A Slum Is Not A Slum

(My host mom is on the far left. Meh Joy in the middle, the most fun bad ass women ever!)

Last week I went to Nong Wang slum located just 10 minutes away from my home base apartment here in Khon Kaen, Thailand.

A little interesting background: This slum formed over 30 years ago. It is located next to the train tracks of the State Railway. It is illegal to dwell within the first 20 meters of the train tracks so these residents of Nong Wang are trespassing on the land. Because they are illegal, access to water and electricity is double to triple the price. Many people work as scavengers or in construction.They have been fighting against the government for land rights and recently obtained an area of land to move to legally.

In Thai class, we learned the words for slum--(chum-chon-eh-ad). I also learned how to say trespassing, railroad, evict, income, scavenging to converse. (Unfortunately I don't know how to say room, fork or phone in Thai). Later in the afternoon my friend and I were talking casually with the neighbor to find out more about the slum. My friend used the word chum-chon-eh-ad and the neighbor responded saying "not chum-chon-eh-ad, just chum-chon." They said this repeatedly. Ah Ha! My friend explained that 'chum-chon' meant community. They were saying that Nong Wang was a community, not a slum!

This realization brought up so many questions and ideas.Why was I told that I was coming to stay in a slum? Who officially gives it the title, a slum? We, in the US don't have much to compare a slum to except maybe a 'ghetto.' And who calls it a ghetto anyway?

When I first arrived at my homestay, I was shocked at the set up of the house. It looked nice! They had a TV, refrigerator, a spacious kitchen area, stereo system and a raised bed (not on the floor) all of which seem like luxuries to me here.

Why was this a community and not a slum? In Nong Wang, everyone knew their neighbor. My host mom had been living there for over 30 years right next to the train tracks. There was a sense of camaraderie. One conclusions is that proximity of space creates community where people live close to one another. Another conclusion is because Nong Wang has organized with the slum reform network (an NGO) in order to obtain land rights. This organization of the people may give them more of a united community feel.

Finally, it brings up the question of what does poverty really look like. Every village or community I go to I find myself asking this same question. With the luxuries mentioned before, does that mean the people are really poor? They have their basic needs from what I can see of food, shelter, clothes and medicine. Just because the physical condition of a house looks dilapidated does not mean they are impoverished. I did not sense they were seeking to change their socioeconomic situation. But just because they have a TV, does not mean they are not poor either.

As a westerner, I knowingly enter these communities with preconceived notions and understandings. I must take into account my own cultural relativism. I think having the chance to see villages and slums and what may or may not be called "poverty" will change the way I talk about these people in the future.

(The water fountain where people came to fill up their barrels with water. The background is the side of my host family's house. )