So, as I mentioned before, there is a slum in my backyard. I realize some people might not really understand what that means. Basically , they are people who makes little tents out of fabric and old clothes, whatever they can, and live in them, whole families, usually 10 people at a time. They have little communities, some of them keep animals if they can, and these people are usually shabbily dressed and dirty. Often there are shacks on top of shacks on top of shacks, little levels of them, and they are filthy, full of trash and just scum. There are very sad, and hard to look at, and I have a hard time even describing them because knowing people actually live like that upsets me.
Another thing that upsets me is denial. The other day Eric was talking to B. (the host/program director we live with) and said, it's so strange, seeing so many poor people. B: there are poor people all over the world. E: yes, but in France (his home country) we do not have them so close together, like here you have this nice house and behind you... B: those people are not poor, they have adopted this lifestyle. They want to live this way.
If people do no admit to problems in their own backyard, real problems will never be addressed.
1 comment:
i know people who live in slums, they have more money in their bank account than my entire family put together. It's not denial, its true. Poverty is their key earning a livelihood. When you live here long enough, you'll know.
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