Document 1 : A 15-year-old college student, who lives in
The Rights an area of the from Gujarat, says the tours
and Wrongs
of
SlumTourism
By Joanna
Sugden, May 3,
2013, The Wall
Street Journal
Katharina
Goetze says
she faced an
ethical dilemma about going on a guided
slum tour in Mumbai.“We had this
discussion beforehand about whether it
was poverty tourism,” said Ms. Goetze, 29,
as she walked along the streets of Dharavi,
regarded as India’s largest slum.
Our guide, Daya Sharma, fromReality
Tours and Travel, says she shouldn’t
worry. “People are here by choice not by
chance,” Mr. Sharma said of the estimated
700,000 residents of the area’s make shift
houses..[…]
But what do the residents think about the
trails of tourists visiting around where they
live?
“They don’t mind that you are coming and
disturbing their privacy,” said Mr. Sharma.
“You are seeing the positive side of the
slum, this [tour] is perhaps to dispel the
negative image.”
Jockind Arputham, president of Slum
Dwellers International, a community group
based in Mumbai, disagrees.“These tours
are very derogatory for the people of
Dharavi,” Mr. Arputham said.The majority
of those living in the slum question why
white people are come to visit them “like
monkeys” in a zoo, Mr. Arputham
claims.“It’s very bad exploitation. The tour
shows them living in dirty conditions and
doesn’t explain how people are struggling
to save themselves,” […]
educate people from the West but make her
feel uncomfortable.“I feel awkward that
you are seeing me like this,” said Urvashi
Devaliya, crouching down scrubbing
stainless steel pans. “It’s not exploitation
but it makes me uncomfortable because
you are very rich and we are very poor.”
[…]
Reality Tours say they give 80% of post-
tax profits from the tours to their partner,
non-governmental organization Reality
Gives, which provides education and
training for young women in the slum as
well as other projects for slum dwellers.
Mr. Frenzel says tours als ocan have a
positive impact. “Some tourists change
their mind about slums. Some slum
dwellers are inspired to become tour
guides as they see the tours passing. Some
mutual contact is established and
maintained after the tour via social media,”
he said.[…]
Vocabulary :
Slum=bidonville
to worry=s’inquiéter
by chance= par hasard
shift houses= démenager
to mind = faire attention à
to dispel=enlever
derogatory=desobligeant/méprisant
monkeys=singes
to struggle=se battre
to crouch down= s’accroupir
to scrub=frotter
pans=des marmites
to provide=fournir
training= formation
Document 2 : The pros and cons of slum
tourism
By JenSwanson16 May, 2011 CNN Travel
The world discovered Dharavi because of the
movie "SlumdogMillionaire." The Oscar-
winning film increased demand for companies
organizing guided tours into Asia's biggest
slum.
Today poverty tourism is practiced all
over the world – from Rio’s favelas to
South Africa’s townships, fromNairobi’s
Kibera to Mumbai’s Dharavi – charging
tourists a relatively small fee to see
Dharavi, Asia's largest slum.
Most travelers and expats rave about
Reality Tours &Travel.
But is slum tourism really a way to help
Dharavi’s residents ? An op-ed published
last year in the New York Times sums up
the criticism well: “They get great photos,
we lose a piece of our dignity,” writes the
author, a former resident of Nairobi’s
Kibera slum.
Indeed, many tourists, noting the satellite
dishes, electrical wiring and general
absence of begging, agree Dharavi’sreally
not that bad, for a slum at least (although
we’re sure they wouldn’t want to live
there).
One British girl I met recently at a Mumbai
bar, recalling Dharavi as “a pretty posh
slum” and basically dismissed its so-called
poverty
Does poverty tourism inspire any sort of
action??
” We started Reality Tours in 2005 with
business partner Krishna Poojari to show
visitors the positive side of slum life,
namely Dharavi’s strong sense of
community and cottage industry diversity
Chris Way, co-founder of the Colaba-
based tour company says.
The pair also wanted to give back to
Dharavi's residents who see little to
nothing of the slum’s reported annual
turnover of US$665 million. They provide
support via a community center .
To combat charges of voyeurism, Reality
Tours doesn’t allow cameras or take
groups of more than six people into
Dharavi. It also pays all operating costs for
the Reality Gives community center and
school. The company also puts 80 percent
of its profits (after taxes and salaries) back
into the community through charity That's
40 percent of the company'sannual
turnover being given back.
“Some people just want pictures,” he says.
“But if 100 people are visiting, two to three
people might help.” Even if the majority
are just in it for a photo opportunity,
there’s still a chance a few donate a few
extra rupees, or some extra clothing and
English books, or even a few hours of their
day, which could make a huge difference
.Vocabulary :
To increase : augmenter
slum : bidonville
fee : frais
to rave about : s’extasier
a way : une manière
to help : aider
satelitte dishes : antenne parabolique
electrical wiring : les cables electriques
begging : supplier
although : même
posh : chic
cottage industry : activité artisanale
to give back : donner en retour
turnover : chiffre d’affaire
provide : fournir
a few : quelque
rupees : monnaie en Inde