Rio street kids pose with guns and sniff glue in chilling photos of Brazilian street gangs from the 1990s
Harrowing photos open a window into the brutal and drug filled world of the favella and the people who struggle for survival within them
THESE chilling photos open a window into the brutal world of the Brazilian "favella" and the street gangs that snare children at a young age.
Drugs, guns and glue-sniffing is the order of the day for the kids in the backstreets of Rio de Janeiro.
Black and white images taken in the 1990s show the harsh conditions that inspired the Oscar nominated film City Of God.
The snaps are taken from a photographic project by snapper Viviane Moos titled Brazilian Street Diary.
Compiled over many years beginning in the 90s she has captured the reality of of the lives lead by the people who live just 15 minutes from the paradise of the Copacabana beach.
A child well below the age of ten can be seen aiming a gun squarely down the camera lens, bare footed and bare chested against a backdrop of squalor.
Another shows a gang of youths desperately inhaling the fumes from bags filled with glue, to stay high and fight off incessant hunger pangs.
More images show desperate mothers breastfeeding their children in filthy streets and heroin addicts injecting themselves in alleyways totally unconcerned if they are observed.
The movie detailed the lives and loves of the inhabitants of the Cidade de Deus (City of God) in Rio.
Romance and organised crime thrive amongst the streets in the film which has been declared a modern classic and even spawned a TV series and a another film both titled City of Men.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368