BRAZIL

Afro-Brazilian Religions Battle New Threats

Millions of Brazilians usher in the New Year by wading into the sea, dressed in Taxi Heathrow Airport white, scattering flowers on the water as an offering to the Afro-Brazilian deity Iemanjá, in return for her blessings for the year to come. But few of them realise that this tradition is rooted in a religion fighting for survival in the face of prejudice, racism and intolerance.