Let's play a word association game... I say a word
and you say the first thing that pops in your head when you think of that word.
The word is slum. What other words pop in your head when you
think of a slum? What pictures do you see when you close your eyes and think of
a slum?
If you would have asked me last week to tell you the images that come to mind when I think of a slum I might have said something along the lines of kids running around, tattered clothes, dirt and a displeasing smell. After the experience I had of touring the Dharavi slum this past weekend, my definition would be different.
I am generally a very curious person. As some of
you may know I like to get the real and authentic story on things. There is no
need to sugarcoat things or bedazzle them (like the media often does). Since
day one of being in India I have seen the stark contrast between the 'haves'
and 'have-nots'. So far in my travels I have been to a total of about five
cities. In each place you see the drastic difference between the ways people
live depending on their economic status. I drove past various slums in the various
cities I've visited and wondered a lot of the same things... "What are
the people like that live there? Do they have unconditional love for each
other? What are their dreams and goals?"
Here are some fast facts about Dharavi. The slum is
located in Mumbai on about 432 acres of land, which is half the size of Central
Park. The current population is 1 million people. It is 20 times denser than
Mumbai. More than 50% of the population in Mumbai lives in slums. The average
household has 4.5 people in it. Dharavi has many factories and other jobs that
help make up the annual production of $665 million US dollars. Daily factory
wages are between Rs 150-250 (which when you do the conversion $1 USD = Rs 63,
so that's between $3-5 USD per day). Other interesting things to know is that
80% of Mumbai's recycling goes to Dharavi.
I will admit to you all that I was a little
apprehensive about taking a slum tour at first. I have read several articles
about ‘slum tourism’ where foreigners have the opportunity to tour a slum just
like you would tour another monumental attraction. I don’t view a slum as an
attraction because it is esentially someone’s home. It would be like if I
opened up my home or neighborhood for people to come take a tour. They are
people, not animals in a zoo. That’s the most important thing to remember. We
found an organization that is very involved in the Dharavi community called
“Reality Tours”. They have several programs set up in the slum and also give
tours to foreigners that are curious about learning more. The coolest thing is
that 80% of the money that is collected to go on the tours is directly invested
back into the programs that are being put on in the slum.
Our tour started out at the train station that is
located right next to the Dharavi slum. We walked up over the bridge and it was
like we were immediately immersed into a whole other world. Dharavi is truly a
city within a city. We were guided through the narrow alleyways of the
commercial and residential areas. The commercial part is where the factories
are located. Each person in that area has a different job. Some include
crushing plastic, refurbishing paint cans and making baked goods in the bakery.
One common theme that I noticed while walking through this part of Dharavi was
the unsafe working conditions. The workers don’t wear gloves, protective
headwear or goggles. They are working painfully long hours and very closely to
quite dangerous equipment without anything to protect them or guarantee them
safety. The men that work in this area (and it is mostly men that work here
because of the safety concern for women and children) usually also live in the
factories too because it is free/cheap rent and they can’t afford to buy or
lease a small living space in the slum. Many of the men are also from different
parts of India and not originally from Mumbai. They travel to Dharavi to work
for a few months to make enough money to go back to their families on the farms
or in other villages.
The next area we were guided to was the residential
area. This was divided up into two different neighborhoods, made up of Muslims
and Hindus. The two religions clashed a long time ago and while they usually
get along now, they still tend to live separately in Dharavi. In this area I
got the chance to see what the living spaces were like. They were for the most
part very small and typically had many family members living in once confined
space. I was very surprised to learn how expensive the living spaces were in
the city of Mumbai and also in Dharavi. There is such a high demand for living
space from so many people in Mumbai that they can get away with charging a
fortune for it.
As we walked through the narrow alleys and muddy
pathways we were greeted with smiles from the children who also enjoyed practicing
their English out on us. We passed by an area that made pottery that was taken
out into the city of Mumbai to be sold. There was another area that was making
some sort of food. Everywhere we went there was a sense of purpose and you
could feel the dedication radiating out of the people. The last part we saw was
a school/community center that was set up to help educate kids and young
adults. This is one of the programs that Reality Tours (the group that gave us
our tour) helps to support. It was cool to see where English and computer
classes take place.
A slum is more than the pictures you seen portrayed
by the media of kids with big bellies and begging for food. It isn’t just what
you see from the movie Slumdog Millionaire. Sure there may be heartbreak or
sadness, but there is also joy and happiness that lives deeply rooted in the
people. Many of the people that live in slums have jobs in the community of
Dharavi or out in the city of Mumbai. They are not the people that you see
begging on the street; instead they are proud and hard working.
The words I now would use to describe a slum is a
beautiful and hard working community.
