even if they arrive from Mexico and so it’s risky.

“We don’t know what’s true and what is fake,” Ururahy said.

According to Trump’s  proclamation  Brazilians entering the country “threatens the security of our transportation system and infrastructure and the national security, and I have determined that it is in the interests of the United States to take action to restrict and suspend the entry into the United States, as immigrants or nonimmigrants, of all aliens who were physically present within the Federative Republic of Brazil during the 14-day period preceding their entry or attempted entry into the United States.”

Ururahy has already tested positive for the coronavirus in the US, but that does not change her status. 

“I got tested for the coronavirus and the test showed that I had already got it while I was in the US,” she said. “I’m still not allowed in, even if some people believe that I can’t catch the virus again.” 

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 Although ISIS lost control of its strongholds in Raqqa, Syria, in October 2017, and in Mosul, Iraq ,  in July 2017, and US President Donald Trump declared that the group had been defeated in March 2019, it has been rebuilding during the pandemic.

 “Physically, the Islamic State has been defeated in 90% after the losses of Raqqa and Mosul. We cannot say, however, that they have been 100% annihilated because their ideology is still there,” Najad Khouri, specialist in the geopolitics of the Middle East at Fundação Getúlio Vargas, a higher education institution and think tank in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil  said, over the phone. 

 Ever since the coronavirus pandemic started in late 2019, ISIS has been using the crisis to gather its fighters in Syria and Iraq and reorganize to become stronger. A series of coordinated attacks indicate the group’s physical resurgence. A good example was an attack in May 2020, when ISIS fighters invaded a village in Iraq near the Tigris River and killed Sunni Muslims who didn’t support the organization.

 Formed in 2013, the Islamic State expanded rapidly when the governments of Syria and Iraq were weak. Now those governments are organizing themselves again, making it harder for ISIS to expand. However, Rashmi Singh, a specialist in terrorism at PUC Minas university in Brazil, argues that the Islamic State is still a virtual threat and that the organization is still recruiting, not only in Syria and Iraq but also beyond. 

 “We know that the Islamic State has now reached its lowest point since their former leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died. However, he is not irreplaceable and other terrorist organizations, such as Al Qaeda, have also had several leaders,” she said. 

 Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi committed suicide in September 2019. After his death, a new leader known as Hajji Abdallah took power. He is now being sought by the United States, which offers a US$10 million reward for any information leading to his capture. 

 According to Michael Barak, team leader of the Global Jihad & Jihadi Websites Monitoring Group in Israel, ISIS is interpreting the pandemic as a way to punish infidels. The Islamic State first addressed the coronavirus in its newsletter, al-Naba, on February 2, in volume 220. The organization took strict measures against the virus and issued obligatory instructions to its fighters. 

 “They have had a very strong position regarding safety since March,” Singh said. “They said that people infected should not travel to the places dominated by ISIS and fighters were called out to take social distancing measures and to quarantine.” 

 On March 12, the Islamic State issued guidelines on how to deal with the pandemic, the so called “Islamic Guidance on Dealing with Epidemics.” Restrictions included covering the mouth, washing hands and avoiding areas with potential infections. 

 Another monthly online magazine published by ISIS from Idlib, Syria, called the virus “one of Allah’s soldiers.” 

 “The Islamic State was firstly looking at the virus as a God’s revenge on China because of their treatment against Muslim minorities,” Singh said. “After it spread, it became a punishment for apostasy and crusaders. In Iran, they [ISIS] interpreted it as a punishment against Shia Muslims, seen as not real Muslims.” 

 Both Singh and Khouri say that the Islamic State is also taking the opportunity to conduct more attacks where some governments’ responses to the pandemic have left a power vacuum or political insecurity.

 “Where there is a power vacuum, the Islamic State will grow. They will appear in the light that is the power vacuum,” Khouri said.

 Khouri said that the only way the international community can thwart the reorganization of the Islamic State is to help the economies of underdeveloped countries. [BB9] 

 “Syria is a good example for that,” he said. “The US has adopted sanctions against Syria, which deepens the country’s economic crisis, impoverishes the country and these lead to a weak state. This weak state leaves a vacuum, which is where extremist groups are likely to emerge.”

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Ernesto Xavier, a Black actor, anthropologist and editor in chief of GQ Magazine in Brazil often posts in social media about race. His posts are getting more hits than ever.

“The difference is remarkable,” he said. “Because of the Black Lives Matters protests in Brazil, I gained 2,000 followers from one day to another. People seem to have woken up.” 

The legacy of racism in Brazil has been brutal.

