Although I don’t think I was ever there physically, I will always identify with the lowest of the lowest class of people.
Since watching the movie, “Shanti Town”, a couple of weeks ago, some thoughts had been bothering me.
The movie actually portrays the sleazy goings-on in most countries of the world.
Shanty towns exist mostly in developing countries. However, some developed countries also have shanty towns.
I’m talking about Ciudad Neza in Mexico, Orangi in Pakistan, Dharavi in India, Favela in Brazil, Villa Miseria in Argentina, Gecekondu in Turkey, the ones in Athens, Skid Row in Los Angeles and Canada Real in Spain.
The European countries are fast creating shanty towns by forcing migrants to live in camps where the most basic of amenities are absent.
But the crux of the matter is the government’s response to shanty towns. Should I have said the society’s response?
The fact is that if we as a society see nothing wrong in dehumanizing fellow humans, the shanty towns will be proliferating.
If we believe there should be a servant class to be massaging our bloated egos, the shanties will always be there.
I’m not necessarily saying there won’t be some exceptions, but they should not be a common thing.
I have always believed that for us not to have shanty towns, we should have some taste in how we want our society to look.
We should also understand the fact that by dehumanizing people we are making ourselves less human!
The movie is a call to duty, not just for those in governance, but for the rest of us!
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