Flightster

Visiting the Poor House

• by Colin Wright
• on September 13th, 2010
• 1 Comment

There’s an aspect of travel that can be a bit hard to stomach sometimes, especially for those of us who were born and raised in the First World, but it’s important to be aware and culturally sensitive to the intense and very visible poor community that will be a big part of your overseas experience (provided you get away from the tour buses and hotels).

Let me start out by saying that this is not a trend limited to the developing world, nor is it really a trend so much as a constant reality throughout the ages. But today, especially in the United States, unless you go out of your way to drive into the ‘bad side of town’ or grow up in a ghetto, you’re unlikely to have dealt with this part of life in any real way. This is good and bad.

It’s the nature of our First World governments to cover poverty in all its forms up and justify it to no end so that eventually even the visible bits that peak through the fabric of society tend to blend into the background.

When you travel overseas, this simply isn’t possibly. The poor communities are such a huge, visible part of society that there simply isn’t enough rug for them to be swept under.

And this is a good thing! In all countries – the US included – there is a good deal of culture that emerges from the poorer areas. In Thailand, for example, a whole lot of the famous (and delicious) street food culture likely wouldn’t exist if everyone could afford to eat in a restaurant for every meal.

There’s also a great deal of beauty that emerges from a city’s slums. The cobbled-together nature of everything speaks highly about the human will to survive in any environment, and the people can be some of the most generous that you’ve ever met. It’s amazing the sense of honor that can grow in a person despite their not having any advantages or hands-up in society. Take that, Maslow.

The biggest thing to be aware of when it comes to being on the road and coping with poor communities is that in general you should take extra precautions, but explore if possible.

In any society there are bad eggs, and poorer communities are no different. There WILL be someone who is looking for an easy buck who wouldn’t think twice to snag your wallet or your phone or YOU in an attempt to wrangle some pocket change from the forces that seem to be keeping them down. When you travel to these areas, travel in a group, let other people know where you’ll be, and it would probably be smart to have some pepper spray or a similar weapon at hand, just in case.

But as I mentioned before, most people will be generous and giving, maybe to a fault. I’ve had experiences where the poorest of poor people have insisted upon spending their saved pennies in order to be gracious hosts. It would have been an incredibly easy thing for me to pay for our meal, for example, but in order to retain their honor and give an outsider a good view of themselves and their home, they will not take no for an answer.

It’s one of the toughest things in the world to do (in my opinion), but if it comes down to this, let them. A person’s sense of worth is partially developed based on the impact they are able to have in the world, and if this person – who in most aspects of their life is buffeted by the winds of the world, unable to take steps forward and mostly forced to step back – is able to gain some sense of control, some sense of having been able to have a positive influence on someone else’s life, well that’s quite possibly one of the best services you can provide.

Still attempt to offer help where you can (maybe take them out for the next meal, or offer them some kind of non-monetary assistance that will help them take some steps forward in life), but to flat out disallow them the opportunity to treat you is like saying ‘I’m so much higher up than you in society, there’s nothing you could possibly offer me.’

Maybe someday we’ll have the technology, resources and infrastructure to pull everyone up to a high level of sustainable existence, but until that day all we can do is deal cross-economically as much as possible, learn from each other and remember that first and foremost we’re all human.

Colin Wright

Colin Wright is a minimalist, branding expert and serial entrepreneur. While running his blog Exile Lifestyle ,his branding studio Colin Is My Name and his e-publishing business ebookling. Colin travels the world (moving to a new country every 4 months), meeting up with amazing people, giving talks (to audiences ranging from tech industry professionals to college students to Catholic school girls) and hunting down new and interesting experiences.