Resumen

GOBBI, Marcia Aparecida. When they cleanse with fire, what becomes of children? Abbreviated lives, brief lives. Educ. Pesqui. [online]. 2019, vol.45, e213815.  Epub 31-Oct-2019. ISSN 1678-4634.  https://doi.org/10.1590/s1678-4634201945213815.

This article arises from a study in progress which aims to learn about squats and the struggle for housing by focusing on a specific group of its residents, namely children. Following the fire in the Wilton Paes de Almeida building on May 1, 2018, 200 people, including many children, came to occupy Paissandu Square, in the city of São Paulo. This event imposed itself on the path already taken by the study, becoming part of it and offering itself as a rich opportunity to learn about aspects related to the occupation and production of space, starting with the children who composed it daily, and revealing forms of struggle that consisted of donations and negotiations with the municipal government. To that end, field observations were carried out from May until August 10, 2018, when the last occupants were removed from the square. Being a qualitative study, interviews and talks were conducted involving adults and children. The relationship of girls and boys with the physical space, especially the so-called Praia Urbana (Urban Beach), showed their ability to turn the space into a place of coexistence involving processes of creation, play, conflicts, disputes and constant dialogues, which provides insight into different forms of abbreviation of their lives – comprising not only physical death – in a political project that chooses the lives that, in their precariousness, matter.

Palabras clave : Struggle for housing; Childhood; Gender; City; Squats.

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