Syrian refugee children to join Rio carnival parade

RIO DE JANEIRO - Agence France-Presse

Revellers of Mangueira samba school wait to take part in the second night of the carnival parade at Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on February 9, 2016. AFP Photo

Refugee children from Syria and other conflict-torn countries will be treated to a place in Rio de Janeiro's exuberant carnival parade on Feb. 9, UN officials said.

Forty children aged from six to 14 from Syria, Sudan, Libya and elsewhere will parade among thousands of Brazilian youngsters in a spectacle by the Mangueira samba school, the United Nations refugees body UNHCR said in a statement.
 
The Mangueira is one of Rio's traditional samba schools competing before 70,000 spectators in the city's Sambadrome stadium.
 
"Dancing in this world of fantasy, colors and rhythms will be a magical experience for them," said Vivianne Reis, head of I Know My Rights, a charity working with UNHCR.
 
Feb. 9 sees the climax of three nights of parades in a fiesta of semi-naked dancing and merriment estimated to attract five million people.