The country’s population is  of 55.8 percent black and “pardo” (brown skinned) people. According to official numbers of a Brazil’s human rights report hotline, 615 complaints related to racism were registered in 2018.  Racism is considered illegal in the Brazilian constitution,  but the evidence of rampant racism in the country are overwhelming.

“It is important to follow the news to know if we are being discriminated against,” said journalist, Silvandira Costa. “We must know our rights so that we can pursue justice and a better future, consequently. It’s sad that this movement is only happening now after the death of George Floyd, but it’s better to happen now than not to happen at all. We can’t breathe.”

Brazil enslaved more than four million Africans.   That’s ten times more than the number of slaves brought to the U.S. and raced based inequalities are deeply felt by its Black citizens. 

Black people were seen as possession because of slavery,” Xavier said. “There were several public policies to eliminate us [Blacks] and to whiten the population, like when Portugal brought Europeans and gave them land in Brazil to populate the country. White people were the ones who created the term “negro.” 

The same issues that plague African American can be found in this majority Black country, ruled by a white president. Blacks make up 64 percent of the prison population, earn 57 percent less than whites and suffer from police brutality. Access to education, jobs, and income inequality also mirror the problems African Americans face in the U.S.

“Just a few years ago, when I went into stores, shop assistants used to follow me every time, afraid that I would steal something because I’m black,” said Silvandira Costa, a retired  housemaid. “I have also suffered several types of discriminations because of my skin color in several other situations in Brazil.”  

Dr. Luiz Herculano, a Portuguese professor at the Federal University in Santa Catarina, has also experienced racism. While traveling on behalf of the congress to Columbia, he was met with scrutiny at the airport.

“She triple checked my passport and all of my documentation when I was checking in,” he said. “She was not used to seeing a Black man travelling on business class, so she was suspicious.”

And because of poor health care, people are contracting and dying of COVID-19 in far greater numbers than whites. Brazil is quickly emerging as the next epicenter of the virus and expected to surpass the U.S.

“Racism is a system of oppression that kills, discriminates and maintains white privilege,” said journalist, Sayonara Oliveira. “It prevents Black people from having a job, opportunities, a place at a university or even be morally or physically abused.”

Xavier said the fight against racism is everyone’s fight. 

“People don’t realize that racism impacts all social relations in society,” he said.  “If a country has a significant level of poverty, or criminality, or low levels of education, it affects everyone. To recognize white privilege is a question of humanity and civility.”

 Brazil’s black citizens have long suffered from systematic racism  which  means racism is essentially everywhere in their lives, from lack of representation in big corporations, universities, housing and in every aspect of Black life. Racist jokes are also a common practice in Brazil. 

“We are often referred to in racist jokes so that we won’t reach the top,” Herculano said. “You inferiorize in order to maintain a white domination and privilege.” 

He said in Brazil, the deaths of Black people and children, such as Agatha and João Pedro have shown that black people are often not treated as citizens in the country.

But Oliveira, is  hopeful that because of the attention on racism now, will mean a better future. 

“I’m seeing a lot of white people who never showed any interest in racism asking me about it,” she said. “Friends are asking me for book recommendations , my opinions on certain matters. I’m optimistic that the future holds a better situation for Black people in Brazil.”

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Despite health leaders advice to social distance to fight the pandemic, Syrians citizens are protesting against the country’s economic crisis and sanctions.

“The arrival of coronavirus is problematic for all countries,” said Christian Thuselt, lecturer of Middle East Politics at the Department of Political Science at the Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen Nuremberg. “Now the virus is spreading to the weaker states. In Syria, the economy is in shambles, millions have fled, nine million Syrians suffer from malnutrition That makes them more vulnerable.”

Hundreds of protestors demanding government action during the country’s economic crisis recently marched on the streets of Sweidaa, a city in the south of Syria.  But protests are erupting all over the country. 

During the past 36 hours the cities of Damascus & Idlib in #Syria have witnessed rallies against poverty, unemployment & economic difficulties. Demonstrators are demanding Assad step down in order to end the war & bring an end to meddling by #Iran & Russia in their country. pic.twitter.com/pEkDKPGcDc

— Heshmat Alavi (@HeshmatAlavi) June 8, 2020

The civil war has killed more than 380,000 people and displaced millions since it began in 2011. The war started to crush anti-regime protests.

For non-Arabic speakers,these are the most prominent slogans chanted in the demonstrations in #Suwayda yesterday. #Syria #SyrianLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/mWP1IrRBKs

— السويداء 24 (@suwayda24) June 8, 2020

The coronavirus has  furthered the economic collapse of Syria. Food prices have more than doubled and now 7.9 million people are considered food insecure, according to the World Food Programme., The Syrian pound on the parallel market fell 50% and the minimum wage  now equals $26 a month. Eighty percent of the population is living in poverty.

