Your Definition?
Of course there are slums in all countries and bad areas etc... however, how would you define a bad area or a "Ghetto" I know how I think of it as. Many people think of such places in different way's. To me these places scare me because of fear of getting shot, stabbed, harassed, robbed etc...
Not by one specific race of people, mainly by people who live or roam around these area's. At least that's how I think of it as because it has happened to me in these very area's. They say the things you fear the most have already happened.
I have never been to slums outside North America and am curious if it is the same way. And I don't mean "slums" or "ghetto's" brought on by war or natural disaster because that just brings up a whole new subject. An example would be this image in the center of Mumbai call Dharavi.
posted by Paul at 2:03 PM
9 Comments:
Hmmm...ghetto...well I think it depends. Here in NYC ghetto means not having money to pay the rent but being able to afford a Bugaboo for the baby one had at 15, the fake nails & doobee (that's a blowout), money for satellite or cable and of course money to eat out. I live in the Bronx and see ghetto everyday. Crime is high in these areas, few white people live there and if they do they're either yuppy idiots or old timers. Buildings are disgusting but I blame the residents for not caring. The majority of women 16 & older have at least one child and depend upon the govt. to support them.
Unreal!!!! Only if these spoiled kids now a day's can there for a week, I know they would have much more respect for adults and themselve's...
You should see the tent cities outside Rome, Italy full of the EU's immigrants from eastern europe. Talk about ghetto. By the way, the word "ghetto" is Italian. It's a hood in Rome where the Jews live.
You Havent Seen Ghetto till you go to Iraq or Afghanstan They make the worst in Amercia look like disneyland
Or the slums right on the edge of Johannesburg South Africa. One minute im in a beautiful city such as any major city here in the US. Then the next im driving through a city of shack's, metal boxes with families living in each, thousands of them.
Having heard a lot about poverty in America, I was rather underwhelmed by these pictures. Not that they're not masterfully taken, but I was expecting stuff like cardboard shacks and no access to clean water. I mean, 95% of Jakarta, Indonesia where I live looks worse than any picture here. Our violent crime rate isn't usually very high, but we do have kids begging for money on buses, disabled people crossing streets by themselves during the rush hour, no traffic discipline to speak of, exposed sewers, annual flooding, and the occasional bombings and racial/soccer riot. I know these problems probably also exist in America, but at least they're treated as problems, not facts of life to be taken for granted.
A couple years ago in fresno ca people set up 3 shanty towns right off the freeway. Real shanties made out of plywood with tin roofs. I didn't catch any flicks cause I didn't want to seem like a jerk. There was another shanty town outside of bakersfield ca with open sewer trenches. These people all lost their jobs. The reason we don't see more of that is because the county shuts it down. People who aren't from america don't understand how things work here. In other countries the authorities don't shut down shanty towns. Here they do. If they didn't, trust me we would have plenty.
National Geographic did a great documentary on Dharavi. Perhaps you can find it on YouTube or some other video source.
Hi paul, I see your posts... intresting, I dont know whether you blog anymore or not (because your last post was is dated Sunday, June 14, 2009)... well, i am a beginner intrested in poverty in USA. I saw your post about Dharavi, Mumbai... Yea, I hail from India... There are many slums here which would change the way you think about slums.... I am intrested to know more about "ghettos" or slums in America(though I know you dont have slums, I guess you have rough areas... If you read my comment... Please reply.
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