The Slums of Sealots a.k.a. "zinc ghetto"
"Today we not only face the original social disruption. We likewise face the accumulated, physical and social results of that disruption: ravaged landscapes, disorderly urban districts, pockets of disease, patches of blight, mile upon mile of standardized slums, worming into the outlying areas of big cities, and fusing with their ineffectual suburbs."-Mumford, 1938.
These photos below were taken of the very familiar slums at Sealots, along the Beetham Highway in East Port of Spain. The photos were taken while driving as it is known to be a very dangerous area. It is an informal settlement seen on the left hand side while entering into the city of Port of Spain. It appeared to have inadequate housing and squalid, miserable living conditions. It was overcrowded, with many people crammed into very small living spaces. It was very difficult to capture the dwellings properly, not only because of the fact that I could not risk stopping but the houses were all blocked off by a wall which was constructed by the government to block off the eyesore from foreign dignitaries visiting our country. The wall was also vandalized by the residents of the area as they use the wall to express their options.
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| Wall blocking off the true Slum |
Fortunately I captured these houses which gives an idea of some of the housing types in the area but in reality the majority of houses are in a much worse condition. The entire stretch of houses was such a disheartening, saddening and disenchanting sight. They were all very tiny, wooden or galvanized houses with poorly maintained roofs, made of scraps of rusting old galvanize that were not even secured properly. Some houses are unpainted or painted in several different colours, dirty, run down and piles of rubbish can be seen everywhere. There is no proper sanitation or ventilation in the area for these people living in such deplorable conditions. These houses are inhabited by poor people or those in the lower socio economic class. If one is asked to think about Sealots or Laventille, automatically the idea of high rates of poverty and employment and the breeding center for many social problems such as crime, drug addiction, alcoholism, and despair pop into your head. This is not just an assumption but a fact, as highlighted and reinforced on news every single day.
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| Squatter Houses along the Highway heading out of Port of Spain |
All slums are not the same, and some provide better living conditions than others. Likewise, slum dwellers are not a homogeneous population, but a diverse group of people with different interests, means and backgrounds. Slums are also a significant economic force.
Within these cities, considerable unmet low-cost housing demand exists as a result of the rapid population increases these cities experience. However, the limited and precarious income earing opportunities that exist in these cities mean that many poorer households are unable to obtain a high enough income to afford to access the restricted formal housing opportunities available. Consequently, for many, the only option is the informal or popular housing sector. The attitude of governments and development organizations to the presence of squatter settlements has varied considerably, ranging from hostility, to suppression, to toleration and occasional support (Pacione 2009). Negatively, the continuance of squatter settlements as home to many urban dwellers highlights the chronic economic problems faced by poor urban populations, marginalizing these groups within the city and trapping them in poverty.
This video gives an insight on the depressed like of slum dwellers:
Do you see anything fi smile bout?
Is Trinidad becoming or has already become like Jamaica?
Key features of the ‘classic’ socio- economic models of the so-called ‘Third World city’ are the presence of large areas of low status squatter settlement housing or the edges of the city, with higher status enclaves remaining in the core of the city, often now gated residential developments (Pacione 2009). This division stems from the stark socio- economic inequalities in these urban populations, high rates of immigration into these primate urban centres from poorer rural hinterlands and the lack of housing provision in economies that are still relatively poor in global terms, frequently still in dependant relationships with the major post-industrial economies. (Hall and Barrett, 2012).
Fixing Sea Lots and by extension East Port of Spain are describes as broken promises!
You can read more at http://www.trinidadexpress.com/commentaries/Fixing-Sea-Lots-and-East-Port-of-Spain-204602551.html.
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