“They’re literally risking their lives to go into the streets . . . [showing] just how desperate people have become,” Mona Yacoubian, senior adviser at the United States Institute of Peace told the Financial Times.

Bakeries are closing, doctors are closing, shops are closing, businesses are closing. Millions of parents aren’t able to put food on the table for their kids. They can’t buy food or milk 4 their babies. Some people are offering to sell their organs so they can help their families

— Ahmad Al-Rashid ✪ (@ahmadalrashid99) June 9, 2020

Syria’s President Bashar al- Assad blames the economic situation on western sanctions. In 2011 through Executive Order 13582, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Syria’s government, prohibiting U.S. individuals to export or to sell services to Syria, like petroleum products. The sanctions were intended to deprive the regime of resources needed to as it brutally clamped down on citizens demanding change. The European Union followed a similar path and extended its sanctions against the Syrian regime.

The Syrian government won the the civil war with the help of countries like Russia and Iran ,but the war led to the destruction of 70% of the country’s economy and infrastructure, including medical facilities.

“Our hospitals are not provided with respiratory support devices or enough doctors,” said Mohammed, who works at a public hospital in Aleppo and did not want to give his full name. “Hospitals are good to handle a lot, but not in large numbers, like a pandemic this big. In my city, for example, we have only something like four ventilators, and they are most likely occupied.”

Syrians on Facebook groups offering to donate portions of their scarce medication. “No more medicine of any type available, even aspirin and cetamol were cut”
“I just had a thyroid cyst removed and I can’t stay without thyroxine and it’s also cut”
“I am on the last bottle” pic.twitter.com/PdSxEXa8PD

— jaro (@LaconicJaro) June 10, 2020

Thuselt said medicine is a prestigious profession and many doctors and medical students fled because of the war.

“I believe that the number is up to 70% of the medical staff has fled Syria, and so did students,” he said.“They are usually privately financed and their families do everything to take them out of Syria.”

According to World O’ Meter, Syria has 144 coronavirus cases and has registered only nine deaths.

To contain the virus, doctors gave residents the standard protocol, stay home, wash your hands and use face masks, Mohammed said.

“We also had some mobilization on Facebook groups,” he said. “The government established a curfew, so we aren’t allowed to leave the house after 6 p.m. on weekdays and on weekends after 12 p.m.,” Mohammed said.

Thuselt doesn’t believe they are accurate.

“There’s one thing that they [the government] won’t admit, it is defeat,” he said “They act as if the country is perfect, everything is just perfect. A good example was when Homs was under siege and Syrian state television, brought up peaceful pictures of Homs. They are bad at admitting that they are being defeated.”

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“The current regime tries to politicize the virus to stay in power and form common enemies,” said a journalist based in Caracas  who did not want to be identified for safety reasons. “Moreover, this is the perfect excuse to mask the gasoline shortage. If we are under quarantine, people don’t really use cars that often.” 

Venezuela’s government, historically responsible for jailing journalists, concentrating power, rejecting human rights scrutiny, was already struggling economically even before President Nicolas Maduro took power. Basic needs, like access to food and health resources became scarce and led millions of Venezuelans to flee from their homes.

The president imposed a nationwide quarantine on March 17 after the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in the country. But because of the extreme poverty, Venezuelans continue to leave their houses to search for food and water. 

According to the World Food Program, 9.3 million Venezuelans,  nearly a third of the country’s population, are considered food insecure and 1 in 3 are not getting enough to eat. The same study found that 74%of families have adopted coping strategies to deal with the lack of food, such as reducing quality and variety of what they eat. 

 Maduro recently declared that the mandatory use of masks and quarantine measures are working. On May 30 Venezuela had 1,370 confirmed cases with 14 deaths. But these numbers were called “absurd” by the Human Rights Watch and John Hopkins University.

Dr. Kathleen Page, an associate medicine professor at John Hopkins told France 24 that Venezuela is “a country where doctors don’t have water to even wash their hands” and end up using water coming from the air conditioner to do it, and where “the health system is totally collapsing.”

She believes the true number of COVID-19 deaths is closer to 30,000. 

The Caracas journalist said that Venezuela suffered from serious consequences of the precarious public health even before the arrival of the coronavirus. 

“It is certainly difficult to believe that the numbers are that good,” the journalist said. “There is no transparency on the numbers coming from the government. Hospitals had already collapsed before the pandemic started and this is a risk for hospital staff too.” 

The first COVID-19 case was registered on  March 14, according to ABC News. 

