The death of 19-year-old Gerson de Melo Machado, known as “Vaquerinho”, after breaking into a lioness’ cage in João Pessoa (PB), this Sunday (11/30), revealed a path marked by extreme poverty, untreated mental disorders and family abandonment. Guardianship counselor Veronica Oliveira, who has accompanied him for eight years, says she is “devastated.”
to CapitalsShe said that Gerson, a young man who grew up without family support and in harsh conditions, dreamed of going to Africa to “tame lions.” “He was a child suffering from all kinds of violations of his rights,” he says. “He was the son of a schizophrenic mother, his grandparents also had mental health problems, and he lived in extreme poverty.”
When Veronica first saw him, Gerson was only 10 years old. At that time, he was taken by the Federal Highway Police (PRF) to the Guardianship Council, after he was found walking alone in one of the bedrooms. Since then, it has been part of the Child Protection Network.
The mother lost her family strength years ago, but the young man continued to search for her. “Even though he was destitute, he loved his mother and dreamed that she would be able to take care of him,” he says. “He escaped from the shelter and went straight to his grandmother and mother’s house.”
However, due to her psychological condition, the mother was unable to care for her son. “She often takes him to the council and says that she is no longer his mother and wants him back. She is also a victim of a sick mind.”
Among the brothers, Gerson was the only one who did not find an adoptive family. “Precisely because there is potential for disruption. Society wants to adopt perfect children, which is impossible within institutional care, where they only arrive in the face of severe neglect,” he says.
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Dream “taming lions”
From a young age, he had a desire to travel to Africa and “tame lions.” Veronica says the dream was mentioned several times in Regency Council conversations.
In one of the most dangerous situations, the teenager tried to reach the plane secretly, which she posted on social media.
He wrote: “You told me you were getting on a plane to go on safari in Africa to take care of lions. And you were still trying, but I thanked God when the airport informed me that you had cut the fence and entered the landing gear of the Goal plane. I thanked God, because they noticed on the cameras the presence of a teenager, before something bad happened.”
For Veronica, Sunday’s tragedy ends a life of helplessness. “His story is the story of a boy who just wanted to visit Africa to tame lions. He realized too late that a lioness is not a cat and that we cannot tame it without knowledge. But he did not have enough sense to do it,” he lamented.
The diagnosis only came in adolescence
Veronica also mentions that the Guardianship Council has tried to intervene for years. “Over eight years, everything the board could do has been accomplished.” However, Gerson’s disorders were not officially recognized until he entered the socio-educational system.
“Gerson was clearly a child with serious disorders, but he had to access the social and educational system to be diagnosed,” he says.
She recalls frequent discussions with mental health professionals. “I personally had terrible discussions during the case study, because I did not accept the opinion of the psychiatrist at the Juliano Moreira Psychiatric Complex, who stated that he only had a behavioral problem.”
The case
On Sunday, Gerson invaded the cage of a lioness in the park of Arruda Camara, known as pica, in João Pessoa, Paraíba.
In an official note, the João Pessoa City Council reported that the man “quickly climbed a wall more than 6 meters high, crossed the security bars, used a tree for support, and entered the lioness’s enclosure.”
The municipal administration announced that it had already begun investigating the circumstances of the case, expressed its solidarity with the victim’s family, and confirmed that the zoo follows all technical and safety standards.
The Military Police and the Paraiba Scientific Police Institute (IPC) were called in to take appropriate action. The zoo was closed immediately after the attack, and visits were suspended. There are still no expectations for reopening.