It catches the eye of anyone passing by Praça Mauá in downtown Santos. This is exactly the mission of the rainbow container of Maersk, a port transport company that travels the world to draw society’s attention to inclusion and diversity. Brazil was chosen to be the first country in Latin America to receive the Rainbow Container. And Santos was the city that kicked off the tour.

Until Tuesday (5), it will be possible to leave a message there and take several photos on its instagrammable facade. This is what teacher Lucimere Magalhães did on Saturday morning (2). “I saw him on the internet and, as I had to come to the Center, I took the opportunity to meet him and take a picture. It is important to participate and show this action to break down prejudices and give visibility to LGBTqia+ people. After all, everyone is equal. On the wall of the container, she insisted on leaving her message: “Let the world be light. That’s what I want”.

Craftsman Orlando Küll heard about the action through a customer. He makes thumbnails and is asked to reproduce the rainbow container. So it was time to check the news closely. “He asked me and I had no reference of what it was. Now I understand. I found this proposal very well thought out. I was raised by a generation where prejudices were much more important. My generation, I wore a lot of long hair in the 1970s and 1980s, it’s already started to break. But there is still a lot to say to continue, the debate must be constant”.

Nurse Priscila Rodrigues was at a conference and decided at the end of the event to get to know the equipment and leave her message. She was accompanied by her boyfriend, app pilot Marcelo Santos da Silva. Both approved the proposal. “It’s sensational and I left my message: inequality must not exist. We are all the same. The world is too big for exclusion,” she says. “The initiative is very nice. There is no reason for prejudice and everyone has their place,” adds Marcelo.

STORY

Maersk painted the first two containers in rainbow colors in July 2020 to join the company’s fleet. In 2021, they are embarking on their first world tour. The 40-foot and 20-foot rainbow containers departed Los Angeles, USA, bound for Yokohama, Japan, and stopped at various locations in Asia, Europe, ending the tour in Denmark. This year, 15 other units have worn the colors of the diversity inclusion campaign and are already touring the world.

PUBLIC POLICY

Deputy Mayor Renata Bravo stressed the importance for the municipality to be the first in Latin America to take part in the action. “With this partnership, we are talking about respect, dignity, a city that has always been ahead of its time. And when we talk about public policies, we have to talk about the issue of diversity because Santos is the central place for this discussion. We are a benchmark for so many other public policy issues and diversity couldn’t be different”.

“Maersk has a global pro-LGBT policy. This container has come from Canada all this way and from here it is going back to other cities after the 5th. And it should be noted that this is a movement not only of diversity, but of equity and inclusion”, informs the coordinator of Codiver (Coordination Diversity), Taiane Miyake.

Photos: Marcelo Martins