A report from the Associated Press showed that despite the coronavirus threats, Venezuela’s elite still partied in Los Roques, a Venezuelan archipelago. On March 20, Maduro said on state television that, “practically everyone at the party is testing positive.”

“The first cases are believed to be imported by Spanish prostitutes after a party in Los Roques,” the journalist said

As a result , Colombian president, Iván Duque, closed the country’s border with Venezuela to stop the spread in Colombia. But Colombians could still enter Venezuela.

Just like in China, where xenophobia is on the rise,  Maduro is also blaming refugees that are coming back from Colombia for bringing the virus into Venezuela because he knows that people who fled are not his supporters, the journalist said.

Federico Sor,   a historian of modern Latin America, said Venezuela and China are allies. 

“The difference is that China had the resources, it built hospitals and tested the people, Maduro, however does not have the resources to do the same,” Sor said. “In Venezuela, just like in China, people who were contesting the numbers or threatening to expose it were being arrested.” 

In China, Li Wenliang, a doctor who sent the message to fellow doctors in Wuhan about the spread of a new virus was silenced by the police and later on investigated. The same has happened to journalists and doctors in Venezuela who claimed that health facilities were not ready to receive patients with COVID-19. Melquiades Avila is one of them. Now in hiding, he was accused of being a “criminal” by Lizeta Hernandez, a member of the ruling Socialist party. 

The economic situation is specifically critical now that oil prices are collapsing. Sor said the crisis is so big that he believes that it precedes the sanctions imposed by countries, such as the US. 

“Any country that relies on imports particularly suffers more,” he said. “The oil prices are low and the economy is contracting almost by half. Therefore, the options to stay in the country are not the best offer for most of the people who have left.”

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 That was the reaction of a 17-year old boy after watching the televised  shooting of 14-year old Joao Pedro Matos Pinto, who was killed by police in his uncle’s home in Brazil’s North Zone of Rio de Janeiro.

 According to the National Institute of Public Security of Rio de Janeiro (ISP-RJ), the number of killings by state agents has soared  in the 22 years since the agency started tracking these deaths.  In 1998 there were 397 homicides, by  2019, this number jumped to 1,814, following years of steady increase. A recent study by the same organization showed  that the number of deaths by the police during the quarantine period, increased 43%.

 “The story of Joao Pedro is the clear example that the police’s priority is to kill, and not to save people,” said José Ignacio Cano, coordinator of the Laboratory of Violence Analysis for the State University of Rio de Janeiro. 

 He said in many countries during the pandemic, police and the military are being used to contain the virus, but not in Rio de Janeiro. The local police are notorious for being known as the most violent in the world, according to separate reports by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch . 

 “They are apparently dedicated to developing the program of extermination promoted by the state,” he said.

 But the police have an excuse for the May 18 killing of the boy. They said the house was being used as a hiding place for criminals, who were fleeing from the police and the criminals allegedly had fired at the police and thrown grenades. No witnesses support the police account. Joao Pedro,  was playing with his cousins  when struck by a stray bullet.

 “As far as we know, there appears to have been no confrontation,” said criminal lawyer, Jula Lavigne. “Therefore, in this case, self defense and invasion of the home would not have been allowed.”

 The boy was shot during a federal and civil police operation in the Complexo do Salgueiro favela in São Gonçalo, a municipality in the greater Rio area. After the shooting, federal agents seized his body and sent it to a hospital in Rio by helicopter without the family’s consent. Seventeen hours later, the  boy was found in a mortuary close to his home. 

There were  72 bullet holes  found in the  home.  And many victims of “stray bullet” shootings are black residents of Rio’s favelas. According to ISP, in the first half of 2019, 80 percent  of victims of police shootings in Rio de Janeiro were black. 

 Critics blame the governor and president who they said made comments supporting police brutality. 

 Both President Jair Bolsonaro and Governor Wilson Witzel, a former federal judge, vowed an all-out war against criminals that has given the police free reign. 

 A North Zone of Rio de Janeiro mother, who requested anonymity for fear of the police,  said her 17-year-old son, was wounded by police on May 7, close to his home. The  teen was playing with five other teenagers when three police took them to an alley. One of the teens was shot in the leg and is now in the ICU in the Andaraí Hospital. The boy was wounded by bullet shrapnel’s on the cheek. 

 “They thought that my son was a part of the drug trafficking operations here, but my son is a good boy,” she said. “I can only imagine what could have happened if it had been dark outside, my boy would have been dead. They often come into my house and check to see if my children are involved with the (drug) traffic. This has become a routine.”

 She went to the police station to report the police brutality, but the officer in charge said that the episode was the result  of a police operation taking place in the favela on that day, something that the mother denied. 

 “There was no police operation that day,” she said. “I never allow my children out when there is an operation going on. We are too scared, we know it’s dangerous.” 

 Cano said what is happening is illegal.

 “It is not a police officer who should decide who lives and who dies on the streets,” he said. “There is clearly a socio-economic and a racial component which impacts on who lives and who dies.”

 In some favelas,operations conducted by the police are also interrupting the humanitarian aid.  On May 9, Complexo do Alemão, a group of volunteers who donate food and other supplies, heard gunshots.  Six days later, in the same location, 13 people were killed during an operation by the military and civil police. As a result, the state, as a result of the pressure by human rights groups put the operations in favelas on hold. 

 Shooting in “Complexo do Alemão” during a police operation in the favela in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro. Video by Neila Marinho

 Rene Silva, founder of community News portal “Voz das Comunidades” said the community is suffering police brutality during a pandemic. 

“Here we have three different types of violence, the virus, the police and people who don’t have food to eat,” Silva said.“ Instead of helping us with food donations, the government has only been bringing more violence to favelas in Rio.” 

 Cano said the only way to stop the violence is to replace politicians who don’t reign the police in.

 “There is no way to prevent killings if this policy of confrontation continues as standard procedure,” Cano said. “Summary executions happen as mistakes, but impunity rates remain extremely high. Brazilians need to think about the politicians they elected, because this is one of the most important ways to change violent practices.”

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The hard times we are living in are not only a challenge for our physical health, but also our mental health. According to “Our World in Data”, 792 million people had a mental health disorder in 2017- and this was not even in the middle of a pandemic. There are studies that show how concerned mental health organizations are with the possible developments or with the aggravation of symptoms or conditions in times of quarantine and lockdown. 

Although some friends of mine are still going out and meeting other friends, I need to be extra careful because I’m part of a risk group due to a precondition and autoimmune systemic disease called Lupus. To be stuck, in my case is not only an act of solidarity with my grandparents or my stepfather, it is a matter of survival. Because the outside has become something so abstract and far away, I chose the pictures to be black and white, while the inside, which is my reality, is colorful. 

I’ve been stuck since March 10. When I first arrived in Rio, I needed to be in complete isolation in my room for 14 days. When I finally went out of my room, I felt the relief of being capable of walking around the house or just being able to touch things that other people touch. However, I still feel stuck, and I believe everyone else does too. You feel stuck at home, stuck in the news  you are stuck inside your building, your car and, most of all, stuck wanting to get out, to just leave and breathe some fresh air (without masks, will that ever be possible again?) 

I feel stuck, but I want to feel free again. I want to look at a view and be there if I want to, I want to hug my grandparents again, I want my grandma to be able to go to the mall again, I want to go to a nice restaurant, have some wine and eat. I want to not fear life. 

Stuck in the news is also stuck. Andrea (50) reads the news in times of pandemic. April 29, 2020. Photo by Marina Guimarães

Room-stuck day 10. My mom, Andrea (50) had to bring me food so that I wouldn’t need to touch objects in common areas inside my house (or even breathe the same air). April 1, 2020. Photo by Marina Guimarães

The new normal: masks hang to dry after walking the dog. Rio de Janeiro, 2020. April 23, 2020. Photo by Marina Guimarães

Pedro (13) has also been quarantined for a long time. For a young soccer player, to stay stuck at home is big sacrifice. April 8, 2020. Photo by Marina Guimarães

Stuck with the view of the other side of the building. April 29, 2020. Photo by Marina Guimarães

From inside the building to the street in Rio de Janeiro. May 1, 2020. Photo by Marina Guimarães

Since the start of the pandemic Thereza (78) hasn’t been out to the mall with her caregivers for being part of the higher risk group. May 1, 2020. Photo by Marina Guimarães

Remote work is one of the biggest challenges during quarantine. It is too easy to just distract by all of the reasons you are stuck in the first place. April 8, 2020. Photo by Marina Guimarães

Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas separated by a few miles and a net. May 1, 2020. Photo by Marina Guimarães

When stuck at home, Andrea (50) has to do something she hasn’t in a while: clean the house. April 8, 2020. Photo by Marina Guimarães

Julio (64) admires the beautiful landscape of the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas through his bedroom window. April 1, 2020. Photo by Marina Guimarães

Net blocks the view of Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas in Rio de Janeiro. May 1, 2020. Photo by Marina Guimarães

The view from Christ the Redemeer from the Garage. Rio de Janeiro, 2020. May 1 2020. Photo by Marina Guimarães

This is a project of Lori Grinker’s NYU graduate photojournalism class.

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